Investment Opportunities

LTC offers great opportunities for investors who would like to become part of the LTC Bus Operator Community.

LTC Plans to induct 2000 new buses in next 24 months.  LTC offers capital subsidy to potential Bus Operators for inducting new buses according to LTC approved specification. At the same time LTC will provide operational subsidy to existing and new comers, Bus Operators, based on a transparent system of operational subsidy disbursal. The opportunities are available for National and International Bus Operator Companies to become LTC Partners. LTC is now on the final stages of drafting the tendering modalities which will be widely publicized though print media and internet. The following sections briefly provide the background knowledge and the rationale for new investors.

Background

Lahore is the capital of the Province of Punjab and is the second most densely populated city in Pakistan, after Karachi.  With a population of 9 million it is among the thirty largest cities in the world.  The city has an international airport, railway station and a dry-port.

The present conditions of the bus transport system cause extreme hardship and stress for the people of Lahore in the course of their day to day lives, impacting significantly on social and economic wellbeing and the quality of life. Furthermore, the wider urban transit problems of traffic congestion, air and noise pollution cause significant economic and social costs to the city, and for its people, and a decline in health and quality of life, including the loss of opportunity in work, education and social activities. Rapid increase in population, average distance traveled by the commuters and failure of adequate maintenance of the existing public transportation has contributed extensively to the deterioration of transportation system of the city.

The shortage in Public Transport Services

There are around 700 large size buses operating in Lahore.  This fleet is not only insufficient, but the buses are old and poorly maintained.  Most of the time these buses are off road for repairs.   On the other hand, public transport is being provided by overcrowded, poorly managed and rashly driven mini-buses and vans. There is a need to replace this informal and dangerous transport service medium with properly organized, safe, efficient, and affordable bus transport service.

In Lahore only, the maximum daily estimated trips of all modes are around 18.668 million trips /day.  The current demand is almost 8 million per year which is expected to rise to more than 11 million by the year 2021. The current demand is highest for the public transport constituting 50% of the total demand.

Due to several reasons, principal among them is the non-existence of a proper mechanism for bus-financing and bus service monitoring, the number of buses has been decreasing over the years and the quality of service provided is also getting poorer day by day.

Need for New Buses

The need for new buses in the city can be assessed from the fact that the existing fleet of public transport is simply inadequate both in numbers and quality to serve the existing and incremental travel demand. During peak hours, vehicles are overloaded with people hanging on the doors and lately riding on the roof top of the mini buses thus endangering their lives and causing traffic hazards.

Therefore the need for new buses is well established along the various routes notified by LTC, list can be viewed here. These new buses would be an integral part of mass transit system and if a well planned bus service is initiated and managed on modern lines, the operation can be very successful in terms of business for the transporters besides facilitating the daily commuters. An affordable and efficient bus service with a higher level of comfort and reliability may even attract some of the personal forms of transport to shift to the bus service for their daily commutation.

 

In the past, private sector initiatives for inducting new city buses were dampened due to absence of enabling environment and government support in the form of concessions / incentives to the bus operators, sponsors and financiers.   LTC intends to remedy this situation and raise comfort level of private sector to come forward and become partners with LTC.