Karachi:
The Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC) has become the first municipal organization in Pakistan to launch a fleet of electric bikes, marking a step towards ecological urban governance.
The initiative was inaugurated on Friday by Mayor Murtaza Wahab at the KMC headquarters, where 20 bikes were given to the runners sent in the first phase. Each bike, costing RS215,000, comes with a three -year warranty. A charging station has already been established at KMC headquarters, with more to install throughout the city.
Wahab said the project would not only reduce KMC expenses, but would also help fight climate change and carbon emissions. “As a responsible city government, we have decided not to buy petrol bikes in the future. Pink bikes will soon also be provided to women officers,” he said.
The mayor recalled that KMC had previously moved the head office, parks and several main roads to solar energy, and similar measures were taken for hospitals and pumping stations. He also announced that Sharae Faisal, Shahrah-E-Iran and Shahrah-E-Ghalib are converted into solar energy, the project scheduled by September 30.
The other green initiatives include a solar park in Kidney Hill, the conversion of malir pumping stations into solar energy and a plan to move five of the 14 KMC hospitals in renewable energy.
Wahab has urged the federal government to introduce a payment system for low -income groups so that citizens can also switch to electric vehicles.
