Electric bus initiative

PPP govt in Sindh has outdone federal govt after launching the country’s first electric bus project in Karachi

Competition only fares well when it’s healthy. The PPP government in Sindh has outdone the federal government after launching the country’s first electric bus project in Karachi. Soon after, Fawad Chaudhry, despite claiming to inaugurate a similar project in Islamabad first, took to Twitter to congratulate the Sindh government for taking such a “remarkable step” and urged other provinces to adopt this “futuristic approach”. However, it begs the question: when it comes to the issues of transportation, are we missing the plot altogether? In other words, will the plan of introducing 100 electric buses by the end of the year significantly improve the overall transport structure of the city?

Yes and No. While the initiative strongly indicates that officials are somewhat serious in moving towards a greener, more sustainable future, primarily because it is the new “in” thing, the project does not ameliorate the woes of commuters who have long been left to fend for themselves as “a result of a near-total absence of public transport in the biggest city of the country”. Dilapidated infrastructure, broken roads and ramshackle vehicles continue to cause immense problems. One can also not ignore the traffic chaos in the city as main road corridors and arteries remain gridlocked for hours at a time. The honking of horns and the spewing of carbon monoxide from car exhausts significantly contribute to air and noise pollution. Amid all these wicked problems, a fleet of 100 electric buses might not even make a dent in front of the raging army of 3.6 million registered vehicles of Karachi.

While the project may be a first step, what we need is a giant leap. The aim should be to replace all diesel buses with electric ones. The government can also invest heavily in solar buses as another suitable alternative. This will help save money which can be reinvested where it matters the most. Officials need to restructure and rebuild the transport system from the ground up in order for such initiatives to bear fruit.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 4^th, 2021.

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