KARACHI, Sept 12: Overcrowded buses, minibuses and coaches are one of the most pressing problems being faced by the Karachiites. The female commuters have to suffer more than their male counterparts. The condition of the public transport vehicles in Karachi is shocking. They are crammed with passengers especially during the rush hours.

For female commuters there is a small separate compartment with a seating capacity of less than a dozen females, but the bus conductor and drivers are skillful enough to squeeze up to two dozen female commuters in this compartment.

These females are often disturbed by indecent attitude of the male commuters and at times have to suffer at the hands of the bus conductors.

Although each of the public transport vehicles have two doors one each for male and female commuters, but it is observed that many a times, men try to use the women’s door, making the female commuters feel uneasy.

Most of the female commuters feel themselves insecure, as majority of bus owners do not implement government's decision of partitioning female compartment from that of males. The lack of barrier between the compartments of male and female commuters often results in harassment of female commuters.

The female commuters have often raised their voice against such situation but to no avail.

Faryal, 22, a student of Mass Communication, KU, said that it was a daunting task for female commuters to board on these overcrowded buses in the morning or evening.

She said that she often had to quarrel with men occupying the seats in the female compartments.

She said that ironically the 'point buses' of the Karachi University had no separate compartment for female students.

The over-speeding of the city’s public transport is also another problem, the Karachiites brave each and every day. These over-speeding buses have claimed many lives in the city.

The majority of traffic police personnel ignore the blatant violation of traffic rules by these bus and minibus drivers as it is an open secret that these drivers grease the palms of these traffic cops to ply on the roads in their own dangerous manner.The Karachiites have urged that the compartment for ladies should be separated from the male compartment by an iron-sheet in such a way that no one could pass through it.

They have also demanded of the authorities concerned that the number of bus routes should be increased and bus owners be made bound to ply more vehicles on each route.

They also suggested that the project of Karachi Circular Railway (KCR) should be revived to divert commuters' pressure from the road transport.—PPI