![an elevated corridor railway an elevated corridor railway](https://i1.tribune.com.pk/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/228446-AnwerMoorajNew-1312983143.jpg)
Against a background of the frisson of horror generated by the recent killings, the resident cynic has lost count of the number of political marriages, separations and reconciliations that have taken place between the two major political parties. It is a cipher for all the uncertainty of the age, the huge egos, vast resentments and florid vanities. It has been one long tale of gauzy innuendo and can be likened to driving a crate of eggs over speed bumps. All that the people of Karachi can hope for is that this time the coalition will last and some semblance of peace and normalcy will be restored. However, irrespective of who takes over the local government, one hopes he will place the transport imbroglio at the top of his agenda and do something about it before embarking on an orgy of road, flyover, bypass and underpass construction. He should pay heed to what a former mayor of Bogota, Colombia, Enrique Penalosa, said when he tried to solve the traffic problems in his city — “building more and bigger roads is like trying to put out a fire by gasoline.” Perhaps Penalosa had in mind the experiences of Bangkok, Tehran, Manila and Cairo where hundreds of kilometres of expressways were built and hundreds of flyovers were constructed. Their traffic conditions did not improve; in fact, they became worse.
I would have thought that the answer lay in a mass transit railway system for Pakistan’s largest city, as Bangkok did when the Thai government resorted to a light rail corridor system which has proved to be quite popular with tourists. The mayor, once he has been elected, would be doing a great service to the denizens of this beleaguered city who dread the day when traffic bottlenecks would be so severe that drivers would be forced to abandon their vehicles in the middle of the road. A number of plans and feasibility reports have been crafted in the past after detailed study by academics, town planners and civil society organisations; and they all pointed to the fact that some sort of unified mass transit system is imperative. An underground system would have been feasible had it been started in 1958 and had Ayub Khan not decided that Karachi should no longer be the capital of Pakistan. Many years later, when it was suggested that there should be an underground line from Merewether Tower to Teen Hatti and a surface connection to Sohrab Goth, it was rejected for all the wrong reasons, like the underground soil is marshy and digging would be impossible; and the curved ceiling would collapse — objections that town planner Arif Hasan proved were a lot of hogwash. A light rail corridor system appears to be the only viable solution. It will be environmentally friendly and funding should not be a problem. A lot would, of course, depend on how the organisers set about planning the network, the location of the stations and the cost of travel. It would, however, be a start.
Published in The Express Tribune, August 11th, 2011.
COMMENTS (12)
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Countries with exploding populations need to be careful with money. They have less money than developed countries and more challenges. I think part of the problem maybe a competence gap. Local government needs have become complex;but, the capacity of those who manage them hasn't correspondingly improved. In the US complexity led to the rise of the council manager system. This is how majority of local governments are operated today.But, even that might not be sufficient as the managers need a capacity building body and that is typically absent. The financial crisis is revealing this shortcoming.Now if this is an issue in the US;it is a bigger issue in more capacity challenged developing countries. Jaime Lerner is so unusual because he is not a typical politician. He had a background which made him a natural for dealing with urban problems. Most cities in developing countries are not that lucky. Bogota in Columbia has done well;but, it operates under a nonpartisan system which allows for more freshening of the system. It and Curitiba are in a rare class where local leaders have developed a culture of innovation. This is rare even in developed countries, so it is even rarer in developing countries. Nonpartisan elections are also common in the US and the reason they were implemented in Latin America is because of American support.
I agree with you Sajida to some extent. Some times I think that all this infrastructure we are spending on may go waste, with the change of technology, just like the landline phones are obsolete now because of the mobile technologies. With advancement of technology it may happen that we don't have to commute so much.
@Abhi I think the time difference is because there is no dedicated road. It seems to me you need a combination of vans and large buses, depending on how cities are built up. For a dedicated road where streets are narrow you can also do above ground dedicated roads. The main difference is cost not just initial;but, also maintenance cost. Developing countries which have fiscal limitations would save money this way. With Indians tax evasion, major segment not taxed revenue/ need ratio is small. Pakistan also has this problem. I think, Jamie Lerner's mindset is what all developing country policymakers need: how to find creative solutions when your revenues are much less than your needs. BRT is just one of the product of his creative problem solving.
