Shortage of public buses
Lahore is no different from Karachi in terms of public transport availability. Things are similar all over Punjab. The Lahore Transport Company bus service has ceased operation on more than 30 routes. The metro train service, which cost billions, has also failed to cater to the needs of commuters. Now these trains are carrying far fewer commuters than their capacity due to the lack of feeder buses. For a population of more than 15 million, Lahore has only 55 feeder buses for the metro bus service, which covers only one route.
Motorcycle rickshaws, commonly known as Qingqi, are filling the gap created due to the unsatisfactory state of public transport. These rickshaws are unregulated and so the authorities have little control over them. The transport department has failed in its attempts to regularise and rationalise them owing to the lack of coordination between the relevant departments. Qingqi rickshaws have been involved in 136,768 traffic accidents in the province between January 2018 and December 2020, leading to many fatalities. This is because most rickshaw drivers are untrained and overloading on these vehicles.
The provincial transport minister has promised to replace Qingqi rickshaws with four-wheeler electric vehicles. However, this seems to be impractical considering the shortage of electricity in the country. Why are government departments failing to do their duty the way they should? Surprise raids by officials and ministers would drive their subordinates to address public issues efficiently? We, the people, have never heard of such raids, unfortunately. Even absolute monarchs toured cities and villages in disguise to see how their officials were serving the people. Recently, the PM office has issued show-cause notices to several officers of the Punjab bureaucracy for their alleged inefficiency. This initiative from the top would set in motion the system of surprise raids. At present there is no check on officials; they are free to make people run around endlessly. No one asks them what they are getting their salaries for?
Published in The Express Tribune, February 17th, 2021.
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