KARACHI, Oct 7: The City District Government Karachi has intensified its efforts to take over Karachi Public Transport Society (KPTS).

Sources in the CDGK said that a summary had been moved to the chief secretary seeking devolution of the KPTS to the city government.

The CDGK has claimed that according to SLGO 2001, urban transport is the matter of city government, so it should be handed to the city authorities.

CDGK’s transport and communications department has also presented a proposal to the Regional Transport Authority, seeking devolution of the KPTS from the Sindh government to the city government.

Sources said efforts to take over KPTS have been continuing since the inception of the city government in 2001, but there are some hurdles in its devolution.

The main purpose of this move is to streamline the operation of private bus companies operating under the KPTS and Urban Transport Scheme (UTS) umbrella, sources said.

Authorities in KPTS, however, fear that if the KPTS was devolved to the city government, it would meet the same fate as that of the Urban Transport Scheme (UTS).

The KPTS was established after Karachi Transport Corporation ended its operations in 1997. It is governed by a 27-member committee, having executive, honorary and transport members from different walks of life.

More than 300 buses are operating under the umbrella of KPTS, including Scania Buses, Metro AC and non-AC buses and Radio Cab Taxi Service in city.

An official of the KPTS opposed the CDGK move and said if such moves succeeded, it would impede the operation of private buses.

He said that the failure of city government was obvious from the fact that the UTS failed to attract large-sized bus operators in the city in first phase and they had to launch the scheme once again.

Twenty-eight buses are plying under UTS while the KPTS is operating 300 buses.

Interestingly two departments of the city government — T&C and Karachi Mass Transit Cell (KMTC) — are busy in a tug-of-war over KPTS, and are campaigning in this regard.—PPI