PESHAWAR: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government has decided to shut down the women-only Pink Bus Service in Abbottabad and Mardan districts and donate buses to the women’s universities of the province over failure to find operators for them.

The bus service was suspended few months after its launch in April-May 2019.

Addressing a news conference at the civil secretariat here, transport and mass transit minister Shah Mohammad Khan Wazir said the department couldn’t find an operator to run 14 women-only buses in both districts and therefore, the KP Urban Mobility Authority (KPUMA) board had decided about its closure.

The buses costing around Rs100 million were handed over to the KP government in May 2018 by the United Nation Office for Project Services (UNOPS). The Japanese government had donated them to the UN agency.

Govt to give away pink buses to women varsities over failure to find operators

The insistence of the then chief minister, Pervez Khattak, on running those buses on Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) track caused an upheaval at the TransPeshawar leading to the sacking of the head of the government-owned company and a raft of resignations from its senior executives.

Mr Wazir said initially, the buses were also meant to be operated in Peshawar but the launch of the BRT project caused the service’s shifting to other two districts.

He said the government recently floated tenders to find operators for buses thrice but not a single transporter turned up for the bidding due to the pandemic-induced transport sector closure.

The minister said as the transport companies didn’t show interest in the service, the KPUMA board decided a few days ago to terminate the women-only bus service in both districts and instead handed over 14 vehicles to the women’s universities in the province.

He said a lack of interest from transporters stemmed from the fact that under the donor’s conditions, the buses were only to be operated as women-only service, which was less lucrative for transport companies.

Mr Wazir added that in that backdrop, the KPUMA board decided that if transporters were not interested in running those buses, they (buses) would be gifted to women’s universities.

He said the government would get the approval of the donor agency before giving away buses to the women’s universities.

The bus service was launched in both districts in early 2019.

In Abbottabad, seven buses were assigned an 18 kilometers long route from Mansehra Bus Stop to Frontier Medical College, with each bus stop powered by solar panels ensuring uninterrupted lighting after sunset.

Besides, 16 bus stops were put up in Mardan along the bus service route.

Mr Wazir said 33 more buses were scheduled to join the BRT fleet of 128 buses.

He said the BRT service was a huge achievement of the PTI government.

The minister said the mega project was helping people get an access to a modern commuting service.

He said the transport department’s revenue had increased from Rs300 million in 2014-15 to Rs700 last year despite the Covid-19 pandemic.

Mr Wazir said the revenue collection of his department was on the rise though the transport sector was badly hit by the lockdown imposed during the pandemic.

Regarding the growing number of rickshaws in Peshawar, he said the government was committed to resolving traffic issues of the capital city.

The minister said the government faced a dilemma as if traffic laws were enforced strctly, then many rickshaw drivers would lost employment and if that didn’t happen, then the city’s traffic problems would increase.

Published in Dawn, February 10th, 2021