30 BRT buses arrive in Peshawar

Thirty new Peshawar BRT buses have arrived in Pakistan from China.

Some buses have already been parked in Peshawar and will hit the tracks soon, the BRT spokesperson said. The total number of buses is 158 now.

The new fleet will benefit more people and ensure that the stations are less crowded, the spokesperson added.

The Peshawar BRT, one of the flagship projects of the PTI government, was launched on August 13, 2020. The project has been completed at a cost of Rs69 billion in 36 months. A trip costs anywhere between Rs10 and Rs50, depending on where people want to travel to.

The bus service has been criticised by political opponents because of its "faulty planning" and "substandard buses". In October 2020, the service was suspended temporarily after a fourth fire was reported in a bus. Following this, the vehicles were re-inspected by the manufacturer.

An investigation report by the company revealed that the fire caused by the overloading of the buses. The report was submitted to the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government and the technical problems in the buses were then fixed.