Five hundred diesel buses will connect the major cities of interior Sindh to Karachi and the project has been included in the ADP 2011-12, which is under process for approval, the provincial Transport Department’s spokesperson said in a statement issued on Saturday. Besides, the Sindh chief minister has approved an amount of Rs 200 million for the construction of bus terminals in Thatta and Badin and the PC-I for these projects has been submitted to the Planning and Development Department for approval, the spokesperson added.
Highlighting other measures undertaken by the department, the spokesperson said that as a ban on the registration of existing two-stroke rickshaws is already in place to curb noise and smoke pollution, they would not be allowed to operate in the province after June 30. Around 70,000 two-stroke rickshaws would be converted into four -stroke on subsidised rates and this project has also been included in ADP-2011-12.
The records of the Provincial Transport Authority and regional transport authorities would be computerised soon and this will help government generate revenue by tracing defaulting vehicles through a software system. The department has also prepared the Transport Policy, 2011 to facilitate transporters expand their efforts and facilitate the general public of the province. The operations of Daewoo CNG buses from Karachi to Hyderabad have already started and soon they will be expanded to cover other inter-city and inter-provincial routes.
No public service vehicle, which is over five years old, would be registered in the province, except for reconditioned imported vehicles i.e. buses, mini buses and coaches. A feasibility report is under process for the establishment of a modern bus terminal in 12 cities of the province in accordance with international systems and a delegation of Transport Department visited Malaysia for this purpose. The permission to operate four stroke CNG auto-rickshaws has been granted to more than 20 companies in the province and approximately 1,000 CNG rickshaws have already started plying on the roads of Karachi.
Around 25 point buses are being run under the administrative control of Transport Department in order to facilitate the employees of Sindh Secretariat. The Transport Department has also taken up the following projects under the Public Sector Development Program-2011-12 for approval: (1) Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto Bus Terminal (300 acres) in Karachi. (2) Construction of a truck terminal in Karachi (150 acres). (3) Construction of a truck terminal in Hyderabad, Sukkur and Larkana (50 acres each).
Physically-challenged people have been granted an exemption of 50 percent in transport fares. The route permits of about 500 defaulting vehicles have been suspended. Following the increase in POL prices, the Transport Department revised the public transport fare by enhancing Rs 2. Driver training schools are being reactivated besides reformulating the process of issuing driving licences.
The spokesperson pointed out that the Transport Department was separated from the Labour and Industries Department in 2007 and at the time, there were various challenges in the transport sector.
But in a very short time, the department has achieved its targets, the spokesperson added.
