The Sindh Mass Transit Authority has officially announced the name for Karachi’s Bus and Mass Rapid Transit system. The name for the System, which is a part of the Sindh Government’s Mass Transit Master Plan,is ‘Karachi Breeze.’ The name of the system ‘Karachi Breeze’ was approved by the Honorable Chief Minister Sindh, Syed Murad Ali Shah in May this year after a long deliberation among the stakeholders.

The concept behind the name comes from the ease in transport that the BRT will provide to general public for their daily commuting. The BRT is a high-quality bus-based mass transit system able to move large numbers of people from their starting points to their destinations, reliably, efficiently, comfortably and affordably. Its dedicated and comprehensive supplementary feeder route services will ensure BRT vehicles don’t get mixed up with the rest of the traffic, hence allowing it to move faster without any delay.

Speaking regarding the name, Mr. Muhammad Athar, Managing Director of SMTA said, “As the cool evening sea breeze of our metropolitan city offers relief from the heat, Karachi Breeze will enable commuters to ‘breeze’ past congestion and to provide comfortable and reliable transport services.”

In Karachi, most people travel in private vehicles, which include cars and motorbikes. According to research conducted on behalf of the Karachi Bus Rapid Transit Project by a Joint Venture of LOGIT, Rebel and Exponent in 2018, these private vehicles account for 84% of the total traffic mix but carry only 54% of the all people travelling. In contrast, public transport accounts for only 3% of all vehicles but transports about 34% of all travelers.

“Karachi Breeze” aims to solve these problems via the six BRT corridors which include Green Line, Red Line, Yellow Line, Aqua Line, Purple Line and Orange Line as per the Mass Transit Master Plan.

The Mass Transit Master Plan also includes high travel demand corridors which are comprised of the revival of the Karachi Circular Railway (KCR), Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) Brown Line and BRT Blue Line, which will eventually become a mass rapid transit line as well. Once complete, Karachi Breeze will provide a comprehensive and integrated network of BRT corridors to the city’s residents with the capability of transporting millions of people on a daily basis.