PESHAWAR: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government on Sunday decided to give role to Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) to promote tourism as well, wherein the task is being assigned to the KP Culture and Tourism Authority (KPCTA) in this regard.
Similarly BRT service is being seriously considered to be expanded to the divisional headquarters and major cities of the province, including Abbottabad and Dera Ismail Khan.
This modern urban transport system will have certain new features too.
The huge resources thus required for this purpose will be arranged through the sponsors so that there is no burden on the provincial exchequer or the public and no extra taxes has to be levied.
This was revealed by Zahid Chanzeb, the Advisor to the Chief Minister Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on Tourism, Culture and Archeology, while meeting Fahad Cheema, Public Relations Manager of BRT Daewoo who called on him in Peshawar.
Zahid Chanzeb said that BRT is the flagship project of the previous Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI) led Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government which has received great popularity in very short span of time and apart from public convenience, it has become a stable and profitable institution.
This modern transport system, he said, has not only been liked by the local population but also won awards at the global level due to its excellent quality at a time when our staunch opponent regime was imposed here under the garb of caretaker government.
“These so-called caretakers tried their hardest to suppress the entire PTI leadership as well as withheld BRT’s own revenue funds to thwart this excellent public transport service, but none of their nefarious intentions succeeded except earning the immense public hatred”, he maintained.
The Adviser Tourism said that these caretakers probably had a misconception that they would succeed in squandering its assets by failing BRT like that of the Government Transport Service (GTS) in the past.
Zahid Chanzeb felicitated the entire BRT management for winning the global award for the second time in a row and said that the present PTI government under the dynamic leadership of Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur will continue to encourage BRT at all the appropriate levels.
He said in the first phase a charming advertising campaign of KPCTA will be launched through BRT buses and stations consisting documentaries and films on the culture and heritage of this historical city, as well as the tourist and serene spots of the entire province that will also certainly be source of fun and interest for the passengers.
Fahad Cheema offered to run such an advertising campaign at Daewoo buses and addas across the country where millions of passengers travel daily. Adviser Tourism welcomed this offer and indicated proper arrangements in this regard.
