KARACHI, Sept 24: The Amsterdam-based corporate establishment, Jacob & Associates BV Netherlands, which has offered its services in undertaking the Karachi Community Transport Project, is receiving threatening calls allegedly from elements sponsored and patronized by certain officials in the city government and transport mafia.

“The project would offer a fare structure 62 per cent on the lower side than the existing one, besides concessional fares for students, senior citizens and workers,” said Z. A. Malik, the organization’s Executive Director, South Asia region.

He was briefing newsmen about various projects, planned by the organization in Pakistan, here on Wednesday.

He explained the organization’s performance in South Asia since 1997 and said that its initial assignments included study and research on social and economic problems, political instability in the country and influence of criminal elements on the society, as well as recommending a sustainable solution to the problems. The recommendations and reports prepared by the firm would be presented to certain international organizations for the purpose of policy designing and upcoming programmes of financial aid to Pakistan.

About the organization community transport project, Mr Malik said that after four years of pilot operation, it would be handed over to the Karachi Community, through the city government, free of cost with its the assets and entire fleet of buses — expectedly 300 new and reconditioned non-A/C buses.

Mr Malik spoke of difficulties and hardship being experienced by the people of Karachi in travelling within the city and shuttling between cities. He remarked that commuters of the port city had virtually been held hostage by the transport mafia since long. The citizens’ problems, he said, were there due to neglect on the part of the government which had turned a blind eye towards the whole situation.

He appreciated City Nazim Naimatullah Khan for the assistance and cooperation extended to the organization for the cause of ameliorating transport services in the metropolis. He also lauded the cooperation by Mr Shamsuddin Abro and Raja Mohammad Abbas of Karachi Public Transport System (KPTS) in this regard. However, he was critical of other relevant departments which declined to oblige the organization.

Announcing measures to replace out-dated cabs and rickshaws with CNG-fitted airconditioned cars, with markup-free funding, he said this project was expected to go a long way towards alleviating poverty in the city. The main objective is to offer an affordable and efficient radio-taxi service within the structure of Rs8 per km, Rs20 as call charge and Rs50 per hour as waiting charge, he said.

Alleviating apprehensions of local transporters, he held out the assurance that the organization was not going to indulge in any competition with the local transport services as it did not intend to introduce its own transport service.

“On the contrary, we have been focusing on reducing miseries of commuters belonging to lower classes without eying financial gains,” he clarified.

Replying to a questioner, Mr Malik said under the project, buses would be operated on four routes and later, more routes would be covered.—PPI