174,244 passengers travel BRT on daily basis

PESHAWAR: A record number of 174,244 passengers benefitted on a daily basis from the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) facilities during February 2021, a review meeting was told on Wednesday.

Additional Chief Secretary Shakeel Qadir Khan presided over the progress review meeting of the BRT service that is operating in the provincial capital.

Secretary Transport, special secretary, Planning and Development, management of the TransPeshawar as well as the senior representatives of the Traffic Police and the Finance Department attended the meeting, said a handout .

The participants were briefed in detail by the officials of TransPeshawar, including the existing progress in terms of the use and operations of the BRT.

They were apprised of the future plans for increased efficiency and business sustainability.

During the progress review, it was informed that during February 2021, a record number of 174,244 passengers benefitted on a daily basis from the BRT facilities.

Comparing it with previous months, it was noted that the number of passengers was unprecedented and that reaffirmed the significance of the transit service for the residents.

While briefing the meeting, the officials of TransPeshawar said the number of daily passengers was on the rise due to the opening of new feeder routes to connect more people to the transit corridor.

Due to the hike in the number of passengers, he said, the government had decided to add 30 more buses to the existing fleet, which would be inducted in March this year.

The expansion in the fleet would manage the ever-increasing passenger load while also provide more convenience to the passengers due to higher capacity, he added.

“The 30 new buses will be of 18-meter buses length, which can accommodate about 125 passengers. The buses are being shipped to Pakistan from China and would soon be inducted into the pool,” the meeting was told.

Another key point that came under discussion was the scrapping of old buses which have been replaced by the BRT Peshawar service.

The scrapping process of the 418 old buses was underway concurrently, of which 40 have been discarded already while the rest are also being taken care of in a safe and speedy manner.

It was also mentioned that 4 of the historically momentous Ford wagons are being handed over to the Culture and Tourism Authority, which will be refurbished and utilised for the promotion of cultural heritage.

It may be mentioned here that the TransPeshawar is managing the operations of the BRT service for 16 hours daily to serve thousands of passengers across Peshawar on 30 designated stations.