Sindh launches smart card to pay bus fare

• AFCS to bring transparency in fare collection: Sharjeel Memon.
• Few countries have women-only bus service, says transport minister.
• Red Line project stalled during caretaker govt's tenure, he says.

The Sindh government on Saturday launched the Automated Fare Collection System (AFCS), through this system people would be able to pay their bus fare using smart card on the Peoples Bus Service.

Addressing the launching ceremony in Karachi, Sindh Minister for Transport and Mass Transit Sharjeel Inam Memon said the Sindh government’s top priority was providing maximum facilities for the people with the help of modern technology.

He apprised that the card could initially be utilised in Route 1 and 9 buses. The automated system would bring transparency in the fare collection system, he said.

Boasting about the Pink Buses, Memon said only few countries in the world had a women-only bus service.

Despite the increased prices of petrol and diesel in the past two to three years, he said, the Sindh government decided to maintain Rs50 per person fare for up to 35 to 40 kilometers’ travel.

The provincial minister said the Red Line BRT project was stalled during the caretaker government's tenure. The government was working on Orange Line and Yellow Line as well, he said.

Memon added the government would soon begin new routes for the Peoples Bus and EV bus service.