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student died in a road accident in Karachi on October 10. Protests erupted soon after. The protesting students demanded justice for the deceased and better transport facilities for all students. This was not an isolated tragedy. Many university, school and college students have died in road accidents in Karachiin the past. Poor roads, unruly transport operators, poor enforcement of traffic rules and a general lack of awareness of road safety all contribute to the problem.
Early in the morning and in the afternoon, thousands of overloaded vans of various makes and models carry students to and from their schools. No arrangements are made to deal with weather extremes. Roads in many city areas, where schools and colleges are located without proper planning, become clogged. Thus traffic jams are routine along the Shara-i-Faisal, Khayaban-i-Iqbal, University Road, Embankment Road in Lyari/ Kharadar and main streets in Nazimabad.
Some of these locations become inaccessible due to chaotic movement of vans, buses, coaches and rickshaws. In recent days, vans have become the dominant mode of transport for school and college students. Whereas the affluent pick and drop their children using private automobiles, a sizable number of lower-middle and middle income households have to rely on the vans.
Operators of transport for school, college and university students say the fuel prices have risen exponentially over the past few years. Some of the past governments had not allowed diesel prices to be raised, arguing that it was consumed for public transport of various kinds. There is no such policy nowadays. Transporters complain that many school administrations do not allow automatic adjustment in bus fee during an academic session.
Some transporters say they have switched to LPG (liquefied petroleum gas). However, use of LPG in public transport vehicles is prohibited on account of the fire hazard.
Transporters also allege bribe extortion by traffic police personnel. They say where drivers resist the practice, they are charged with various violations and fined. Since the drivers must meet the school and college timings, they usually do not challenge the authority.
Early in the morning and in the afternoon, thousands of overloaded vans of various makes and models carry students to and from their schools.
Some bus operators say the school management, too, try to fleece them. They say not all of the money collected from the students/ parents for the commute ends up with them. Some managements also charge a registration fee from the transporters. Given that unscheduled expenses cut into profit margins, the transporters seldom bother to invest in the repair and maintenance of their fleet. Some of these vehicles emit hazardous smoke due to run-down engines and poor quality lubricants.
Most of the school buses are quite old. Generally lacking access to credit from formal banking channels, the transporters find replenishing their fleets hard. This leads to poor quality of services.
The parents are another important stakeholder. They yearn to enroll their children at the most well reputed institutions irrespective of location. At times, this results in high expenditure on the bus fees. A mother of four school children said she was paying Rs 26,000 a month for school bus fees.
Most of the buses are parked along busy streets. Few school managements provide parking space or try to facilitate the bus operators. Most of the school buses operate without a helper/ cleaner. Older children are sometimes performing this chore. Most children get no help in carrying their heavy school bags while boarding or getting down from the buses.
Students lose the ability to concentrate on their work due to an ever-increasing travel time and stress. The parents also worry about the indecent behaviour of some drivers and their helpers, especially towards the youngest children.
School and college managements are a key player. Many are accused of apathy Some of them say they don’t see this as one of their core duties.
A few schools have admirably taken to pre-qualifying transport contractors and make regular assessments of the fleet quality. The typical argument is that since the school have no commercial interest in this service, they do not bother to exercise control on the routine working of the school transport. Traffic police officials blame the transporters, holding them responsible for drivers who lack basic skills and driving licences; declining fitness of the vehicles; overloading; incomplete documentation and speeding.
Drastic reforms are needed to improve the situation. School transport systems must be regulated with a fair assessment of the problems. The transporters should have easy access to formal credit for improving their fleets. A monitoring mechanism should be formalised on the pattern of the Citizens Police Liaison Committee. Latest technologies must be used to ensure safety. Vehicle monitoring devices, used to track the movement of automobiles, must be installed in school buses.
The number of buses for public universities must be increased to avoid crowding and reckless driving.
The writer is an academic and researcher based in Karachi