Need for a public transport system

Only a handful of students in a jam-packed IBA auditorium raised their hands, when a panellist at the conference asked how many of them rode motorcycles. Clearly, two-wheelers are not used by the rich. In 2015, around 328 road accidents occurred in Karachi alone. Around 360 people died, while 279 people suffered both minor and critical injuries. According to a news report, approximately 164 men aged between 14 and 40 years died in motorcycle-related accidents.

Similarly, in 2014, around 565 motorcyclists lost their lives while receiving treatment in major hospitals of the city. The figures show that most of the men dying in motorcycle accidents belong to either middle- or lower-middle class families. Ironically, people who have no medical coverage or belong to a poor family wish to succumb to their injuries after meeting a severe road accident because they don’t want to become a burden on their families.

In such a situation, would it be wise to encourage women to ride motorcycles? Do we want our women to die on the roads too? Recently, the Women on Wheels campaign was launched, which encourages women to be independent. It is beyond me why people try to link everything to women’s independence. I believe riding a motorcycle in a country where summers last for eight months is extremely difficult. It will only add to women's worries and responsibilities.

Most importantly, where traffic laws are not implemented, riding a motorcycle amounts to putting your life on the line. In cities like Karachi and Lahore, driving is not easy because of chaotic traffic and overcrowded roads. Also, women clad in burqas and elderly women cannot ride a motorcycle either. Helmets were declared mandatory for motorcyclists but nobody follows this rule, traffic policemen only take advantage of the situation, by imposing 'fines'.

Thus, in the view of such a situation, it is not advisable for women to ride motorcycles. There is a time to focus on real issues like transport and push government to provide Karachities with respectable public transport? In India, a couple of decades back, women were riding scooters but now most of them prefer using public transport, which helps reduce air pollution. A proper public transport system is not only the need of the hour, it is also environmentally friendly, safe, cheap and reduces flow of traffic on roads.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 2^nd, 2016.