50,000 and counting: People throng ‘comfortable’ Green Line over weekend

Karachi (HRNW) The cavernous Numaish underground station of the Karachi’s Green Line bus rapid transit system is buzzing with people Sunday, with long queues on ticket booths. Men, women and children have lined up in an orderly manner in front of the glass door, waiting for it to open.

The 18-meter-long green bus arrives and stops adjacent to the glass doors. Both, the bus doors and the glass ones on the platform, open synchronously. Passengers get on the bus which is supposed to make a four minute stop, but it fills up in less than one minute. So, the two pairs of doors shut and on it goes.

Passengers’ joy is palpable as they finally get to experience a comfortable public transport system.

“We travel outside on chingchis, coaches and vans, but this [travel in the Green Line] was the best of all. We didn’t feel [bumps due to] potholes. We didn’t feel like we were travelling in the bus.”

“I go from Ayesha Complex to Nazimabad No. 1 for college. I pay Rs40, but if I travel in a local bus, it costs me Rs60. So I am very happy,” said a female student.

Another student gleefully showed his card saying that he frequently uses the bus service.

The card costs Rs100 and you need to top it up with at least Rs100. It is suitable for smaller journeys as passengers pay less as compared to ticket which has a flat rate of Rs55.

The bus was made fully operational on January 10 and within three days, the daily passenger load increased to over 32,000 people.

Project Director Green Line Aftab Alarm says that on an average, 50,000 people commute using the Green Line buses every day.

“There is a lack of awareness on how to get a card, and as more people become aware, the number of passengers will go up,” he said.

He added that there are 10 extra buses to cope with extra rush and hoped that the number of passengers will soon jump to 130,000 to 135,000 per day.

However, there were many people who still preferred the traditional public transport vehicles and not the Green Line buses. They reasoned that the bus only goes till Numaish and from there passengers need to take another bus, something they find an unnecessary hassle.

For some people, Rs55 for the ticket is too much. They compare it with the fare of chingchi which costs the same and plies on more routes than the bus.