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KARACHI: Karachi, with 19million plus population,
is termed world’s second largest ‘city proper’
behind Mumbai, India, but in terms of civic facilities especially
urban public transport, Karachi is still like an under-developed,
backward and uncivilized town. It is a disgusting scene to
watch old, rusty, smoke emitting, dangerously overcrowded
buses and minibuses, with passengers even sitting on their
roofs, running recklessly fast on the city roads. Karachi
is perhaps the only mega urban city of the world, where public
transport vehicles could be found painted with every color
of the rainbow, where bus drivers and conductors do not care
wearing a proper uniform or issuing tickets to passengers
after getting fare. This sorry state of the affairs is the
result of a continued and shocking negligence of transport
departments of successive governments and city administrations.
The other factors include a powerful monopoly of private transporters,
rampant corruption in transport and traffic departments, weak
political parties both ruling and opposition, lack of consumer
rights culture and above all very placid commuters. It is
a sad fact the rulers had always safeguarded the interests
of powerful lobby of transporters at the cost of commuters
who are also their voters. The transporter community has always
ensured that not only its voice is heard in the corridors
of power, but also swiftly followed and obeyed. Before the
general elections, the caretaker government, overstepping
its powers, allowed the transporters a liberal raise in fare,
and now the elected government gave them unprecedented rise
of Rs2 to Rs4 rise per passenger per trip in public transport
fares. Inner sources claim that this very generous fare rise
has resulted in some 30 to 35 percent additional windfall
for transporters at the cost of hapless commuters.
The private owners of public transport run this system on
their own sweet will. The commuters generally complain that
the transporters do not follow the official color scheme for
buses and minibuses. Majority of their vehicles is not fit
for plying on road, but with the help of corrupt officials
they always manage to get fake vehicle fitness certificates.
The public transporters do not usually ply their vehicles
on the whole length of their route. They divide the whole
route into two to three parts and charge new fare for each
of these parts. They plainly refuse to board a passenger who
wants to travel from one end of the route to other. In this
way they maximize their profits, while the commuters have
to pay double or even triple fare for their journey. The provincial
government had introduced ‘coaches’ in Karachi
about a decade back with the condition that they would run
on seat-to-seat basis; however, the coaches not only allowed
commuters to travel while standing, but also allowed them
sitting on roof tops. Due to these violations of rules there
is no difference between a minibus and coach, but the government
has still allowed the coaches to charge more fare as compared
to fare of minibuses.
There is a yawning gap between supply and demand in the urban
transport system of Karachi. The owners of private transport
have introduced a ‘token system’ which ensures
that there is always fewer buses on roads as compared to the
number of commuters. The commuters have no choice but to travel
in overcrowded buses, even on roof tops, or to waits at the
bus stops for hours and hours. The Karachi commuters say the
main reason behind their woes is their own political parties
that come into power with their vote, but always fail to solve
their problems. They says during last two decades various
political parties had come to power, but non of them had ever
taken solid steps to improve the urban public transport system
of Karachi.—Agency |
