Orange Line fails to live up to expectations

Despite modern facilities and a low fare, the unpopular route of the bus service has thwarted the success of the proje

KARACHI:

Regardless of how up-to-date a transit system is, until or unless it closely considers the popular travel routes of the passengers, it can neither gain popularity nor reduce the city's heavy reliance on private transport.

Initiated in 2016 under the supervision of the Sindh Mass Transit Authority (SMTA), the Orange Line Bus Rapid Transit Project was a 4-kilometer-long bus route from Orangi Town Office to the Matriculation Board Office Chowrangi. Although the project was expected to reach completion by 2017, the lack of interest in part of the Sindh government meant that it had to be shelved for the next six years, until 2022, when it was finally completed.

During this time, the cost of the project was revised twice, with its final budget touching Rs5.5 billion, after including the purchase, maintenance and operational charges of 20 buses alongside the extension of the project to Nagan Chowrangi. As result of the SMTA's inability to arrange qualified staff for operating a bus rapid transit system, the entire logistics of the Orange Line were handed over to the federal government's Sindh Infrastructure Development Company Limited (SIDCL) for three years.

According to a survey conducted by The Express Tribune, even after the passage of three years since the initiation of the Orange Line, the project has still not caught the attention of passengers. Despite a low fare and good travelling conditions, the bus which runs from 7am to 10pm, only receives a daily influx of 500 to 1,000 people, even though the project is designed to accommodate at least 50,000 passengers on a regular basis.

Ahmed Khan, a passenger traveling through the Orange Line confirmed that due to the short distance route, very few passengers travelled by the bus. "Although a rush of passengers is observed during fixed hours, on Saturdays and Sundays or on other holidays, the bus is almost vacant," shared Khan.

"The Orange Line is a flawed project of the Sindh government, which has wasted billions of rupees. During the construction, the citizens of Orangi Town and North Nazimabad were troubled for six years but today only a few passengers travel by it. Until or unless, the project is extended to Numaish Chowrangi by connecting it with the Green Line, it will not be a success," opined Chairman of Orangi Town Union Council 4, Atta Rabbi.

Regional Planner Dr Syed Nawazul Huda agreed that the Orange Line reflected the poor planning of the Sindh government. "The Orange Line should have been made functional up to Numaish Chowrangi from the beginning. Under the recommendations of the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), six lines of the Bus Rapid Transit System, Karachi Circular Railway and Bus Feeder Service System are to be established in Karachi. This mass transit system is interconnected and will be successful only when it is fully completed," implored Dr Nawaz.

According to sources from the Sindh government, the provincial government had long released Rs40 million to the SIDCL for the extension of the Orange Line to Nagan Chowrangi however, due to their lack of interest, work was delayed.

Sindh Mass Transit Authority's (SMTA) Managing Director Kamal Hakim Daio informed that the Sindh government will take over the Green and Orange Line projects in February. "At present, SIDCL is working on extending the Orange Line to Nagan Chowrangi, which will be completed this month. The Orange Line will also be connected to the Green Line and extended to Numaish Chowrangi soon," said Daio.