KARACHI: Crucial public transport sector in the port city goes neglected and as a result commutes of the mega city have to suffer.
Every day hundreds of thousands of commuters are compelled to travel perched on rooftops of overloaded mini buses. However, new public transport schemes are facing hurdles and delays due to lack of proper policy and oversight.
Recently, a meeting of public accounts committee was told that the pace of work on the Green Line Bus Transit System has slowed down; only 60 per cent work on this crucial project has been completed so far. The federal government had tagged more than Rs6.84bn for this project but in four years, only 35 per cent of this amount was spent.
Commuters in the city are also facing troubles as the vital rail-based system Karachi Circular Railway (KCR) has been in limbo for years. The government of Sindh is taking efforts to include the KCR revival in the CPEC project portfolio; however, removal of encroachments from the KCR track is still a big challenge.
Recently, Sindh transport and mass transit minister announced that hundreds of new wide-bodied buses would be brought to the city roads in near future. However, the Karachiites wait for the day when the public transport system in the city is truly overhauled and their sufferings will end.