Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz announced plans to operate 5,000 electric buses in the province over five years, according to Radio Pakistan. The initial phase involves leasing 1,000 non-air-conditioned buses to address demand gaps, with an additional 1,500 electric buses set to be operational by September 2022.
The Punjab Transport and Mass Transit Department is assembling these electric buses locally, with 189 ready for launch and another 488 expected from China later this month. The initiative aims to serve 91 tehsils across the province during its first phase.
Since its inception in 2018, the Punjab Mass Transit Authority (PMA) has facilitated over 1.8 billion passengers, according to available data on the authority’s website. Daily operational costs for each bus exceed Rs61,000, with total daily expenditures projected at over Rs61 million and monthly costs approaching Rs1.85 billion.
On June 13, the PMA announced that it would revert to normal fares after a temporary free travel relief program lasting 69 days, costing the Punjab government approximately Rs4.209 billion.