KARACHI, Sept 26: The Urban Transport Scheme (UTS) launched by transport department of the city government has not succeeded in attracting transporters to increase the number of large buses in the city. Rather the number of buses operating under this scheme has decreased from 300 to 250 over the past few months.
The UTS had been launched with the aim of solving the city’s transport problems and providing commuters a safe, comfortable and fast transport facility. However, soon after the launching, the Green Bus Company wound up its operation in Karachi as its management failed to resolve the firm’s internal problems. All its buses procured with a bank loan were seized when the firm failed to follow the schedule of payment.
Trans Livia is the other company which has been operating 25 large buses on two important routes in the city. The beneficiaries of its service are perturbed over its abrupt suspension by the firm.
DDO Transport and Communication Department (TCD) Mohammad Athar has revealed that Trans Livia had failed to pay back instalments of the loan it had acquired for the buses and ultimately all its vehicles had been seized by the concerned bank. He said that the number of large buses operating under the UTS had once risen up to 300 but gradually decreased to 250.
The EDO, TCD, Malik Zaheerul Islam, said that the government was making efforts to improve the UTS service and add further attraction to the scheme for transport operators. Transport firms, he said, were being encouraged to bring in the environment-friendly CNG buses.
Regarding the Green Bus Company’s vehicles, he expressed the view that the technology used in its buses was based on conversion of diesel to CNG which proved not viable. He pointed out that the CNG mechanism proved successful in petrol engines.
Commenting on the seizure of leased buses by banks, the transport officials said that the transport firms had resorted to over-invoicing in their bid to get huge loans sanctioned against procurement of the buses. Obviously, the amount of instalments became heavy and went beyond their affordability.
According to the officials, the government had first offered 70-30 equity ratio of the loans and later changed it to 90-10. Accordingly, the transport firms deposited 10 per cent as investment and accepted the liability of 90 per cent as loan. However, they failed to pay up the loan and got their buses seized.
Whatever the shortcomings, the tall claims made by transport officials at the time of launching the UTS that it would bring about a favourable change in the city’s transport culture proved otherwise. Even when the scheme had confronted with no adverse situation, commuters continued to complain of violations by drivers of UTS buses like they would not stop at the designated stops; keep the doors open while the buses were moving; lift passengers beyond the vehicles’ capacity; etc.
