The public transport system in Karachi, the most neglected sphere of civic life in the seventh largest city of the world, continues to run in mess, as concerned bureaucracy has yet to summon courage to take on what the citizens call a transporter mafia.
In the first week of September 2005, the Director General Mass Transit, EDO Transport Malik Zaheerul Islam gave a briefing to Adviser to Sindh Chief Minister for Local Government, Katchi Abadies and Spatial Progress Waseem Akhtar on inter-city bus termini project.
He was told that transporters had set up some two hundred illegal bus terminals in various parts of the city including Old Sabzi Mandi, Sohrab Goth, M A Jinnah Road, Cantt Station, Lea Market, PIDC, Mauripur, Garden Road, Nishtar Road, Banaras Chowk, Orangi Town and North Nazimabad.
The meeting was told that around 226 buses were being parked daily at Cantt Station on Daudpoto Road, 217 at Pathan Colony, 217 at Old Sabzi Mandi, 125 at Taj Complex M A Jinnah Road, 100 at Lea Market, and 55 at Patel Para and Mansfield Street.
The meeting was told that three inter-city bus terminals - at Yousuf Goth Baldia Town on the RCD Highway, at Razaqabad Landhi on the National Highway, at and Deh Bhatti Umeri, Scheme 33 on the Superhighway - were planned and 60 percent work of inter-city bus terminal on the RCD Road at Yousuf Goth, Baldia had been completed.
The meeting was told that all buses plying on Balochistan routes would be diverted to RCD Road terminus, the buses plying on Punjab, NWFP and Sindh routes would be diverted to the Superhighway terminus, while the National Highway terminus would be used to facilitate buses plying on only interior Sindh routes.
It was decided to remove bottlenecks of inter-city bus termini projects, so that illegal bus terminuses in the city could be ended to ensure lessening traffic congestion on main arteries on the inner city.
Now some 11 months after that meeting the ground realities are more or less same. All illegal bus termini are still operating in the city with complete impunity and God know better when they would be shifted to the three inter-city bus terminals.
Interestingly, the construction of Baldia Town inter-city terminal had been completed and according to sources, tenders for its operation, management and maintenance were invited by the end of May 2006.
On January 19, 2006, the City Nazim, Syed Mustafa Kamal announcing Rs 24.78 billion foreign-funded mega project for Karachi has announced that all buses going towards Balochistan would be shifted outside the city by June 2006. However, it is mid July now and buses going towards Balochistan are still plying from their 'illegal' bus terminals at Old Sabzi Mandi and other areas.
The present sorry state of the public transport system of Karachi has not emerge in one day, but it is the result of inaction, inertia and lack of courage on the part of bureaucracy spread over years. The running of more than 200 'illegal' bus termini in the largest city of the country for years needs no further comment. It shows a clear picture of the commitment of bureaucracy to solve chronic public transport issue of Karachi and end agonies of its millions of commuters.
All ambitious drives aimed at improving public transport system of Karachi including implementing official 'yellow-white' color scheme for minibuses, allotting route numbers to coaches and ensuring 'fitness' of public transport vehicles are licking the dirt because of the failure of bureaucracy to translate its words into action.
There is no lack of ambitiousness in the ranks and files of our administration, but ambitiousness without action is of no use for citizens. The long-term planning is good, but all things could not be deferred. Taking snap actions, swallowing bitter pills now and then and taking on tougher elements is the beauty of a good administration.
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