24 January 2004	Saturday	01 Zilhaj 1424

KARACHI, Jan 23: A private transport company on Friday launched a major operation under the Urban Transport Scheme by bringing 10 new buses, under the name of 'Karachi city buses.'

"The company has initially launched its operation on a trial basis with 10 large, non air-conditioned, buses and the number of buses will hopefully be elevated to 25 in the next two weeks," a senior transport department official said.

Following the introduction of 10 more buses into the existing fleet of 74 under the UTS, the total number of buses, plying on roads, has swelled to 84. The UTS had fixed a target of bringing 500 large buses by offering private transport companies some incentives, the officials said.

A route from Khokhrapar to Dockyard via Saudabad, Liaquat Market, Malir 15, Sharea Faisal, Lucky Star, Sindh Secretariat, M.A. Jinnah Road, Merewether Tower and Dockyard was allotted to the new buses, operated by Al-Aziz Route Transport Company, which had put its Nissan Diesel buses at a display at a ceremony held at Ghandhara Industries, Shershah, a couple of days back.

Al-Aziz was the fourth company to bring large buses under the UTS, while fifty-four such buses were planned to be brought on city roads in various phases by the end of this month, officials maintained.

The sources said that owing to delay in handing over the Mehran depot, by the Sindh government, the Transport and Communication Department officials of the city government had got permission for launching bus operation from Malir Cantonment area, from where the Worldwide Motors had begun its bus operation on trial basis on two different routes with 30 large buses.

The Green Bus Company had already been operating 28 CNG large buses, while the Allied Services had introduced 16 buses from Gulshan-i-Maymar to Tower via Abul Hasan Isphani Road, Gulshan-i-Iqbal, Civic Centre, and M.A. Jinnah Road. The Allied Services would increase its number of buses to 45 by the end of this month, the officials said.

Thirty-two Scania large buses - a project of Swede-Bus Pakistan - were being operated on two different routes under the Karachi Public Transport Society (KPTS).