RAWALPINDI: The Punjab government has tasked the Rawalpindi Development Authority (RDA) to construct a bus depot in Siham for 102 electric buses, as well as bus stops across the garrison city. The project will cost Rs1.479 billion and will be completed by October 2025.

A senior official of the district administration told Dawn that the RDA will execute the project on behalf of the Punjab Transport and Masstransit Department. The funds will be provided to the RDA after clearance from the Punjab Development Working Party, he added. According to the official, PC-I of the project will be taken up in a pre-Punjab Development Working Party meeting in Lahore on Wednesday (today) and likely get a go-ahead.

Rawalpindi is an important commercial and administrative centre, but its transport infrastructure has struggled to keep pace with rapid urbanisation and population growth, he said, adding that the introduction of the Punjab Metro Bus System provided some relief by offering a dedicated rapid transit option that reduced congestion on major routes.

The system has not been able to fully address the city’s transport challenges, as it primarily serves specific corridors and does not cover the entire city, according to the official.

Pre-meeting of Development Working Party to take up PC-I of project today

“Many neighbourhoods and key routes still suffer from inadequate public transport options, leading to reliance on private vehicles and informal transit services, which exacerbates traffic congestion and pollution,” he said.

In order to overcome the aforesaid transportation and environmental challenges, the provincial government included two schemes in its annual development programme.

One of the schemes pertains to the induction of e-buses and has already been approved by the PDWP in October 2024 for Rs4.700 billion.

The PC-I for the scheme for the establishment of a bus depot along with the allied infrastructure was being prepared. The official said land identified for the depot near Chur Chowk, Peshawar Road, was already a property of the transport department and there were no challenges related to its acquisition to the extent of this scheme.

“Nespak has prepared a layout of the depot, which includes an administration building, driver’s resting area, maintenance store...pump room (firefighting), pump room (water supply), guard rooms, watch tower, two washing bays, and two transformers (e-charging) as well as e-charging points.”

He said that the project could integrate additional renewable energy sources to complement the solar PV installations and ensure a more robust and diversified energy mix. This would reduce dependency on a single renewable source and improve resilience during low solar radiation periods, he added.

According to the official, the bus depot will accommodate 102 buses for feeder routes for the metro bus service and its operations would be controlled by the Punjab Masstransit Authority.

Published in Dawn, January 8th, 2025