Orange Line and Green Line to be integrated in Karachi: Sharjeel

• Sharjeel says Orange Line will be integrated with Green Line BRTS. 
• Says purpose is to make Orange Line a viable bus service in Karachi. 
• Says a few passengers are availing of Orange Line bus service. 

KARACHI: Sindh Information and Transport Minister Sharjeel Inam Memon said that the government will integrate the newly launched Orange Bus Rapid Transit Service (BRTS) with the Green Line BRTS so that it becomes a financially viable mass transit service in Karachi.

The provincial minister made the remarks in response to a call to attention from an opposition legislator on the financial viability of the Orange Line service, which connects Orangi with the Matric Board Office intersection and was launched in September of this year.

Speaking on his call-attention notice, Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) legislator Ali Khursheedi said the Orange Line project had been operating on an unpopular route, which was why it had failed to attract the residents of Orangi Town.

Memon said that the operational cost of the Orange Line project had been much higher in comparison to the less number of passengers using it. This could endanger the financial viability of the facility, he noted.

He told the House that the Orange Line service had been operational in Karachi. However, the new mass transit facility was not being availed of by as many passengers as the Peoples Bus Service, which had become immensely popular among commuters in Karachi, he said.

The Sindh transport minister said the Orange Line service had to be integrated with the Green Line section of the BRTS as per the original plan. He said that orders had been issued to the federally-run Sindh Infrastructure Development Company to fully integrate the Orange Line with the Green Line.

Memon added that efforts were underway to transform public transport facilities in Karachi and elsewhere in urban parts of the province. The people would soon witness revolutionary changes in this regard, he said.