Better late than never: With new body, Karachi may finally get the mass transit system

The authority will own, construct, maintain and regulate an efficient mass transit system in the province.


Sohail Khattak November 09, 2014

KARACHI:


For decades, Karachi's residents have been hearing incessant rhetoric surrounding the marvels of the Karachi mass transit system and the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) corridors. These projects, however, have only been limited to paperwork up till now.


But Sindh's lawmakers have stepped up recently and prepared a draft for the 'Sindh Mass Transit Authority Bill, 2014.' Under the law, the government will establish a mass transit authority for the execution and regulation of mass transit systems in the province. Although it comes almost a decade late, the move will hopefully kick-start the much talked-about Karachi mass transit project. The bill has been prepared by the Sindh transport department and will likely be passed by the Sindh Assembly soon.



According to the bill, a Sindh Mass Transit Authority (SMTA) will be established in the province with its head office in Karachi. The body will own, construct, control, maintain, develop, implement and regulate an efficient, sustainable, comfortable and reliable mass transit system in the province.

The SMTA will comprise a board of members who will exercise and perform its functions. The chief minister will be the board's chairperson, while the provincial transport secretary will be the vice-chairperson.

The authority will be managed by the managing director who will be appointed by the government on the board's recommendation. The successful applicant will be an eminent civil engineer with at 20 years' experience in urban infrastructure development projects. The managing director will be appointed for a term of four years, but the appointment can also be extended on the board's recommendation. They will be responsible for running the daily affairs of the SMTA, besides financial and human resource management.

Meanwhile, the SMTA will be tasked with conducting surveys, studies and technical researches with respect to the mass transit system. It will plan and implement various transport routes, structures and alignments useful in the construction, repair, maintenance and operation of the mass transit system. It will ensure the traffic disciplines for all vehicles and verify whether all vehicles used in the mass transit system are safe and secure. The authority will also award contracts related to the mass transit system and will be funded by the government while it can also get funds from private firms and international donors.

Officials in the transport department believe the authority should have been created a long time ago and that mass transit systems should be functioning already. "The time is not far when people will be fighting each other on the roads due to hours-long traffic gridlocks," said an official. "The government must speed up the work on the red, green and yellow line BRT corridors, proposed by the Japan International Corporation Agency." The official added that the Punjab government had its own companies and was way ahead of Sindh in the transport sector. "No matter what people say about the metro bus service in Lahore, it is a success story and the BRT corridors are the need of the hour for Karachi."

On a question regarding the authority's role in the construction the Karachi Circular Railways (KCR), the provincial transport secretary, Taha Faruqui, said that the KCR project was a joint venture of the federal and provincial governments and that it was being looked after by the Karachi Urban Transport Corporation. "The Sindh Mass transit authority will deal with the KCR as far as the role of the Sindh government is concerned. The Sindh government's part will be channeled through the Sindh mass transit authority," he said, adding that the Sindh Mass Transit Cell's director-general will be a member of its board and the staff of the cell will work with the authority. Faruqui refused to comment on the delays in the establishment of the authority, saying he was not in the department and had no idea why it was delayed.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 10th, 2014.

COMMENTS (4)

Khalifa | 9 years ago | Reply

It is amusing to see that the majority group of law makers attempt to out-wit the others through sporadic passage of such bills which transfer essential urban city scale functions to provincial level. The real bone of contention is the Rs 700 billion per year kitty that is transferred though the NFC awards and other means. Thus more institutional mechanisms are created for organized rent seeking around options of development. When Karachi Circular Railways project was being deliberated for revival, it was stark apparent that only Pakistan Railways possesses the experience and capacity to run the system. The closure of Karachi transport Corporation, SIndh Road Transport Corporation and number of other public enterprises should have been enough to sound warning bells. The members of SIndh Government only believe in extraction economies - extract legitimately or otherwise from the various options of rent seeking. It is clearly written on the wall - SIndh Mass Transit Authority will be a failure at its inception - just like the SIndh Solid Waste Management Board which is a non entity in practice and only exists on papers.

Zeeshan | 9 years ago | Reply

@Ahmad Azhar: Agree 200%. Metrobus Lahore has really helped the lower class commute at lower cost and in comfort. I use it daily.

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