ISLAMABAD, Sept 25: The deputy commissioner, Tariq Mehmood Pirzada, on Thursday formed a committee to finalize the plan of introducing CNG-fitted buses in the capital.

The committee will comprise secretary, Islamabad Traffic Authority (ITA), Rana Akbar Hayat, SP Traffic Zubair Hashmi and the CDA director roads. The body was formed after a briefing given by a private firm which intended to launch a new bus service with 25 CNG-fitted vehicles.

A source in the Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT) administration told Dawn that two new services were being launched under which 50 CNG-fitted buses would be plied on different routes within the territorial limits of Islamabad.

The source said owners of some firms wanted to launch franchise bus services so that no other transport vehicle could be plied on the routes to be allotted for the new services.

However, the transporters who have been plying their vehicles in the capital have resisted the plan of any franchise service in Islamabad.

When contacted, an ITA official told Dawn that in order to meet the demands of both old transporters and newcomers, the ITA was considering to allow both groups of transporters to ply their vehicles on all routes.

“In this connection we will create a competition between the present transporters and newcomers, and this would result in good bus services standards in Islamabad,” the official added.

He said the new services would be environment-friendly as their vehicles were CNG-fitted and thus there would be no question of smoke emission.

The official said although the new firms would have a competitive edge in transport business due to CNG-fitted vehicles, their services would serve as a challenge to other transporters to improve their services.

The bus service for the capital is being launched for the first time to cater transportation needs and provide better service to the people, he said.

He said the owners of old and outdated transport vehicles had been given a deadline of September 30 to replace their vehicles. He said the transporters had assured the ITA that they would also include new vehicles in their fleet.

A Chinese private company has offered to ply CNG-fitted airconditioned metro buses in the federal capital, adds PPI.

In this regard, the company, EVO, briefed the district administration here on Thursday and said it was ready to introduce 25 modern buses in the first phase at fares equal to those being charged by local transporters.

The Islamabad Transport Authority (ITA) held a meeting on Thursday with Deputy Commissioner and ITA Chairman Tariq Mahmood Pirzada in the chair to discuss the proposals.

A committee was formed and asked to look into the matter and submit its recommendations.