Aggressive reforms underway in KP transport sector

PESHAWAR: An aggressive agenda of reforms is underway in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa transport sector.

According to a handout, Director Transport and Mass Transit Fahad Ikram Qazi has started taking concrete steps for reforming and streamlining the transport sector and services in the province.

To mitigate road accidents caused by mechanical breakdown of vehicles, air pollution due to hazardous vehicular emissions, and fire explosions occurring due to substandard CNG cylinders leading to an irreparable loss of life, the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Transport Department has declared the acquisition of vehicle fitness certificate mandatory for all the commercial and passenger vehicles after every six months.

Earlier, commercial vehicles used to acquire this certificate once a year after getting the vehicle checked by motor vehicle examiners of the Transport Department. However, in the recent past, there has been an increasing toll of road accidents and vehicle explosions due to substandard cylinders and plying of mechanically unfit vehicles on the roads. Moreover, the province-wide campaign has been launched to check the roadworthiness of all governments including those of health and educational institutions and private schools. A departmental survey revealed that hundreds of illegal taxi cabs of more than five years and other commercial vehicles of age more than 25 years are operating on the roads without having route permits.

Transport directorate is responsible for regulation of the entire provincial transport besides collection of revenue. The government was trying to bring structural reforms which extends regulatory ambit and enhance revenue for the provincial govt.

Similarly, the focus has been on improving the digitalisation and introducing IT based solutions for driving licenses and all type of permits, so as to bring maximum facilitation to the general public and ensure quality and transparency.