Various sections of the society supported the ban on plying Qingqis rickshaw by and large with a demand that poor, outdated and defected transport system which had paved the way for Qingqis should be given immediate attention to cater the need of commuting. They also called for taking steps for alternative to small and economical Qingqis rickshaws or better public transport system by the authorities or transporters to ease the miseries of commuters because the existing public transport system lacked the ability and capacity.
Talking to APP on Friday, President Karachi Transport Action Committee, Asharaf Banglori said Qingqis rickshaws have already been failed in Punjab due to availability of better alternatives. Asharaf Banglori said that the project like Metro Bus should also be introduced in Sindh to provide better travelling facilities to commuters. He said that the Qingqis rickshaws disturb the otherwise smooth flow of traffic on busy roads and thoroughfares. Majority of the Qingqis rickshaw do not bother to use side-Glass thus, multiplying the risk of accident because they can not see the vehicles coming either side behind them, he added. He said that Qingqis rickshaws were being plied without registration, number plates, route permits and payment of any taxes. The drivers of these rickshaws do not have driving licenses and sometimes driven by young boys, he added.
He said that the transporters have suffered a lot due to law and order situation as well as erratic supply of CNG in such situation they are not able to contribute immediately to improve transport system. Kashif Siddiqi, 18-year-old student, said that it will be better to travel in Qingqis, rather than old and damaged over-loaded buses and wagon. We always got seat and travel seat-by-seat in the Qingqis, he added.
We can only anticipate misbehaviour and unethical conduct with the drivers and conductors of the buses and wagons, because majority of them are arrogant and illiterate, he said. Another passenger, Javed Ahmed, pointed that non-availability of seats in the buses and wagon, and said often he travelled in over-loaded buses and wagons with sense of insecurity.
Muhammad Zubair, a middle-age owner of a Qingqis Rickshaw said, he is sole bread earner in his 8-member family and the ban on Qingqis has deprived him of his one and only source of income. He said he is a very poor and purchased his Qingqis with a small investment, now he is too much worried that how will make both ends meet. Talking about transport system, Member Governing Body of Karachi Press Club, Agha Syed Karam Ali Shah expressed his apprehensions that outdated buses and wagons are major source of commuting in Karachi and due to monopoly of the transport mafia they will not bother to pour investments in the transport system.
The Qingqis rickshaw was a good source of communication and if attention is not given to transport system, then the transporters will continue to make profit from their existing old and damaged buses and wagon as they now treat the commuters in a cruel way, he said.
He said that old buses which are unfit for running being driven by illiterate and ignorant drivers can be seen in all areas in the city. He said that it was a bitter truth that Karachi despite being largest city of Pakistan having an outdated public transport system with buses and wagons without road fitness licenses.
It may be noted here that a bench of the High Court of Sindh on August 5, 2015, imposed ban on running Qingqis rickshaws in Karachi and other areas of Sindh in its verdict over several petitions declared running of these rickshaws a violation of Motor Vehicle Rules 1969. More than 10 petitions were filed in the court to seek the court's verdict over the legal position of the Qingqis rickshaws. Earlier, the court had issued a stay order against the crackdown over Qingqis rickshaws in 2013.
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