Qingqis with safety features may be allowed to operate

Provincial transport authorities are considering lifting the ban on CNG rickshaws

KARACHI: The provincial transport authorities are mulling over allowing the operation of the three-wheeler motorcycle rickshaws subject to the fulfilment of certain conditions.

The Supreme Court was informed on Wednesday that these conditions include adding safety features to the vehicles and making sure they carry only four passengers.

The transport secretary unveiled this in his report submitted to the SC during the hearing of a petition filed by the association of rickshaw drivers, challenging the ban imposed by the Sindh High Court.



The secretary stated that the 100-CC motorcycle rickshaws were banned in compliance with the high court’s directives. However, these rickshaws can be allowed to ply on the link roads only and not on the main arteries in the cities, he clarified.

Read: Qingqi association to go to court against ban

Only those Qingqi rickshaws that have a seating capacity of only four persons, including the driver, will be issued route permits, he said, adding that the same rules apply to CNG rickshaws.

Alternate vehicles

Elaborating on future plans, the transport secretary said the government is considering importing solar-powered rickshaws in order to provide the citizens’ alternative means of commutation. He said the government has decided to revive the Karachi Circular Railway with the assistance of a Japanese company.

Commuting corridor

The transport secretary said it has been decided to create three new corridors in the metropolis so that passengers can commute with ease.

A 21-kilometre-long corridor is to be created, from Model Colony to Mazar-e-Quaid, the officer said, adding that approximately 350,000 commuters will benefit from this corridor every month.

The second 26-km-long corridor will be from Dawood Chowrangi to Regal Chowk in Saddar. Around 125,000 commuters will benefit from it. The secretary said a third similar corridor from Orangi Town to the Board Office in North Nazimabad will also be created to facilitate commuters.

Read: With Qingqis gone, Karachi desperate for other means of transport

A division bench, headed by Justice Amir Hani Muslim, asked the petitioner’s lawyer to file the rebuttal, if any, to the transport secretary’s report. The hearing was adjourned till the next session.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 24^th, 2015.