CDA to advertise procurement of CNG buses

The Capital Development Authority (CDA) has finalised the feasibility report for the launching of Prime Minister’s CDA Rapid Bus Transit project and will advertise for the procurement of CNG buses within a week.
The process of procurement will be completed within 20 days after the advertisement and the project will be made functional by the end of this fiscal year, an official of CDA told APP on Monday. The Bus Transit project comprising 35 buses worth Rs 300 million is being launched on pilot basis which will provide luxurious travelling facilities to the residents of twin cities .
The Authority has taken Traffic Police, Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT), traffic engineer onboard and discussed all the matters related to the project. Chairman CDA, Imtiaz Inayat Ealhi has held a meeting with Minister for Petroleum who has agreed to ensure uninterrupted gas supply for the buses and provide two high pressure units for buses re-fueling. The special high power units will be constructed in collaboration with the Ministry of Petroleum, as the major reason of delay in execution of this project was non- availability of CNG stations for huge buses.
Earlier, it was decided that these buses will run from Faizabad to Secretariat via Best Western and Zero Point routes, but now it routes have been extended to Rawat and G-11 to facilitate commuters, the official said.
The air conditioned and environment friendly buses with nominal ticket structure are being introduced to mitigate the sufferings of commuters and promote public transport system.
The official said this new transport service is particularly focused to facilitate working class people, students and particularly women. The bus service with uniformed drivers, security guards and nominal fares will provide comfortable traveling facility to the commuters. The special bus terminals and stops will be built to alleviate transport problems, adding each bus will leave the terminal with an interval of five minutes. Thousands of passengers traveling within twin cities will use this transport system on daily basis. According to a survey, private transport was the major means of mobility between two cities whereas 1,800 minibuses comprising of Mazda, Toyota Hiace and Suzuki vans were plying on 16 routes within and between Islamabad and Rawalpindi. Over 210,000 vehicles plied on three corridors connecting both the cities carrying around 525,000 passengers daily.