Since its inception in August 2020, Peshawar’s bus rapid transit (BRT) service – a signature project of Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf’s provincial government – has entirely transformed and enriched commuting experience for thousands of people in the provincial metropolis, saving them much hassle and time in a city that has been haunted by its notorious traffic chaos for long. It should not come as a surprise that the annual performance report 2022 of TransPeshawar, which operates the BRT project, shows that about 74 million, approximately 30 percent of whom are women, used BRT system during the year. There is no second opinion that the BRT has proved more friendly means of travel for women and children. And, in terms of travel time for its users, the service is widely appreciated among the commuters. Being a 3rd generation public transport system in the provincial capital, BRT possesses all features of affordability, accessibility and connectivity. This is evident from the annual performance report which cites that the BRT system witnessed a ridership of about 74 million, which is 45% higher than the 51 million ridership figures of the year 2021. In addition to this, the BRT service has visibly improved the air quality and reduced traffic congestion along its main corridor.
With 400,000 Zu cards issued by the TransPeshawar company, more than 270,000 people, of whom about 70,000 are women, travel in BRT buses on daily basis. The tally of issued cards jumped to 1.4 million in the year. Peshawar city’s first bus rapid transit system is fully equipped with modern technology as is mentioned in the report. Besides, Zu Peshawar has been integrated with Google maps this year, allowing passengers to easily locate their nearest Zu station and giving them an option to plan their journey with Zu in a better way.
In order to commute from one spot to another in the shortest possible way, passengers can choose the public transport option on Google Maps. As a model bus rapid transit system, this year BRT system has achieved four international awards which include Gold Standard BRT System Award, an honorable mention in Sustainable Transport Award, finalist for the World Resources Institute’s Prize for Cities award and Best Smart Ticketing Program Award. Apart from Zu Bus Service, Zu Bicycle Sharing System has also gained immense popularity this year. The bicycle system witnessed more than 2400 registrations this year, witnessing a 300% increase as compared to the 591 registrations in 2021.
Zu Bicycle sharing has been used for more than 140,000 trips in 2022, which is about four times more than the 27,000 trips last year. In a very short span of time, the BRT service has proved a modern public transport system which saves money, facilitates travel and provides employment opportunities to thousands of people. With many social, economic and environmental benefits of BRT system, its ongoing expansion to the rural sides of the provincial capital would promote urban mobility and would directly benefit women, senior citizens and people with disabilities. Its wider appreciation among the masses also leads to the need for increasing the number of buses on the fleet to provide a more hassle free transport service to the people.
