KARACHI, a city of about 20 million people, has been experiencing crumbling physical infrastructure, especially public transport.

The city has no mass transit system. The circular railway has not yet been operative. The Lyari Expressway remains incomplete and is one-way operative.

Meanwhile, the number of buses and mini-buses is on the decline for security reasons. Whenever there is a strike, buses are often torched and their owners are not adequately compensated. Some time ago the government had arranged some CNG buses to run in the city but then these disappeared.

Such a shortage of public transport is being met by the increasing number of motorcycles and six-seater qingqi richshaws. These vehicles cause air pollution and results in traffic congestion. Moreover, motorcycles are the most used vehicle for target killing etc.

No Karachi Road Transport Corporation exists. It is, therefore, essential to form a district public transport authority, financed through public-private partnership and managed by an autonomous authority, to be headed by a nominee of the provincial government and has members both from public and private sectors.

It must be allowed to collect a fixed nominal amount from transporters to ensure safety/security of the buses and their passengers.

Meanwhile, the registration of motorcycles and rickshaws, and their operation must be reviewed and made more efficient and effective from the point of view of their users.

M. Nazir Ali

Former KCCI secretary

Karachi

Published in Dawn, November 21th, 2014