RAWALPINDI: The district administration has decided to launch the first phase of electric buses on 10 routes of the garrison city from next week, and Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz is likely to inaugurate the service.

A senior official of the district administration told Dawn that a total of 80 buses will operate on 10 different routes. In the first phase, 45 buses, which arrived last month, are ready to be deployed next week.

Earlier, the chief minister was scheduled to inaugurate the new transport system in the garrison city on October 15, but the ceremony was cancelled due to the Tehreek-i-Labbaik Pakistan protest in Islamabad.

“The new date is expected next week and the chief minister will inaugurate it. The administration is working to complete arrangements for launching the new bus service, and in this regard, a temporary charging station has been established at the old General Transport Service (GTS) bus stand on Adamjee Road, Saddar,” he said.

He added that by the end of December, two more charging stations will be completed at the bus stand on Peshawar Road, after which the remaining 35 buses will arrive. He said that in the third phase, 30 more buses will arrive once work on Kutchery Chowk is completed.

He said that the buses are currently parked at the GTS bus stand on Adamjee Road and at the Metro Bus Service Command and Control Centre on Haider Road. He added that staff recruitment had already been completed and routes had been finalised.

Regional Transport Authority (RTA) Secretary Asad Shirazi told Dawn that driver training had been completed and they will begin work next week.

He said that although routes had been finalised earlier, some changes were made due to construction work at Kutchery Chowk.

He said that until Kutchery Chowk is reopened, the electric buses will skip the stop and use alternative roads, and temporary changes have been made in this regard. He added that construction work on the charging station at the GTS bus stand on Peshawar Road was ongoing and is likely to be completed by the end of this year. He said that in Saddar, buses would also have access to recharging facilities, for which special arrangements had been made.

When contacted, Deputy Commissioner Dr Hassan Waqar Cheema said the garrison city will receive 80 eco-friendly buses for 10 new routes, covering a total length of 86 kilometres and connecting Rawalpindi with the airport, railway station, metro bus stations, general bus stand, Islamabad and other parts of the city.

He said the main objective of the provincial government was to reduce pollution in the garrison city while providing a modern transport system linked to the Metro Bus service.

“To park the buses, we decided to construct a depot on 28 kanals of land on Peshawar Road,” he said. The land, already owned by the Transport and Mass Transit Department, posed no acquisition challenges. Route One will run from the Railway Station to the Lahore High Court Rawalpindi Bench, while Route Two will cover Koral Chowk to Fawara Chowk.

Route Three will operate from Umar Baig Chowk to Mandi Mor and Route Four from Munawar Colony to Saddar. Route Five will connect Marrir Chowk to Motorway Mor, while Route Six will run from Faizabad to Tramri Chowk.

Published in Dawn, November 15th, 2025