Commuters are facing severe problems as two out of three routes of the electric bus service in Karachi have been shut down temporarily, reported a national daily.
However, the Managing Director of Mass Transit Authority (SMTA) Kamal Hakeem claims that only one route has been closed due to charging issues.He claimed that the buses on routes No. 1 and 2 are operating normally as the bus service on route 3 remains affected.
Hakeem stated the electric buses were not being charged enough.Relevant officials have started working to resolve the issue and a charging station has been installed at the Mehran Depot. Furthermore, a request for a new connection and Power Management Technology (PMT) has been submitted.
SMTA’s Managing Director further stated that assistance from K-Electric will ensure that PMT is installed within two weeks. The bus service will resume on route 3 once the buses are fully charged at Mehran Depot.
It is pertinent to mention that the new buses are not compatible with the old charging infrastructure. SMTA is currently working on the installation of suitable chargers.
Since its launch in January earlier this year, two charging stations in Bahria Town and Malir Cantt were installed for a total of 40 buses. Although the one in Bahra has been working fine, the other one in Malir has been a constant headache for the officials.
