BRT completes one year

PESHAWAR: The Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) completed one year of operation after its inauguration by Prime Minister Imran Khan last year.

The BRT service provided a quality mass transit system to the dwellers of the provincial capital. The TransPeshawar claimed that the service helped reduce traffic on the road and minimised traffic accidents in the provincial capital.

It said that the service encouraged women passengers to use public transport, adding that the service was the first of its kind in Pakistan as it introduced hybrid buses that helped minimise the greenhouses effects.

The BRT has 12 and 18 metres long buses. TransPeshawar said that the number of passengers using the service was increasing with each passing day.

It said that the service was made accessible to the people of all walks of life by keeping the fares low. Due to the popularity of the service, 30 more buses were inducted in the BRT fleet. It has 158 buses now.

Around 850,000 Zu cards have been sold so far while a mobile application was also launched to facilitate the passengers to access the service with the help of mobile technology. The BRT buses are operating on five feeder routes and are providing service in most parts of the provincial capital while the express route has also been hailed by the passengers. More than 38 million passengers have used the service during the last one year.

Seven hundred CCTV cameras installed at the BRT stations, buses and routes were not only ensuring security but were also helpful for the law-enforcement agencies in maintaining law and order. With the introduction of the BRT service, the old buses plying the roads in the city were scrapped and their owners were being compensated.

So far, 218 buses have been scrapped. The service has helped minimise 31,000 tonnes of greenhouses gases. The service has been helpful in creating jobs in the provincial capital and more than 2000 persons are employed at the service.