LAHORE: The Punjab government will launch 1,500 electric buses in 91 tehsils of the province from January 2027.

Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz has approved dedicated electric bus depots for each tehsil, while the first batch of buses is expected to arrive in Lahore in January.

The CM said the government aimed to have 3,000 electric buses operational across Punjab by June 2027.

She was presiding over a meeting through video link on Wednesday. It was informed that Multan’s nine tehsils would receive 169 buses, Sahiwal’s four tehsils 87, and Bahawalpur’s 11 tehsils 215 buses. Dera Ghazi Khan’s 10 tehsils would get 63 buses, Faisalabad’s 12 tehsils 202, Sargodha’s 14 tehsils would have 98 buses, Gujranwala’s seven tehsils would receive 125 buses, Gujrat’s eight tehsils 122, while 219 buses would be deployed across 16 tehsils of Rawalpindi.

According to the briefing, 612 electric buses were already fully operational in various districts of the province, benefiting millions of commuters daily. Another 192 buses in Multan and other districts would become operational within days.

Additional buses would be provided to Sargodha, Sahiwal, Faisalabad, Lahore, Muzaffargarh, Rawalpindi, Jhang, Bahawalpur, Rahim Yar Khan and Attock, while Bhakkar, Hafizabad, Khanewal, Chiniot, Layyah, Okara, Sialkot, Murree, Gujrat and Sheikhupura would also receive additional services.

More buses are planned for Mandi Bahauddin, Vehari, Kasur, Lodhran, Nankana Sahib, Narowal, Gujranwala and Multan.

The chief minister set a target for completion of the first phase of the electric bus programme by the end of September this year.

Meanwhile, the meeting said the work on mass transit systems in Faisalabad and Gujranwala was progressing rapidly. A project for the rehabilitation and reconstruction of 25 stations of the Lahore Metrobus service was also under way.

Published in Dawn, September 10th, 2026