Karachi's Transport Woes
by Peter J. Sumner
Buses
Karachi is a city of bus travelers. It is not a case of the rich and the poor but a necessity of life. Many bus passengers do own cars or motorcycles but the lack of parking, price of petrol and increased cases of vehicle theft all make bus travel the only viable method of transport. Yet, we surely have one of the most unreliable and inefficient bus service of any city in the world.
Lately, the Karachi City District Government have been doing their utmost to disturb the bus traveling public. They introduce new buses and routes, working on an inflated fare structure, in direct competition to the established private buses. Then, when the private bus owners discontinue a certain route because they can no longer get route permits, the Government buses suddenly disappear from the roads. The public are then left with no service whatsoever.
The best example of this Government bungling was seen in the much publicized "Ladies Only" buses. The Government, whose members have never travelled on a bus in their lives, showed all their hostility towards women in this short lived scheme. These buses, and it was never made clear how many there were, started a route from the Al Asif end of Abul Hasan Isphahani Road. There was absolutely no indication of the route, or indeed where it eventually terminated. As a male, all I could determine by occasional sightings of these buses was that their route didn't follow any known route of equivalent mixed sex buses. One cannot expect ladies to enter any vehicle without knowing where it might take them. Not surprisingly, these buses disappeared within a few weeks.
The whole area of bus transport is complicated by the 'route permit' mafia and the familiar white uniformed highwaymen that litter our streets. A private bus, that provides transport to the general public, should be allowed to do just that. The lack of 'public' buses, meaning Government run buses, is justification for relaxing the rules. The Government should only enforce transportation rules if they themselves are providing the service that they should be.
The general public of Karachi is quite satisfied with privately owned buses, and accept the fact that there is no insurance, essentially "traveling at their own risk". We've been doing that for years! What is needed now is a relaxed form of routes. It is almost impossible to enter a bus during peek hours in certain places, they are simply too full. Therefore, I propose a variation to the existing routes. As an example, a large number of passengers do not travel the full distance, and an equally large number do travel almost the full distance of the route. If we take a route that starts at Tower and terminates beyond the University in our example, it can be seen that many passengers would benefit from a shortened route that terminates at NIPA. Likewise, other passengers would benefit from a full length service that ran non-stop say between Numaish and NIPA. The non-stop service should be able to deviate from its regular route in order to take the most convenient or shortest distance. And that includes avoiding traffic bottlenecks caused by the unending digging up of roads which is the speciality of the City Government.
At the risk of spoiling the artistic appearance of many buses, a large route map should be painted on their sides, captioned in both Urdu and English. The reason for this is obvious - Starline, or Astarline as it is written in Urdu, doesn't mean anything unless you are a regular passenger. Confusion exists even on numbered routes, for example, some 4L buses go to Maymar, some don't!
I am sure that if the bus owners were given the freedom to choose their own routes, naturally according to public demand, we would all be better served.
KCR
The Karachi Circular Railway is a joke! Apart from the standard joke that it isn't even a circle, it doesn't have a circular shape either, but is more triangular or trapezoidal. Looking at a map of present day Karachi, the circular railway, whatever shape it may be, only encloses a very minor section of the city. As it's stations are generally not in close proximity to our major roads, its use is little more than a possible amusement park ride.
If all the money spent over the years on feasibility studies and committee meetings by various government departments had instead been spent on practical work, we might be halfway towards having an underground railway system. That is what Karachi really needs and demands!
Rickshaws
Rickshaws are a part of Karachi which are determined not to go away. The latest scandle involving CNG rickshaws is just one more example of the government's determination to keep these menacing machines on our streets at any cost. You may be familiar with the phrase 'another nail in the coffin', well I was looking for a phrase that had the exact opposite meaning, but I can't think of one right now. Whatever it might be, it would apply to rickshaws. That phrase came into my mind simply due to my distaste for rickshaws.
I would be quite happy to see rickshaws disappear from our city entirely. They are uncomfortable, noisy, smelly and the owners charge as if they were Paejeros! Perhaps the most surprising thing is that, with the rise in the cost of petrol, some enterprising fellows haven't yet brought about the re-emergence of bicycle or even hand-drawn rickshaws.
Trams
Anyone old enough to remember Karachi's trams? Yes, they used to be here. I can't help feeling that it is time to bring them back. Bundar Road, Frere Road and McLeod Road, are the ideal places to bring trams to again, and yes, I am purposely using the old names to bring back memories. What would you like? A traffic free 'old city' or the jam of today.
VIPs
Finally, if we could only find a way to solve our most disruptive traffic problems, then Karachi could settle down to its routine work and lifestyle. Unfortunately, no one so far has come up with any suggestion that would effectively prevent the President and Prime Minister from visiting Karachi.