Mansoor Ali
ABBOTTABAD: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly Speaker Mushtaq Ghani inaugurated the Pink Bus Service for female commuters in Abbottabad on Wednesday.
This service has been started with the financial help of Government of Japan while the technical assistance is provided by the United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS). Seven buses will initially operate in the city.
Speaking at the inaugural ceremony, Ghani thanked the Japan government and said the project was the first its kind in Pakistan, which would ensure provision of cheap, reliable, accessible and harassment-free transport service to women.
The UNOPS director on the occasion said, “Public transport is the cheapest and most accessible form of travelling, but still women are not willing to use it because the cases of harassment are usually reported in the public transport.”
He said harassment not only cut women productivity but also curbed their mobility and access to public spaces.
Beside safe environment for travelling, the buses have also been equipped with CCTV cameras along with the online ticketing and female bus hostesses.
Many women and civil society activists have termed this project as an important step towards the women empowerment.
Earlier, a similar project launched in Mardan has been greatly admired by the locals.