By By Shahab Ahmad Khan
The deployment of 50 CNG buses by the City District Government Karachi (CDGK) may not completely eliminate the public transport problems of Karachi, but it is a step in the right direction.
The buses were launched successfully on July 27 this year, despite stiff opposition from the transport mafia. A couple of CNG buses were attacked by people belonging to a certain political party shortly after the project was launched. The CDGK’s project, however, braved the storm, and the buses hit the roads in Karachi.
Moreover, the fares for these buses have also been fixed — another move which will prove beneficial to people. The charges have been set at Rs10 for less than 10 kilometers and Rs15 for more than 10 kilometers; the most gratifying thing is that people over 60 years of age can travel on these buses for free.
These Hino and Daewoo buses were bought from Japan and Korea at a cost of Rs250 million, which was paid by the CDGK. With 44 seats each, and a capacity to carry 80 passengers at a time, the buses currently run on three routes: Green-1 runs from Surjani Town to Mereweather Tower via KDA; Green-2 from Gulistan-e-Jauhar to Dockyard; and Green-3 from Gulshan-e-Maymar to Liaquatabad No 10. The CDGK has also designated 50 CNG pumps for these buses.
Moreover, new bus stops constructed at various places along the route are proving to be very beneficial for people. These bus stops are well-managed and provide a clean space for commuters to wait for their buses.
Before this effort of the CDGK, the appalling state of public transport in Karachi was always ignored. While the city continued to burst at the seams with millions of cars and motorcycles that hit the road every month, public transport buses were never paid due attention to by the authorities concerned.
Some previous provincial governments had introduced a few buses which were donated by other countries, but these buses had only symbolic value and lacked sincerity of purpose. The authorities concerned failed to ensure proper maintenance of the buses, and as a result, the vehicles were ruined and relegated to the scrap heap in a short period of time.
After the neglect of all these years, the CDGK’s project of CNG buses might pave the way for more concrete efforts regarding public buses — a lot is yet to be done in this regard. There is a dire need to ply spacious buses in sufficient numbers to provide easy transport to the people. These buses should halt only at designated bus stops, and should carry passengers according to the availability of seats.