The expenses of the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) system in Peshawar are significantly higher than its revenue, leading to a financial crisis, according to documents from the Transport Department.
The documents revealed that the daily expenditure of the BRT system stands at Rs14.5 million while the daily revenue is over Rs5.4 million, resulting in a daily loss of Rs9 million. Annually, the BRT’s expenditure has risen to Rs5.32 billion while the annual deficit has reached Rs3.38 billion.
The Transport Department argued that subsidies are provided for metro systems worldwide and the purpose of the BRT is to provide excellent transportation facilities to the public without burdening them.
The BRT project, which was touted as a solution to Peshawar’s traffic woes, is now struggling to sustain itself financially, posing a challenge for the authorities to find a way to make the system viable and beneficial for the commuters.