Interesting Facts & Updates on Karachi’s Public Transport System

Modes of Public Transport in Karachi
Upcoming Transportation Projects

Update (June 28, 2022): 

LAUNCH OF THE PEOPLE’S BUS SERVICE: A WELCOMING NEWS FOR KARACHIITES

Foreign Minister of Pakistan Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, along with other key officials of the Sindh government, has recently inaugurated the People’s Bus Service in Karachi. The transportation service was also launched in Larkana a few days ago. 

According to the initial planning, 140 buses have been procured for the transportation project, out of which 130 will be used in Karachi. Meanwhile, the rest would be deployed in Larkana.

With a minimum fare of PKR 25, the state-of-the-art bus service is now catering to seven major routes in Karachi, which have been detailed in the table below:

Route	Length	Main Stops
Route 1 – Model Colony to Tower	29.5 km	Colony Gate, Nata Khan Bridge, Drig Road Station, PAF Base Faisal, Laal Kothi, Karsaz, Nursery, FTC, Regent Plaza, JPMC, Cant Station, Metropole, Regal Chowk, and Aram Bagh
Route 2 – North Karachi to Indus Hospital	32.9 km	Nagan Chowrangi, Shafiq Morr, Sohrab Goth, Gulshan Chowrangi, NIPA, Johar Morr, COD, Drig Road Station, Colony Gate, Shah Faisal Colony, Singer Chowrangi, and Landhi Road
Route 3 – Nagan Chowrangi to Singer Chowrangi	33 km	Anda Morr, North Nazimabad Town, KDA Chowrangi, Nazimabad Town, Liaquatabad 10 Number, Eissa Nagri, Civic Center, National Stadium, Karsaz, Nursery, FTC, Korangi Road, KPT Interchange, and Shan Chowrangi
Route 4 – North Karachi to Dockyard	30.4 km	New Karachi – University Road, Motorway M-9, Al-Asif Square, Ayesha Manzil, Federal B Area, Liaquatabad 10 Number, Lalu Khet, Guru Mandir, Society Chowrangi, Empress Market, Sindh High Court, Art Council, II Chandigarh, and Tower
Route 5 – Surjani Town to Masroor Base	28.2 km	New Karachi, Shafiq Morr, KMDC, Ziauddin Chowrangi, KDA Chowrangi, Musa Colony, Manghopir, SITE Area, and Gulbai
Route 6 – Gulshan-e-Bihar Orangi to Singer Chowrangi	29.6 km	Orangi Town, Banaras, Paposh Nagar, SITE Area, Golimar, Garden, PIB Colony, Jail Chowrangi, Bahadurabad, Baloch Colony, Mahmoodabad, Manzoor Colony, DHA Phase 1, KPT Interchange, and Shan Chowrangi
Route 7 – Mosamiyat to Baldia Town	28.9 km	Gulzar-e-Hijri, Gulshan-e-Iqbal, Federal B Area, North Nazimabad, Orangi Town, and Qaddafi Colony

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Karachi, the largest city in Pakistan, is home to roughly 22.5 million people, due to which the city is also known as “mini Pakistan”. Navigating this urban, concrete jungle, spread over an area of 3,780 sq km, is made possible by a web of narrow streets, wide roads, and expansive expressways. 

Given the rapidly increasing number of commuters in the city, the federal government in collaboration with the provincial government has initiated a mega transportation project named “Trans Karachi Breeze”, which has been divided into many different phases and is currently under development. 

Trans Karachi Breeze is being funded under the public-private partnership model. This state-of-the-art mass transportation project is based on a network of multiple Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) lines: Green Line, Orange Line, Red Line, Yellow Line and Blue Line. 

Besides, the Sindh government is also planning to introduce many other intercity and intra-city bus services to resolve transportation problems in the province. The concerned authorities are now in the phase of procuring hybrid air-conditioned buses from China to make sure that the upcoming transportation projects are modern, comfortable and sustainable. 

Now, without any further ado, let’s learn more about the age-old system of public transport in Karachi and which projects have been revived or introduced to improve the city’s overall infrastructure.

DIFFERENT MODES OF PUBLIC TRANSPORT IN KARACHI

For commuting or moving from one point to another in Karachi, you now have access to the following modes of transportation:

• Minibuses & Full-sized Buses
• Karachi Circular Railway
• Green Line Bus Service
• Taxis, Rickshaws & App-Based Ride-Sharing Services

MINIBUSES & FULL-SIZED BUSES

Minibuses account for the largest share of the network of public transport in Karachi, and their total number is estimated to be somewhere around 5,000. From Tower to Gadap Town to places in between and beyond, commuters in Karachi can travel anywhere in the city via a minibus. 

These compact-sized buses usually charge a minimum fare of PKR 25, and hence they are considered the cheapest means of transportation in Karachi. Along with minibuses, a fleet of privately owned full-sized buses is also a significant part of the age-old public transport system in Karachi. The fare of both of the types of conventionally used public buses is more or less the same.

TAXIS, RICKSHAWS & THE RELATIVELY NEW RIDE-HAILING SERVICES

Travel back five years, and you will see almost all the commercial centres in Karachi having taxis and rickshaws parked at the taxi stands in their proximity. Hiring these privately-owned vehicles was costly, but people used them since the availability of transportation options was limited.

With the introduction of app-based taxi services in Karachi, the tables have turned in recent years. These ride-hailing services are not only cheaper but also pick you up from your selected location, which provides greater convenience. Cars, rickshaws, and bikes are the three types of vehicles employed by these app-based taxi services in Karachi. 

The biggest comfort of using these ride-hailing services is that they charge you a fixed per-kilometre rate and the estimated fare of your ride is shown on the app beforehand. This way you would know how much you’d be paying for your trip without going through the hassle of bargaining or arguing with rickshaw and taxi drivers.

