COMMUTERS in Karachi deserve to be recognised for their bravery and resilience, for they have to make do with a public transport system that is truly mediaeval. Buses are rickety, overcrowded, too few in number and rashly driven, while the KCR — the city’s commuter railroad — was put to pasture in 1999. Taxis have almost disappeared from the city’s thoroughfares, while rickshaws routinely fleece commuters. In such a dismal scenario, the inauguration of the Green Line Rapid Bus Transit plan by the prime minister in the city on Friday comes as a ray of hope. The multibillion rupee federally funded project is due to be completed in a year and is designed to carry 300,000 passengers daily on a key route running through the heart of the metropolis. The prime minister used pleasant-sounding adjectives while describing the project, saying it would result in a “brighter and developed” Karachi. We hope this rhetoric and optimism is translated into reality.

Though one rapid bus route will not radically alter the city’s transport landscape, it is an important first step. What Karachi needs is an integrated public transport system that utilises bus routes and commuter railroads and that is affordable and comfortable for the commuter. For decades, successive governments have miserably failed to achieve this. The provincial government has announced its own Orange Line Bus project; we hope these schemes are complementary and don’t work at cross purposes. Moreover, the federal, provincial and city governments must listen to experts and civil society to ensure the transport solutions are in the best interest of Karachi and its people. Badly planned and executed schemes will only add to the mess and increase the congestion and chaos that has become a hallmark of the city’s traffic. Many a pipe dream has been sold to the people of Karachi in the name of a workable public transport system; we hope the current initiatives succeed in giving commuters in the metropolis respectable and safe transport options worthy of a city of its size.

Published in Dawn, February 28th, 2016