Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif has decided to relaunch the interest-free e-bike scheme for students, allowing them to purchase electric motorcycles through easy monthly instalments.
The decision was made during a meeting of the Transport and Mass Transit Department chaired by the Chief Minister. Officials informed the meeting that Punjab has also achieved a major milestone by establishing an electric bus manufacturing industry, with an assembly plant already beginning production of electric buses in the province.
Under the revived scheme, 100,000 e-bikes will be distributed to students within one year. The Punjab government will provide a Rs70,000 subsidy on each e-bike, while male students will be required to make a Rs14,000 down payment.
For female students, Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz announced that she will personally cover the down payment and registration fee. Students will then pay only Rs2,100 per month through interest-free instalments. Government employees in Punjab will also be eligible to purchase e-bikes under the easy instalment plan.
The meeting also approved plans to operate 1,500 electric buses across 91 tehsils in the divisions of Gujranwala, Gujrat, Rawalpindi, Multan, Sahiwal, Bahawalpur, Dera Ghazi Khan, Faisalabad, and Sargodha during the first phase. The PC-I for procuring the buses has been approved, while 189 new electric buses are ready for soft launch in various districts.
Maryam Nawaz indicated that the electric bus service would be inaugurated online and directed authorities to immediately launch operations in Kot Addu, Talagang, and Taunsa Sharif. She also ordered bus services to begin in Vehari and Lodhran and instructed officials to increase the number of electric buses in Vehari, Lodhran, and Nankana Sahib.
The chief minister further directed that every district should have at least 15 electric buses, saying Punjab is not only introducing electric buses but also building a local manufacturing industry for sustainable public transport.
