Overview
- In early July Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif inaugurated electric bus services across six districts and formally handed nine buses to Attock as part of the provincial rollout.
- Attock’s service began with two routes that together cover 45 stops and will charge a flat fare of Rs20 while providing free travel for students, women, senior citizens and special persons.
- Officials have announced ambitious scale-up goals for the program but have reported different near-term numbers, citing plans for 1,100 to 1,500 additional buses this year and a longer-term target of about 5,000 vehicles.
- Punjab is staging the rollout with staged deliveries and local assembly, with authorities saying dozens to hundreds of buses are due to enter service this month and an assembly plant already operating in the province.
- The launches are presented as part of the PML-N provincial welfare agenda to improve safety, women’s mobility and air quality, and the program could spur local jobs and lower long-term transport costs if procurement and timelines are met.