PESHAWAR: A prototype, 12-meter long bus for the Bus Rapid Transit service reached the provincial capital on Tuesday night.

The delayed delivery of the prototype bus recently led to the sacking of the chief executive officer at the TransPeshawar, the provincial government-owned company tasked with operating the BRT service.

The sacking drew backlash from the company’s executives, including chairman of board of director, general manager (operations) and chief financial officer, who quit together.

However, the company’s board didn’t accept the general manager and CFO’s resignations, while additional chief secretary Dr Shahzad Khan Bangash was asked to look the affairs of the office of its chairman.

“I am glad that finally after a lot of struggle, the prototype bus makes its way to Peshawar,” a TransPeshawar statement issued here quoted Mr Bangash saying.

It added that the bus was just a ‘demo version’, which had already been tested in China, but the buses needed additional testing in local conditions.

The statement said it was one of 12 meters long 155 buses to be run on the main BR corridor as well as the direct service (feeder) routes of the service.

It said a total of 220 buses would be purchased by TransPeshawar for the project and of them, 155 were 12 meters long buses and the rest 18 meters long.

The statement said the buses, which were first of its kind, were hybrid and were powered by both diesel and electricity.

It added that the buses were environment-friendly and tended to reduce carbon emission in the city.

According to a careful estimate by the ADB, the BRT project once implemented will reduce 31,000 tons of CO2 emissions when compared to the existing transport system of Peshawar.

These buses will be wifi-enabled with AVL (Automatic Vehicle Location) facility — a feature to track real time location of bus.

A significant feature of the BRT buses is the UAS — Universal Access System, which is one of key factors used to globally rate/evaluate BRT systems.

Having low floors and ramps for wheelchairs, the BRT buses will be fully equipped to handle the people with disabilities.

They will have separate compartment for women to meet the local cultural needs.

Sources said the government paid around $24,000 fare for the transportation of the bus so that Chief Minister Pervez Khattak could inaugurate it.

They however said the bus got stuck at Khunjerab border crossing due to the strike of the customs agents and reached the city’s two days after the provincial government completed its five-year term.

Published in Dawn, May 31st, 2018