Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif has announced that the provincial government will provide 100,000 electric bikes to students, with a larger share reserved for female students. According to her, the distribution of the bikes will begin on November 5. The scheme has received more than 1.2 million registrations and over 600,000 applications, which shows the level of interest among students in the province. Because the number of applications is several times higher than the number of bikes that are available, the allocation of the 100,000 bikes will be decided from a large pool of applicants, and the reservation of a larger share for women forms part of how the government has structured the programme.
Students who do not know how to ride will receive two days of free driving training. The training is intended to allow them to travel independently for education and other daily activities, so that the bikes can be used by students who have not ridden before and are not limited to those who already have experience. The announcement ties the scheme to access to education, since a bike gives students a way to reach their colleges and universities without depending on others for transport. The chief minister presented the training as part of the scheme itself, and not as a separate facility that students would need to arrange on their own.
The chief minister also spoke about public transport, and she said that the fully electric Green Bus service of Punjab would maintain its fare of Rs. 20 despite increases in petrol and diesel prices. The service currently operates 700 buses, and the provincial government plans to expand the fleet to 3,000 buses within the next six to eight months. The buses offer free travel to women, students, senior citizens and people with disabilities. The decision to keep the fare unchanged means that passengers who pay will not face a rise in the cost of travel on these buses as fuel prices go up, since the vehicles run on electricity.
According to the announcement, the buses are equipped with air conditioning, Wi-Fi and closed circuit television (CCTV) cameras. The government plans to expand the service to all 148 tehsils across Punjab. Together with the electric bike scheme, the expansion of the Green Bus fleet shows that the provincial government is working on electric vehicles for both students and general passengers. The first set of bikes is due to reach students from November 5, while the larger fleet of 3,000 buses is planned over the next six to eight months, with service reaching every tehsil in the province.
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