The Sindh government has announced its decision to provide a free public transport service, Pink Bus, for women for two months in a move to encourage the use of bus service.

“The Pink Bus service was praised worldwide,” Sindh Transport Minister Sharjeel Inam Memon said in Karachi at a ceremony to inaugurate two new routes of the women-only service in the city.

The two new routes are R3 which will run from Power House to Korangi and R9 which will run from Gulshan Hadeed to Tower. At least five buses have been allocated for each route.

Earlier, the dedicated bus service, comprising 18 vehicles ran on three main routes — Model Colony to Merewether Tower, North Karachi to Korangi and Numaish Chowrangi to Sea View Beach.

The pink bus fleet is part of the Sindh Peoples Intra District Project launched in 2021. The two parties involved in this project are the Government of Sindh and the National Radio and Telecommunication Corporation.

The latter is the contractor responsible for the maintenance and operations of the buses and their depots while the government provides the subsidies and logistical support to run the project.

Memon added that India also gave coverage to the bus service in Sindh. “For the first time, we started bus service for women,” he said and added that women can travel by paying a nominal fare.

He claimed that such transport service was not available anywhere in the world.

The Sindh transport minister cited that women would be given the opportunity to drive the bus.

While praising the pink bus service, MPA Faryal Talpur said that the conventional bus service has a small space for women.

She was of the view that the economy would improve if men and women worked together. Talpur added that the Sindh government was determined to provide good transport service to the people.

“I want that there should be no fare for women,” she said.