KARACHI: A total of 30 buses imported by the Sindh government from China are gathering dust at the Karachi port for almost three months, waiting for a nod from the caretaker administration to bring them on city roads to become part of the fleet of the Peoples Bus Service.

The buses were unloaded at the port in September and despite the passage of almost three months still lying there to come out of the facility, which “doesn’t require very lengthy formality”.

The issue first came under the spotlight when senior Pakistan Peoples Party leader and former Sindh transport minister Sharjeel Inam Memon took to social media and sought action from the caretaker government in this connection.

“I will request caretaker government to take action and special attention for these buses,” he said in his post on the social media platform X, formerly Twitter.

Caretaker minister promises vehicles will soon be inducted into Peoples Bus Service fleet

“The PPP Sindh government procured these buses and these are parked at Karachi port since months. These buses must be on the roads so deserving people can use the best buses with cheapest fares,” he posted.

Even almost a fortnight after his social media post, things have not changed yet.

However, the caretaker government claims the delay is only due to some formalities which needed to be fulfilled to bring these buses on road and that could happen anytime soon.

“The secretary of transport has personally told me that all formalities [to bring buses on roads] are almost done,” said caretaker Information Minister Ahmed Shah.

“Even the required funds for that purpose have been transferred to NRTC [National Radio & Telecommunication Corp­oration that operates the Peoples Bus Service]. There was no bad intention involved. Those were only formalities which took time to get completed,” he added.

Launched in June 2022 with limited number of routes and buses, the Peoples Bus Service has now expanded its operations across the city with more than 200 buses playing over almost a dozen routes.

The service further grew earlier this year and started operations in Hyderabad, Sukkur and Larkana.

Sources at the NRTC said that the new fleet of buses “gathering dust” at the port were supposed to run on Karachi routes with a few of them were expected to be sent to other Sindh cities. However, situation still remains ‘uncertain’ about the fate of the buses standing at the port.

“For almost a month, almost every week, the NRTC is assured about the release of the buses from the port but nothing has turned out to be true as yet,” said a source.

A senior official privy to the import procedures and buses’ operation wondered as to what kind of formality had taken almost three months and still the passenger carriers were not serving the purpose for which they were imported after spending huge public money.

“We built a big fleet by importing one cargo of buses after another. Unloading of the buses and then their release never took so much time. I am surprised what really has happened this time that it’s taking so much time and depriving people of better transport services,” he added.

Published in Dawn, December 18th, 2023