LAHORE: The Punjab government has approved the expansion of its electric bus service to 91 tehsils, with 1,500 electric buses planned for deployment from January 2027 as part of a broader target to operate 5,000 electric buses across the province over the next five years.
Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif approved the tehsil-level expansion while chairing a meeting of the Transport and Mass Transit Department in Lahore. The government has set a target of operating 3,000 electric buses by June and completing the first phase of the programme by September.
The first batch of buses for the tehsil-level service is expected to arrive in Lahore in January.
The provincial government has also approved additional buses for several districts and has started local assembly of electric buses.
Under the approved plan, 169 buses will be deployed across nine tehsils of Multan, 87 across four tehsils of Sahiwal, 63 across 10 tehsils of Dera Ghazi Khan, 215 across 11 tehsils of Bahawalpur, 202 across 12 tehsils of Faisalabad and 198 across 14 tehsils of Sargodha.
Another 125 buses have been allocated to seven tehsils of Gujranwala, 122 to eight tehsils of Gujrat and 219 to 16 tehsils of Rawalpindi.
The government said 612 electric buses are currently operating in various districts, providing transport services to hundreds of thousands of passengers every day. Another 192 buses, including those allocated to Multan and other districts, are expected to become operational within days.
The chief minister said 189 new buses were ready for launch, while another 488 buses were expected to arrive from China later this month.
The expansion is aimed at increasing public transport capacity and meeting growing demand across the province. In April, the provincial government had also considered leasing additional buses, including an initial fleet of 1,000 non-air-conditioned buses, to address gaps in public transport services.
According to estimates by the Punjab Mass Transit Authority, around 900,000 passengers benefit from public transport facilities each day. This includes more than 300,000 Orange Line commuters, around 140,000 Metrobus passengers and hundreds of thousands of users of feeder and electric bus services across various districts.
Work on mass transit projects in Faisalabad and Gujranwala is also progressing rapidly, while rehabilitation and reconstruction of 25 stations of the Lahore Metrobus service is under way.
CM seeks report on Rawalpindi accident
Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz expressed deep grief over the death of a minor girl who was hit by a Green Bus in Rawalpindi and sought a report from the divisional commissioner.
She said those responsible for the incident would be brought to justice.
Punjab steps up anti-smog preparations
The chief minister also directed authorities to take effective pre-emptive measures ahead of the smog season, which is expected to begin in November. She ordered departments to control all major sources contributing to air pollution.
Meteorological experts said slight fluctuations in the air quality index in Lahore, Faisalabad, Rahim Yar Khan and other districts had been observed due to changes in the direction of strong winds blowing from India.
They said rainfall expected in Lahore next week could help improve air quality, while implementation of the standard operating procedures introduced during last year’s smog season has been tightened.
Maryam Nawaz directed the provincial administration and relevant departments to ensure the disposal of crop residue through modern machinery and prevent its burning.
She also ordered measures to curb pollution caused by the burning of plastic and the use of plastic-based products.
Story by Imran Adnan
