Government of Pakistan introduced rapid bus transit line for the people of Karachi in 2016 and it took almost 5 years to complete the project, opened for public in January 2022. It is a good initiative to cover 26 km from North to the center of the city avoiding the traffic jams and travelling hassle free. It has 22 stations and first of its kind with time management in Karachi.
I didn’t get time to have the experience of this bus as this doesn’t fall in my route. Finally on this Independence Day, last Sunday, we planned to travel from one end to another on this bus. Me and my nephew @saif-ul-wahab took a rickshaw to the nearest station which is the end station of this bus “NUMAISH”.
It was all crowded as people were enjoying the day and dancing on the roads. Flags were waving everywhere. Numaish station is nearby Jinnah Mausoleum which is the hottest spot of the day. @saif-ul-wahab was first time experiencing the celebration of Independence Day in Pakistan. He was very much amused and smiling to see the happiness all around.
After spending few minutes on the road, we went to buy the tickets. I was not expecting this much of crowd but it was all good. We didn’t get a seat in the bus and were ok to stand by the middle space.
Our bus took off. I noticed that bus was very comfortable and in very good condition. A/C was working properly. Till now, they have managed to maintain the bus in very good condition.
The weather was excellent, cloudy and showers. It was nice to see the city from the bus and I was busy in taking pictures.
There is a separate busway and path in between the actual roads. Bus moves very smoothly with the normal speed. We get the end seats after few stations.
In about 30-40 minutes, we reached the starting point i.e. “ABDULLAH CHOWK” station.
I Googled some restaurants nearby to have lunch. Unfortunately, we went other way for “YUMMIEST FOOD” as mentioned on the Google but found nothing, showing about 800 meters from the station. This was the worst part of our trip. It was muddy there and I mistakenly stepped on it. OMG! it was so messed up. My sandal and foot got all dirty. I was unable to stand there anymore so rushed to take a rickshaw. I am not familiar with that place and didn’t know about restaurants there so asked rickshaw driver to take us to Nagan Chowrangi where there are many restaurants so we can have lunch.
It started raining so I was little worried. I called my friend who is living nearby. Luckily, he was at home and asked to stop by. We went to him instead of Nagan Chowrangi.
He was happy to meet my nephew and took us to Broadway Pizza for the lunch on his bike.
The place was well decorated according to the occasion. We ordered the Independence Deal, had perfect lunch. Pizza was awesome, so yummy and well prepared.
After lunch, he dropped us to the nearest station of Greenline bus. We bought the tickets. When reached at the terminal, I was shocked to see the waiting line for the bus. It was so long that it may take few hours to board on the bus. Immediately decided to change the plan and left the terminal in no time.
We took a rickshaw to get back home. It was raining all the way however, our rickshaw driver was professional and a nice guy who safely dropped us back home.
Overall, it was a nice trip and a good experience in Greenline bus. We enjoyed the day and had lots of fun together.
All pictures are taken by me through my cell phone Itel A25 Pro.