GREEN LINE BUS PROJECT

Inaugurated in December 2021, the Green Line BRT project is now partially operational. Currently, 11 out of 22 BRT bus stations have been opened to the public. This ultramodern transportation system has the capacity to facilitate over 300,000 passengers on a daily basis. It is one of the most long-awaited projects, the construction of which started in January 2016 and, after six years, it has been completed and launched.

Starting from Merewether Tower in the central part of the city, all the way up to Surjani Town in northern Karachi, the total length of Green Line BRT is 26 km. Modern features like pedestrian-friendly walkways and overhead bridges have been installed at every bus station for the convenience of the passengers. Elevators and escalators have also been installed to facilitate people who are aged, ill or differently abled.

The Green Line Bus Service also has separate entrances and compartments for women and children, which is to ensure a comfortable and safe traveling experience. There are state-of-the-art ticket vending machines installed in all the main bus stations or you can simply go to a ticket counter to collect your ticket.

The fare of the Green Line metro bus ride starts at PKR 15 and goes up to PKR 55. It is better to get a Green Line Metrobus card if you use the service on a regular basis as it would be a more economical option for you. You can buy this card for a one-time cost of PKR 100. Also, when using the card for the first time, the minimum recharge of PKR 100 would be required. With the help of this card, travelling via the Green Line Bus in Karachi would only cost you PKR 5 per station, in addition to the base fare of PKR 15.

KARACHI CIRCULAR RAILWAY (KCR)

The Karachi Circular Railway (KCR) began its operations in 1969. Initially, the KCR line stretched between Drigh Road and City Station. However, in the 1970s, the railway line was extended several times to add more stations to the KCR network. At the time when Karachi Circular Railway was at its peak, it had 104 trains running daily through many of the city’s residential and commercial areas.

Due to constant monetary losses and some persistent operational issues, the KCR came to a complete halt in the 1990s. After months of effort and planning, the KCR service has finally been relaunched on February 10, 2021. In the initial phase of its relaunch, Karachi Circular Railway is running on a 14-kilometre-track between Orangi and Karachi City Station.

The government is also planning to modernise the KCR project by introducing electric trains and modernise its infrastructure. According to the details shared, the upcoming KCR project is conceived to be a 43-kilometre dual-track rail mass transit system. 

There would be 33 stations built along its corridor, connecting key areas in the megacity. Although the finances of the project have been okayed by the concerned authorities, the project is still in the pipeline and the development work is yet to begin. It would take three years for this large-scale transportation project to be completed.

MAJOR UPGRADES PLANNED FOR THE SYSTEM OF PUBLIC TRANSPORT IN KARACHI

After the opening of the Green Line Bus Project, the provincial government is now working on another two lines of the Trans Karachi Breeze: the Orange Line and the Red Line. A transportation project based on hybrid buses is also in the pipeline. Let’s learn more about these upcoming projects in a detailed manner one by one.

RED LINE BRT PROJECT

Being developed as an ultramodern yet sustainable mass transportation project, Red Line Metrobus in Karachi would have a fleet of hybrid buses powered by diesel and biogas. Biomethane gas is a special type of fuel extracted from cow dung. For the successful operations and sustenance of this upcoming bus service, a large-scale biogas plant, spanning 31 acres, will be set up in Bhens Colony.

The route of the Red Line bus service starts from Malir Halt and goes all the way to Tower via Numaish Chowrangi, catering to thousands of commuters on a daily basis. If everything goes as planned, it would become the city’s first environmentally-friendly transportation project.

The Red Line BRT project is based on two corridors with a total length of 29 kilometres. As per the proposed route, this upcoming public transport in Karachi would have 24 bus stations, passing through 13 major intersections around the city. The key infrastructure features of the project include 10 overhead bridges and seven underpasses.

ORANGE LINE BRT PROJECT

The Orange Line bus service has been planned with a route that stretches only 3.9 kilometres. It is probably the shortest BRT project in Pakistan. With a fleet of around 20 vehicles, this metro bus service in Karachi is designed to cater to a daily ridership count of more than 50,000 passengers.

The Orange Line Metrobus project in Karachi has recently been renamed as Abdul Sattar Edhi Line in the honour of Abdul Sattar Edhi, one of the greatest humanitarians that have ever lived on earth. The 3.9-kilometre-long route of Abdul Sattar Edhi Line connects AO Chowk in Nazimabad to Nishan-e-Haider Chowk in Orangi Town. 

At its AO Chowk Terminal, Orange Line BRT intersects with Green Line BRT, which covers another very important route of the Trans Karachi Breeze project. Buses for the Orange Line service have already arrived in Karachi and the authorities are gearing up for its test run. If the project is launched in the next few months, Orange Line BRT would become the second-most ultramodern metro bus service launched in Karachi after Green Line.

INTERCITY AND INTRA-CITY BUS SERVICE

The government of Sindh is planning to introduce intercity and intracity bus services to solve transportation problems in the province. These new transportation projects would be based on hybrid buses imported from China to ensure fuel efficiency. The air-conditioned buses will provide comfortable and safe rides to the passengers. 

According to a recently published news article from a leading English daily, the first batch of these hybrid buses has already reached Karachi and the service is expected to be operational soon. The trial run of the newly imported Chinese diesel-electric buses has already begun in Karachi. 

They are currently being driven on the route of Shahrah-e-Faisal, starting from Model Colony, all the way to the point where the deteriorated building of the city’s historic Metropole Hotel is located. Reportedly, the provincial government is importing 240 ultramodern hybrid buses from China for the soon-to-be-launched intercity and intra-city transportation projects.