KARACHI: Handover of traffic control to city govt opposed: 20,000 CNG buses needed: DIG
KARACHI, Sept 26: DIG Traffic Wajid Ali Durrani has said that 20,000 CNG buses are required to provide some relief to millions of commuters who are forced to use the substandard public transport in the city.
He said that efforts by the government for a mass transit system and the bus rapid transit project would certainly help, but a fleet of wide-bodied buses was badly needed to provide immediate relief to commuters.
“Immediate induction of CNG buses or any other alternative urban transport system is the solution to the commuters’ woes. Besides, we also need a proper law to make commercial transporters follow the vehicle fitness rules,” he added.
The DIG said that the city government’s proposal to bring traffic under its control was wishful thinking. The city government could only do it once the assembly passed the bill and amended the existing law, he said, adding that they would have to amend the law, which was not limited to Karachi or the Sindh province. If Karachi’s traffic was brought under the city district government’s control, traffic in all major cities would have to be brought under the control of their respective district governments, he said.
Mr Durrani was of the view that people from all sections of society would prefer to travel by bus if they were provided buses in good condition and ample number. He suggested that double-decker buses could also be used on many routes in the downtown.
“I have been hearing about the induction of CNG buses for years but nothing has been done so far. We urgently need some new transport system to supplement the present public transport,” he observed, adding that foreign consultancy was not required in this regard as “we can devise our own system”.
He said the local public transport system was one of the best in the world five decades ago when trams used to be run in Karachi. Calling for immediate revival of the circular railway, he said the service was in place 30 years back but it failed because its staff didn’t follow the rules and train timings.
The entire system could not be changed all of a sudden but at least the present substandard transportation could be phased out with the induction of new CNG buses, he told PPI.
Fitness of vehicles
Commenting on the substandard services provided by the commercial vehicles, he said if he went according to the law and closed down all the unfit vehicles there would be hardly 10 per cent vehicles left on roads. Almost half of the commercial vehicles presently being plied on roads were unfit, he said, adding that people were forced to use the present public transport as there was no alternative available to them.
Nearly seven million people in Karachi commuted through commercial transportation and two million people commuted through private motorcycles and cars, he said, adding that overall there were 20,000 commercial vehicles in the city.
Twenty to 30 per cent commercial vehicles were being run without a fitness certificate or with an expired one, he disclosed.
“We will able to overcome the problem of vehicles’ fitness if we check the fitness of 200 to 250 vehicles on a daily basis, which was difficult with the present resources,” he said.
“We have a Motor Vehicle Inspection (MVI) branch at Saeedabad to check fitness of vehicles but unfortunately we lack some modern equipment. Although manual work is going on there, we do not have the proper equipment to check smoke emission and wheel alignment. Besides tyre tread machine and other gadgets are also required,” he said. During the fitness examination, he said, the engine, lights, brakes and other parts of the vehicle were checked.
The DIG said a very few transport operators turned up at the MVI department for the inspection of vehicles though it was their responsibility to get their vehicles checked on a regular basis. “I have met transporters and urged them to get their vehicles’ fitness checked,” he said, explaining that the Motor Vehicle Ordinance, 1965, did not allow the traffic police to detain a transport operator for long as according to the law they were bound to be freed once they paid the fine.
Most of the transporters acquired their fitness certificates from Hub to escape from the fitness trials here, he pointed out.
“Suppose if I start banning the traffic on road today for lack of their fitness check the traffic mafia would start shouting against it and threaten to go on strike,” he said, adding that at the end the commuters would suffer.
The only viable solution to this problem was an alternative system in which the government must have CNG buses running parallel to the present commercial traffic, he said, adding that a strong political will and force was required to change the system.