KARACHI, July 22: The residents of Malir Town are facing problems in commuting to and from their workplaces even after the introduction of UTS buses on some routes. Residents of the area told Dawn that the UTS operators were plying buses all over the city at their discretion because rules were not being properly enforced by the city government’s transport and communications department.
“They have proved no better than the coaches, particularly on the Tower-Malir route,” a resident of Malir remarked.
Investigations into the causes of the problem revealed that after the withdrawal of KTC buses, residents got no major relief as travelling time increased with the introduction of coaches in late 90s and even after the UTS buses started plying for a couple of years.
KTC’s express service to Tower used to reach its destination from Khokhrapar within 50 minutes and Saddar in 40 minutes. Nowadays, the same distance is being covered by UTS-12 buses in 90 minutes.
The conductors and drivers say they have to follow the time schedule and they are under no obligation to cover this distance in an hour as they might face the cash problem.
They said they were bound to deposit the required amount by the evening, as otherwise, they won’t get their wages.
Besides, an operator of UTS-35 buses, plying between Khokhrapar and Orangi Town, has withdrawn at least 15 buses and has started a new service on UTS-8 route, causing shortage of buses in Malir.
The commuters have expressed resentment over unannounced cut in the number of buses, and often altercations take place in buses.
In some cases, people are seen shouting at conductors after they reportedly waited for 30 to 40 minutes for a bus of the route.
The problem often aggravates on holidays as the operator reduces further buses because of lien days.
Residents of Malir regretted that the operator had been granted yet another route when he was still unable to fulfil the requirements of UTS-35 route.
They said that after the withdrawal of 15 buses, there were only 10 buses left on the route, which were insufficient to cater to the needs of sprawling townships of Malir, Korangi and Orangi.
The route also caters to the needs of commuters between Baloch Colony and Saddar as the bus enters Sharea Faisal from the Baloch Colony Expressway.
Area people demanded that the government must look into their transport requirement and make some alternate arrangement for an early induction of more buses on the route.
