KARACHI, May 4: The District Regional Transport Authority has decided that no changes in the existing routes would be allowed, nor any new route permit would be issued till carrying out a survey of private transport routes in Saddar. The authority’s meeting was held with its chairman and DCO Fazlur Rehman in the chair here on Wednesday.

The meeting was told that the proposed survey of Saddar area would be aimed at assessing the number and type of vehicles passing through the area daily.

Suggestions were floated in the meeting regarding changes in some routes coming to Saddar from Jinnah hospital, Sharea Faisal and Tower in order to improve the flow of traffic. However, the meeting decided that before taking any final decision in this regard a comprehensive traffic survey of the area should be conducted.

The meeting was told that presently 60 transport routes passed through Tower, and due to jam-packed traffic there, permission for new routes in that area should be discouraged.

The meeting approved some changes in some routes of the UTS. Accordingly, the UTS Route-22 would include Nagan Chowrangi, Godhra, Shafique More, Sohrab Goth, Karimabad, Liaquatabad No 10, Civic Centre, Karsaz, Baloch Colony, Nursary, Hotel Mehran, PIDC, I.I. Chundrigar Road, to Keamari.

The UTS Route No-23 will have addition of Aladin Park, Nipa, Hassan Square, Staduim, Aga Khan Hospital, Bahadurabad, Tariq Road and Nursery, while the UTS Route 17 will have addition of Gulbai, Sher Shah, Mohajir Camp and Baldia.

The District Regional Transport Authority also approved two new routes (i.e. UTS-38 and UTS-39). The buses on UTS-38 route will be plied from Memon Goth, Ghazi Town, Bakra Piri, Malir 15, Sharea Faisal, Nursery, Lucky Star, Arts Council, Shaheen Complex, Tower and Kakari Ground. The UTS-39 will be from Razzaqabad to Manzil Petrol Pump. —PPI