Punjab announces e-bikes for every student

Lahore: The Punjab government increased the number of bikes announced for students from 20,000 to 27,200, while the Transport Department has announced to provide bikes to all female students who apply.

According to a report, a spokesperson for the Transport Department said that orphan students are being given free bikes, while the Bank of Punjab (BOP) has approved providing loans for bikes to 20,000 male and female students.

The report stated that the distribution of more than 5,000 petrol-powered and 2,000 electric bikes has been completed.

The Transport Department spokesperson said that work is underway to provide another 6,500 electric bikes, and two years of insurance and service have been provided on all the bikes.

He stated that there are more than 15,000 students on the waiting list who will be provided with bikes.

It is pertinent to note that in March, the Punjab cabinet approved a project to provide 20,000 electric bikes to students.

The Chief Minister said that electric bikes are necessary to reduce environmental pollution. But due to battery theft and low mileage, they are not suitable at present. Therefore, it has been decided to provide petrol bikes along with electric bikes.

Maryam Nawaz added that to reduce the burden on students, the down payment will be reduced to Rs25,000 and the monthly installment will also be less than Rs5,000.

A separate scheme will be introduced to provide bikes to students who achieve outstanding results in exams, she further said.