Road Transport in Pakistan: A Comprehensive Overview

Pakistan is a country with a rich cultural heritage and diverse terrain. Road transport is an important part of the Pakistani economy and plays a vital role in the daily lives of its citizens. In this blog post, we will provide a comprehensive overview of road transport in Pakistan. We will discuss passenger transportation, freight transport, and the main roads in Pakistan. We hope you find this information helpful!

Road Transport in Pakistan:

Road transport is the most common mode of transportation in Pakistan. It has been a major source of income for the country and its people since independence. The government provides various incentives to encourage the use of this form of transport, including tax breaks and exemptions.

Pakistan has a total road network of 260,048 kilometers. This includes 127,548 kilometers of paved roads and 132,500 kilometers of unpaved roads. The main road network in Pakistan is managed by the National Highway Authority (NHA).

Passenger Transportation in Pakistan:

Passenger transportation is an important part of Road transport in Pakistan. There are several different modes of passenger transportation available in the country, including buses, cars, and rickshaws.

Bus Services:

Buses in Pakistan are one of the best way of public transport in pakistan for many cities with good passenger carrying capacity. Companies are modernizing their fleet with latest buses, imported from Different bus manufacturers in world like China, Korea and Japan spcially in past ten years. Some of the buses are being assembled here in Pakistan where the main parts are imported from abroad.Most of these bus operators uses Daewoo, Yutong,KingLong, Volvo and Higer luxury buses.

There are several bus firms in Pakistan, unfortunately all of them are private and offer acceptable bus services around the country. Daewoo Express, Faisal Movers, Bilal Travels, Road Master, Waraich Express, Niazi Express, Skyways are some of the major bus operators.  You can also check the list of the top 10 bus companies here.

For more details on bus services navigate to https://pkbuses.com

How to Buy Bus Tickets in Pakistan?

How to Travel from Karachi to Swat

 Cars & Cabs:

Taxis are an excellent option for students who live in areas where there is no public transportation or who need to travel long distances by foot or bicycle, such as from a university campus to the city center. Always double-check that your driver has a valid ID card and that the meter is running (if not, ask to see it). Ridesharing services such as Uber, Careem, and In Driver are a less expensive alternative to taxis. You can use an app on your phone to enter your location and destination, and a driver will pick you up and deliver you to your destination for a far cheaper price than a taxi would charge.

Freight Transport in Pakistan:

Freight transport is also an important part of Road transport in Pakistan. The main mode of freight transportation is trucks and lorries. Several trucking companies operate nationwide, including Maersk Line Limited (MLL), United Road Services (URS), and Nippon Express Co., Ltd. A large portion of freight traffic in Pakistan travels through the Port of Karachi, which is one of the busiest ports in the Arabian Sea.

Main Motorways and Highways in Pakistan:

The most important motorway in Pakistan is the Islamabad-Lahore Motorway, known as the M-2. This motorway connects the two largest cities in Pakistan: Lahore and Islamabad. Other important highways include the Lahore-Abdul Hakim Motorway (M-4), Peshawar-Islamabad (M-1), Multan – Sukkur (M-5)

A detailed list of Motorways in Pakistan is given below:

Name	Route	Length (KM)
M-1	Peshawar-Islamabad	155
M-2	Lahore-Islamabad	367
M-3	Lahore-Abdul Hakeem	230
M-4	Pindi Bhattian-Multan	309
M-5	Multan-Sukkur	392
M-6	Sukkur Hyderabad	296
M-7	Dadu-Hub	270
M-8	Ratodero-Gwadar	892
M-9	Hyderabad-Karachi	136
M-10	Karachi Northern Bypass	57
M-11	Kharian-Lahore	150
M-14	Hakla-D.I. Khan	280
Hazara Motorway	Hasan Abdal-Thakot	180

 

NHA is responsible for 39 national highways/motorways/expressway/strategic routes, which have a total length of 12,131 kilometers. It is 4.6% of the overall road network and accounts for 78 percent of commercial traffic in Pakistan, yet it carries just 65% of the country’s total cargo volume.

Read More on the official website of NHA: https://nha.gov.pk/

Other Means of Transportation in Pakistan:

Rail Transport: Pakistan Railways runs regular trains between different parts of the country. Many tourist destinations are connected with the railway network.

Air Transport: air transport in pakistan is very vast and have nationawide and international operations. Islamabad International Airport serves as an international gateway to the country. Other airports include Karachi, Lahore, and Quetta.

Sea Transport: Several ports in Pakistan handle both import and export cargo. The most important port is the Port of Karachi.

Key Takeway:

Road transport is the backbone of Pakistan’s economy as it carries more than 90% of the country’s cargo. The sector employs around 12 million people and contributes 20% to the GDP. Road transport infrastructure is not up to the mark, which has resulted in excessive traffic congestion in all major cities. There is a dire need for improvement in this sector to meet the needs of a growing economy.