@Sajida I like the Idea with BRT with vans, but that is already happening with six seater kind vehicles in most of the Indian cities. It can and it is solving the transportation problem to some extent but this also puts lots of pressure on already congested roads and is not really substitute to a Mass Transit system connecting distant part of a big metro city. For example from Noida (suburd of New Delhi) the distance to the heart of city is around 30 kms by metro you can cover this distance by 30-40 minutes, while bus or any other road transport takes at least 1 hr and 20 minutes for the same distance. the report you have lined is more about curbing the black money and tax evasion. the percent drop from 19 to 18 is not that much and in absolute term the revenue collection has increased. as I said government is now increasing the private participation in infra and they are no longer constrained by revenue collection.
@Abhi BRT was failure in Delhi because they didn't do it right. You can do BRT with vans. It doesn't have to be large buses. Be a creative thinker. That is what Jaime Lerner is all about. Rail systems are too costly for poor countries and the fact Indian states are collecting less taxes is not out of date! “General government tax revenue totals an estimated 18 percent of gross domestic product, the lowest among the four BRIC nations, and down from an average 19 percent the past five years, International Monetary Fund data show.” http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-07-18/india-government-sees-growth-imperiled-with-rising-greek-like-tax-evasion.html India Government Sees Growth Imperiled With Rising Greek-Like Tax Evasion If i share news that is not recent, it is about something that really hasn't changed much!
@Sajida I have noticed that you always provide some reference and data while posting. Also use lots of jargons in your post. But many of the things are not really interrelated and some times outdated. For example the case of BRT you are trying to push may not make sense in cities with narrow streets. it was big failure in New Delhi despite it has better road network than other Indian cities (I am not sure about pakistani cities so not commenting on them) While metro has been a great success and the investment cost will be recoverend within next few years. So I think underground metro or light elevated rail is good option as it leaves the existing road network open and useful unlike BRT where marking the bus specific lanes make roads not useful for other purpose.
The report you have linked is really not helping your cause as it is outdated (prepared in 2005) also it is about scenario where state gov are not getting their share of revenues due to free market economy. It doesn't mean that overall revenue collection has fallen. Also most of the infra projects in India are being done in public private partnership model where private firm invest in the project and they recover their investment and profit through toll collection/ surcharge etc.
@Alsahdiq They have not fixed circular rail. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cv-V8dTSM It too needs BRT to make it match ground realities. Circular rail system has limited purpose because city has developed so much. @Paras Vikmani Suburban rail system is different from an inner city system. I think India should focus more on BRT then subways. The country is a debtor country, the states are increasing their debt also and so they shouldn't waste money when there is a cost effective alternative available. India I think is inspired by countries who do not have its financial challenges! Tax collection at state level is down despite boom? You should wonder why?! Maybe those people who are not providing taxes should do govt a favor and build the transportation system and maintain it! See:" the growth of own tax revenues of almost all the States has been on the decline which has aggravated the pressure on the fiscal balances, and in course of time, became responsible for the decline in the quality of expenditure." http://www.adb.org/documents/reports/consultant/tar-ind-4066/govtbudget/sarma.pdf
BRT is more flexible and more cost effective. Indians are poor money managers and for some reason cannot figure out how to have effective BRT networks. They too should dial Jaime Lerner's number.
Maybe Karachi can learn from Mumbai's suburban local rail network.
The irony is that when they have been unable to run the existing overground circular rail system efficiently and with lots of frequency then what other system are they capable of running. Underground or even elevated system is the last thing they should consider if ever. Below ground rail system is very expensive to install, run and maintain. Overhead system also needs hell of a lot of capital and relatively less costly maintainance as does the below ground. But how can those who cannot run the existing overground system frequently and efficiently to attract the masses to use it, can run any other system. How?
Indeed! But, perhaps BRT is more useful and cheaper? Time to dial Jaime Lerner's number.
Mr. Mooraj,
There is a tide in the affairs of men which taken at a flood leads on to fortune; omitted and one is bound to wallow in the shallows of ones life...
Allama Iqbal