Punjab EPA Tells Lahore Schools to Arrange Carpooling to Cut Smog

Punjab's Environment Protection Agency (EPA) has told schools in Lahore to set up carpooling for students, parents and staff to cut smog. The direction came on 6 October 2026. Schools must help families on the same routes share cars, with everyone's consent and at no extra cost to parents. No penalty or start date has been announced.

The reason is the school run. Cars queue outside school gates every morning with engines running, and the EPA says that morning traffic, and the slow crawl around school gates, adds a large share of the fine dust that turns into smog.

Lahore's air was already poor the same day. The city's Air Quality Index (AQI), a 0 to 500 score where anything above 150 is unhealthy for everyone, was reported at 193 at 9 am and 197 by evening on 6 October.

The EPA told Lahore schools to arrange carpooling on 6 October

Punjab's Director General Environment directed school administrations in Lahore to arrange shared travel on 6 October 2026. Schools are to group students, parents and staff who live in the same area or travel the same route, so fewer cars reach the school gate.

The direction has three conditions, as reported. Carpooling has to be with the mutual consent of the families. It must not put any extra financial burden on parents or students. And the EPA sent its recommendations to the School Education Department to roll out across schools.

We checked the Environment Protection Department's notifications page at about 01:40 PKT on 7 October. It lists smog orders from 2024 and 2025 but no carpooling order for 2026 yet. So the exact wording is not public.

Reports differ on whether carpooling is mandatory

Some reports say carpooling has been made mandatory for Lahore schools. Others say the EPA only urged schools and passed recommendations to the School Education Department. Until the written order is published, treat it as a firm direction to schools, not a rule that fines parents.

That difference matters. A direction to a school means the school must offer a carpool system. It does not mean a parent who drives alone gets a challan, a traffic fine. No report mentions any fine for parents, and none mentions a penalty for schools.

This is not the first time Lahore schools have been told to share rides. In April 2026 the District Education Authority Lahore sent a circular asking private schools to adopt carpooling during the fuel shortage, according to reports at the time. The smog version builds on that.

Smog is the reason, and school traffic is a big part of it

The EPA says traffic jams around schools in the morning, vehicle smoke and slow-moving cars raise the level of fine particles in the air. Fewer cars at the gate means less of that pollution at the exact hour children are outside.

The fine particles are called PM2.5. They are small enough to get deep into the lungs, which is why children and older people suffer first. Our smog season explainer for Punjab covers what actually protects you, from masks to indoor air.

The carpool push came as the EPA also cracked down on other sources. It sealed four industrial units and one brick kiln and fined violators in Lahore the same day, according to reports.

What parents and schools can do now

Schools are the ones directed to act, but parents will do most of the work. Here is a simple way to set up a carpool that is safe and fair:

1. Ask your school whether it has started a route list. Many will use class WhatsApp groups to match families by area.
2. Find two or three families on your route, ideally in the same block or street.
3. Agree in writing who drives on which day, the pickup time and the backup if a driver is sick.
4. Give the school a written list of every adult allowed to pick up your child. Schools should release a child only to someone on that list.
5. Make sure every child has a seat and a seatbelt. Do not squeeze six children into a small car to save a trip.
6. Share fuel costs only if all families agree. The EPA says carpooling must not add costs to parents.

A school van is also a carpool, in effect. If your school already runs vans or buses, using them is the simplest way to follow the direction.

Schools may still close if the air gets worse

Carpooling is an early step. The EPA changed school timings in November 2025 and closed schools across Punjab in November 2024, both listed on its own orders page. The same could happen again this autumn if the air keeps getting worse.

You can check Lahore's air quality live on Punjab's official AQI site. If schools close, the order appears on official pages first, and we have set out where to check if Punjab schools are closed for smog.

For children with asthma, the AQI level decides what to do at home. Punjab's EPA advice for each level is in our guide to protecting children and older parents from smog.

Common questions

Is carpooling mandatory for Lahore schools?

Schools have been directed to arrange it. Reports differ on whether it is binding, and no written order has been published yet.

Will parents be fined for not carpooling?

No fine has been announced. The direction is aimed at school administrations, not at individual parents.

Does the carpool rule apply outside Lahore?

The 6 October direction names Lahore. Other Punjab cities have not been named so far.

Can a school charge parents for carpooling?

No. The direction says carpooling must not place any extra financial burden on students or parents.

When does carpooling start?

No start date has been announced. Ask your school, since it is responsible for organising it.

Who issued the carpooling direction?

Punjab's Director General Environment, who heads the Environment Protection Agency, on 6 October 2026. The recommendations were sent to the School Education Department.

How we verified this

What we checked, where we read it, and what we could not confirm.

Last checked at about 01:45 PKT on 7 October 2026. The direction, its date and its conditions come from reports of the EPA's statement of 6 October 2026, which differ on whether carpooling is mandatory. We checked the Environment Protection Department's notifications page and homepage on epd.punjab.gov.pk and found no 2026 carpooling order posted. The AQI figures are as reported for 6 October, and the April 2026 circular is as reported at the time. We will update this when the written order or a School Education Department notification is published.