Chief Minister Qaim Ali Shah said that the provincial government had invested a lot of money on repairing the KMC buses which were supposed to be running on the road before Eidul Fitr but were standing still while the citizens of Karachi were having difficulty travelling from one place to another.
Shah warned other departments and government organisations that if they did not perform their duties properly, they would be disbanded.
While presiding over a meeting regarding the implementation of the Mass Transit Programme at Chief Minister House on Friday, Shah asked the provincial department to complete all formalities related to the Yellow Line Bus Service by December so it could be made functional by 2015 under the public-private partnership mode of investment.
He ordered the management to expedite work on the intercity bus project. He directed the planning and development department sort out the PC-I for the Green Bus Line and submit it to the federal government within a month, so the people of Karachi have access to proper public transport facilities as soon as possible. He told the department to take the Orange Line Bus Service in hand with immediate effect for which Rs3billion had been set aside in the current budget.
For the Green Line, chief minister said, the Sindh government has to submit the PC-I as soon as possible so the federal government can approve it.
He said that he was satisfied over the proposed intercity bus project under which 358 buses could be running on the road with nine identified bus routes and would facilitate around 385,000 commuters every day. Shah directed officers to showcase this project for foreign investors as many of them were taking a keen interest to invest in Karachi.
Transport secretary Tauha Ahmed Farooqui briefed the meeting and said that Nespak consultants had been assigned to preparer the PC-I for the Green Line Bus Services and was almost ready to be submitted to planning and development department within the next 10 days to submit to the federal government. He added that technical proposals were submitted by 11 interested investment companies for the Yellow Line Bus Service on Thursday and this process, including financial bids from interested companies will be evaluated and completed within the next three months.
He assured the chief minister that working on the Orange Line Bus Service, which will run from Orangi Town to the Matriculation Board, will be completed soon.
Published in The Express Tribune, August 23rd, 2014.
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All these old buses should be thrown in garbage. They are definitely not worth traveling, Absolutely zero comfort and the drivers are pathetic and uneducated they should be thrown in garbage as well, there is no sense of driving in them,they and all the "chinqchi rickshaws" have damaged the already struggling traffic situation of Karachi. Really disappointing how no one bats an eye on the poor and inoperative infrastructure of the largest revenue generating and the highly populated city of Pakistan. Fixing the failed system in Karachi should be topmost priority of the government.