KARACHI, Dec 6: Despite the expiry of one-month notice given to pubic transporters to repaint their minibuses according to the prescribed yellow and white colour scheme, minibuses are seen plying on city roads as usual with multi-colours.

The Sindh Minister for Transport, Muhammad Adil Siddiqui, had in the third week of Oct 2005 during a meeting with transporters, taken notice of the varied coloured minibuses and coaches on city routes, and had ordered the transport department and DIG Traffic to ensure that they were all painted in their original colours.

However, when matters stayed the same, he gave a one-month notice to the owners of public transport vehicles to get their vehicles painted in the prescribed official colour scheme, ie yellow and white for minibuses, and also told them to get their vehicles fit according to criterions of the fitness certificates issued to them.

He had also asked the Sindh Transport Secretary, Secretary PTA and DIG Traffic to implement the instructions in letter and spirit, and impound all public transport vehicles violating their fitness certificates or colour scheme from Dec 1, 2005. However, the notice period has expired, but there is no visible change in either the colour scheme or fitness of minibuses.

It is becoming a general style of governance to convene high-level meetings, issue strict warnings, and then pay less attention to implementing these decisions.

The Karachiites usually sympathize with the transporter community when it makes a hue and cry against the soaring oil prices and bashes the OCAC for its ‘atrocities’; however, the atrocities meted out to the commuters by transporters are less either.

Transporters generally run public transport vehicles in Karachi completely on their own terms, sweeping all rules under the carpet.

The whole schedule of plying vehicles on the road is being run under a ‘token system’, wholly controlled by the owners of minibuses and coaches. Under this token system, they ensure that there is always a shortage of buses and minibuses as compared to the needs of commuters waiting at bus stops.

In fact, a delegation of the Japan External Trade Organization was recently told by the Director Mass Transit and EDO Transport that about 40 passengers vie for a single bus seat in Karachi.

Despite being given a free hand, for reasons best known to officials of the city government and transport department, the transporters’ community seemed less concerned to sincerely help solve the traffic problems and sufferings of commuters.

In fact, it seemed to be compounding traffic issues in the city, as recently Adviser Waseem Akhtar was briefed that transporters had set up some 200 illegal bus terminals in various parts of the city.

Citizens still recall that when coaches were introduced in Karachi, it was claimed that they would abide by a ‘seat-to-seat’ rule, and board no passenger if there were no seat vacant. But coaches can be seen each day with commuters standing inside, sitting on the roof, and even clinging to entrances.

It seems strange to know how transporters are able to violate rules more than often manage with such impunity, which shows that there are some ‘hidden’ considerations.

Citizens openly allege that the transporter mafia pays hefty bhatta to the black sheep in traffic police and the transport departments, and unless this malpractice is done away with, no order, notice or warning will be able to deter this mafia from fleecing and tormenting the innocent commuters of Karachi.—PPI