Sindh govt introduces smart card for bus fares in Karachi

Karachi: To further facilitate the commuters travelling within the city, the Sindh government on Saturday unveiled the Automated Fare Collection System (AFCS), providing an opportunity for people to pay their bus fare using a smart card on the Peoples Bus Service.

“Our top priority is to provide maximum facilities to the people with the help of modern technology,” Sindh Minister for Transport and Mass Transit Sharjeel Inam Memon said while addressing the launching ceremony in Karachi.

He apprised that the card could initially be utilised for Route 1 and 9 buses, saying the automated system would bring transparency to the fare collection system.

Memon hastened to add that only a few countries in the world had a women-only bus service as he was referring to Pink buses.

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

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