The integration allows travel from Orangi Town to Nagan Chowrangi via the BRT Green Line
Orange Line buses are parked at the main terminal of the facility in Karachi. PHOTO: Express
The Edhi Orange Line will now be integrated with the BRT Green Line at the Orange Line bus depot, Sindh Chief Minister Sharjeel Memon announced on Tuesday.
Addressing the integration ceremony, Memon said the merger had expanded the Orange Line from four to 10 stops, allowing passengers to travel from Orangi to Nagan Chowrangi. The integration will allow Orange Line buses to operate along the Green Line BRT route, providing easier access to residents of Orangi Town.
Launched in 2016 under the supervision of the Sindh Mass Transit Authority (SMTA), the Orange Line Bus Rapid Transit project was a four-kilometre-long bus route connecting the Orangi Town Office to the Chowrangi Registration Board Office. Although the project was expected to be completed by 2017, the project was put on hold for the next six years, until 2022, when it was finally completed.
Meanwhile, the cost of the project was revised twice, with its final budget reaching Rs5.5b, after including the cost of purchasing, maintaining and operating 20 buses as well as extending the project to Nagan Chowrangi. Due to the SMTA’s inability to recruit qualified personnel to operate a bus rapid transit system, all logistics of the Orange Line were handed over to the Sindh Infrastructure Development Company Limited (SIDCL) of the federal government for three years.
The BRT Green Line extension route extends 1.8 km from Numaish Chowrangi to Jama Cloth Market. Once completed, citizens will be able to travel from Surjani Town to Jama Cloth. The leaders of PML-N, PPP and MQM-Pakistan pledged to work together for the development of Karachi. Karachi Mayor Murtaza Wahab said Pakistan Infrastructure Development Co Ltd (PIDCL) has promised to complete and open the Green Line extension to the public by October 31, 2026.
Read: Orange Line does not meet expectations
The Chief Minister said that since the BRT Green Line came under the management of the Sindh government, the daily ridership has increased from 55,000 to 75,000, with a target of reaching 100,000 passengers per day.
He also highlighted that for the first time in the history of the region, a separate BRT service for women was introduced and new electric buses arrived in Karachi.
Memon further announced that bus routes in Hyderabad would be expanded and popular bus services would be launched in Khairpur, Shikarpur and Tando Allahyar districts. Work has also started on the BRT Red Line right-of-way in Karachi.
He announced that from Wednesday, with the new year, a double-decker bus service would start operating for residents of Karachi. The double-decker buses will run on an experimental basis from Malir to Shahrah-e-Faisal and are expected to reduce traffic jams and overcrowding. Additional double-decker buses will be introduced for the city.
Learn more: The extension of the BRT green line resumes
Memon asked the Prime Minister to respect his earlier announcement to provide 150 buses and stressed that no one will be allowed to occupy government land. He added that Sindh Chief Minister and Pakistan Peoples Party leaders have asked officials to improve their performance.
He also commented on a video circulating on social media showing a person being beaten, urging society not to adopt an intolerant attitude. He explained that when arguments are weak, people resort to violence and that personal conflicts are sometimes misrepresented as tribal conflicts.
