Electric buses to take hold of public transport in Islamabad

ISLAMABAD: In a bid to make Islamabad the first South Asian city to have an all-electric mode of public transport, saving gas emission and millions in fuel consumption, the capital city transport is set to be transferred to electric buses within 3 to 5 years, ARY News reported on Tuesday.

Minister for Science and Technology Fawad Hussain Chaudhry signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Capital Development Authority on Tuesday to mark their interest in shifting public transport towards electric buses.

Chaudhry said talking to media that initially 30 electric buses will be run in the capital city which will be able to serve 48 thousand commuters across. He added that this will save 30 thousand barrels of fuel around the year.

He deduced that this much fuel consumption cut will save transport Rs510 million.

Chaudhry noted that global warming and climate change are attributed over 25 percent to transport and thus concluded that shifting to electric mode of public transportation will be a good initiative towards environment protection.

The federal minister said the ideal rate to reap the benefits of shifting towards battery-powered buses will be to shift 40 percent of overall public transport to electronic buses in the first ten years.

He said that a designated three-wheeler mode of transportation will be introduced for female commuters in the city.

Read: Pakistan to import 120 electric buses this year: Fawad Chaudhry

Earlier this month Chaudhry said while addressing a press conference in Islamabad that federal government would import 120 electric buses the same year and local assembling of battery-powered buses will start next year.

“Electric buses will operate in Pakistan this year as the government is all set to import 120 buses,” said Fawad and added that domestic manufacturing of these buses will start in three year time.