KARACHI, Jan 15 Almost half of the new bus stops established over a period of one year under an initiative of the city district government Karachi remain unutilised, which is a sad reflection of the prevailing civic and road sense and effectiveness of the relevant government agencies.

Under a public-private partnership programme aimed at enhancing the roadside facilities for commuters and ensuring additional revenue generation for the government exchequer, the construction of 300 `modern bus shelters` at various spots along major roads within the CDGK`s jurisdiction was launched in early 2008.

So far, about 190 stops built of aluminium composite and steel have been installed at all the major corridors, including Shahrah-i-Pakistan, Sharea Faisal, Rashid Minhas Road, University Road, Shah Waliullah Road, Sher Shah Suri Road, Shaheed-i-Millat Road, Shahrah-i-Quaideen and others.

A survey by this reporter revealed that only 45 to 50 per cent of the new shelters are being used as per the plan of the government. Those not being utilized by commuters were either vacant or proving to be a place of rest for non-commuters. Some of the spots have fallen prey to encroachers.

A new facility near the Civic Centre on University Road presented a sorry picture as it was lying deserted, while hundreds of commuters, mini-buses and coaches converged at a non-designated point under the flyover.

From Hasan Square to Jail Chowrangi on the University Road, in all four new shelters have been built, out of which only two were attracting the commuters as public transport vehicles stopped there. From Sohrab Goth roundabout (Allama Iqbal School) to Tibet Centre, the contractors have erected 11 new shelters, in addition to the already designated bus stops, out of which seven were not being used by the drivers or commuters.

A private concern spent six to seven hundred thousand rupees on one shelter, against which it is entitled to enjoy advertising rights for a period of five years, said an official of the CDGK, adding that an amount to the tune of Rs2.4 million has also been collected by the city government as tax revenue on the advertisements displayed at about 100 shelters during the last one year.

So far, two private parties have been given the contracts on BOT (build, operate and transfer) basis for installing the shelters. The parties will also bear the maintenance cost of the facilities for the next five years, it was further learnt.

`Financial targets`

While the commuters maintain that they have to walk up to or wait on the roads, as the drivers do not stop the vehicles at the designated or newly-built bus stops, drivers, who are largely considered quite unruly on the roads, claim that they, too, were compelled by economic reasons to pick up passengers from anywhere on the road in order to meet the financial targets set by the owners of the buses, mini-buses and coaches.

An enforcement drive with the support of Karachi traffic police, revenue department of the city government, community wardens and town administrations could go a long way in improving the behaviour of the drivers and the commuters for a greater impact on the traffic, concerned citizens and observers commented.

The DIG Traffic, Wajid Ali Durrani, said that after a survey his department had handed over a list of 300 spots deemed fit for bus shelter, keeping in view the convenience of passengers as well as drivers, but that was not followed by the transport department of the CDGK entirely.

“A number of bus shelters have now been established as per the convenience of the city government and the private parties working on BOT basis, ignoring our proposals, perhaps due to the fact that they had to also generate income through advertisements, which required a suitability of the facility from a commercial point of view as well,” Mr Durrani observed.

Traffic police strength

Replying to a question, he said that he had ensured the maximum utility of bus shelters by passengers along Sharea Faisal by forcing the drivers of public transport vehicles to stop at the designated spots. “However, it will be very difficult for me to ensure that the drivers stopped only at the new bus shelters or at the already designated spots, with the existing strength of the traffic police in the city,” the DIG traffic maintained, saying that at least two traffic constables would be required for one bus stop, which was near impossible.

The president of the Karachi Transport Ittehad, Syed Irshad Bukhari, said that he personally felt the new bus shelters, in addition to being a good facility for commuters, were also a good way to discipline drivers, who are mostly money-hungry and tried to pick up passengers from every place, irrespective of the official stops and traffic codes.

“The situation can be checked by the traffic police who, in the given situation, should now go beyond issuing challans against violations,” he added, saying that he wanted to see a true regulation of road traffic in the city to avert hindrance in the flow of traffic and road accidents as well, and would not mind if drivers were prosecuted for not stopping their vehicles at the designated bus stops.

Iftikhar Ali Kaimkhani, the executive district officer (transport and communication) of the CDGK, said that the new stops had been aimed at providing the commuters with a standard facility.

He admitted that a number of the newly-built bus shelters were not being utilized by commuters because buses did not stop there. “The problem cannot be attributed to the drivers only; the commuters should be held responsible as they also like to stop the vehicle at a place of their convenience.

“We consider that the drivers, commuters and the traffic police are the main actors required to play their due roles towards maintaining civic sense on the roads,” he added, saying that the city government of Karachi was already working on a plan to create awareness among the citizens, including the young ones, on the subject of road sense.

“We are also approaching the police and the town nazims to look into the problem and ensure that buses are stopped properly at the identified bus stops, which should be free of encroachments and non-commuter elements and have sufficient space in front of them for parking of the buses, mini-buses and coaches and to pick up or drop off the commuters,” Mr Kaimkhani added. Responding to a question, he said that the spots for erection of shelters were identified in consultation with all the stakeholders and the government had not received any objection against those so far.