Hard to play catch up right now

Since the time frame for a much-needed mass transit system in Karachi is still hazy and uncertain, it may well be another three to four years before the country’s biggest city finally plays catch up with Lahore and Islamabad. Or possibly more. The provincial transport minister disclosed the plan to bring over 600 buses for Karachi and another 600 inter-city buses but could not give us a specific date when exactly would that happen. The influx of buses is important for a city like Karachi which has not seen even the shadow of one for years on end. It matters very little whether the public buses are used on the Malir-Tower route — which could serve as much as one-third of the city’s population — the Dawood Chowrangi-Tower route or elsewhere equally beneficial.

So far the project has left transporters cold and distant. And even the presence of subsidies, loans and insurance has failed to entice them. The project, according to them, is not lucrative or profitable enough.

There are also wide gaps in understanding why the Green Line or KCR project stand stalled. The federal government has faulted the Sindh government for the apparent delay in bringing buses for the project. This may not be true at all. The 18-kilometre-long route is incomplete for now as a major portion of it has not been constructed yet. Acquiring the buses and pressing them into service is the easy part or so says the provincial transport minister.

Delays have also been seen in getting the Karachi Circular Railway project off the ground. Not all of the blame should be shouldered by the provincial government. Railway authorities and the federal government have played their part in the mass dithering seen over the project. It should have been obvious to all parties concerned that squatters would have to be first cleared of the land. This could have been handled by conducting a sweeping and timely anti-encroachment drive.

One key ingredient seems to be missing in the mass transit projects altogether: a proper operational plan that can be intelligently executed. The plan must be sustainable as well.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 26^th, 2018.

Like Opinion & Editorial on Facebook, follow @ETOpEd on Twitter to receive all updates on all our daily pieces.