LAHORE, Sept 18: The response from educational institutions approached by the traffic police for the introduction of transport facility for students to reduce traffic load on city roads during school timings has been termed `positive’.
Traffic SSP Wasim Ahmed Khan Sial told Dawn the initiative was proposed only to the institutions charging Rs2,000 or above fees.
He said the addition of nearly 80,000 private vehicles, to pick and drop students, during school hours everyday was a major cause of traffic jams witnessed too often on the city roads.
“If educational institutions ply their own buses for students, the traffic load will considerably decline during the rush hours. We have already started contacting the administrations of different schools and colleges in this regard,” he said.
It was almost impossible for the city traffic police to manage the ever-growing number of over 1.3 million vehicles plying the city roads with only 1,420 personnel, the SSP admitted frankly.
However, the induction of `highly-qualified and well-quipped’ 2,800 traffic wardens from January 2007 would improve the situation, he hoped.
He said infrastructure development had become indispensable to run the city traffic in a smooth way.
“The Ring Road and Mass Transit Rail projects will be a major break through in coping with the traffic load,” he said, adding the city needed more fly-overs, under-passes and carpeted roads.
He said as many as 5,000 traffic wardens were being trained, who would be deployed in five major cities of the province, including Lahore, Gujranwala, Rawalpindi, Faisalabad and Multan from January 1, 2007.
Mr Sial said the city traffic police issued 12,596 license in various categories, earning Rs10.9 million as license fee from January 1 to July 31, 2006.
Some 38 cases against the agents allegedly involved in making license were also registered during the period, he added.
Comparing the number of challans issued in 50 categories in 2005 and 2006, the SSP said traffic police issued challans to 0.657,759 million vehicles worth Rs95.39 million in the first six months of 2006 as compared to 0.697,340 million vehicles challaned during the corresponding period, bringing Rs93.064 million.
In August 2006, he said, 80,646 vehicles were issued challans worth Rs12.027 million.
Regarding existence of illegal encroachments and parking areas on main roads, hampering smooth traffic flow, the SSP said the city district government was responsible for removing such hurdles.
On creating traffic sense among the public, he said:” We have launched traffic education campaign, and in this regard a mobile unit comprising five officials has so far delivered 30 lectures in different schools and 10 lectures to the drivers of franchised buses.”
Besides, four radio programmes had been aired to create awareness among the people about traffic laws, while a traffic week was also observed in June 2006 for the purpose, he added.