Traffic problems are common in metropolitan cities such as Karachi and Lahore due to increased numbers of vehicles in contrast with the insufficient road infrastructure.
Traffic is a main source of pollution the horns of the cars produce noise pollution, the gases coming out of the cars produce air pollution etc. To escape the situation people, live in villages, valleys etc. to live a peaceful life, but the government should make a project of public transport such as Metro train, Metro bus and underground subways which are present in all developed countries, for instance, England, Japan etc.
There is public transport in Karachi but it is poorly maintained so the government should improve this.
The world is now shifting towards hybrid/electric cars which consume less or no fuel at all and even better it lessens the consumption of petrol which is an important fossil fuel and emits less hazardous gases regard to transport into the atmosphere. Here are some problems that face in regard to transport.
Online Taxis:
In recent years Careem and Uber offer online taxi services and have gained immense popularity over years. They offer Taxi services to citizens of Karachi and have made our life easier but here the main issue is that both Careem and Uber are private services. The government needs to make a mega transport project soon to replace these private services, Rikshaws and qingqi (chinchis).
Rise In Street Crimes
The rapid increase in street crimes in the last few years has occurred due to traffic jam during busy hours especially on main roads and suburbs of Karachi. Snatchers/street criminals on motorcycles, often target vehicles stuck in bumper-to-bumper traffic jam and are able to get away easily.
What’s The Way Forward?
Green Line Karachi Metro Bus
The green line is a bus rapid transit line under construction in Karachi. The 35 km busway is the first phase of the Karachi metro bus network. The project is launched by the Federal government in 2015, but the main question is why is it still not completed the construction of this project has been started in 2016 yet it is still not completed it somewhat feels like the government is giving this project less priority but last year federal government again took interest however the immediate completion of the project may give relief to citizens of Karachi.
Circular Railway
Karachi circular railway(KCR) was fully operational between 1969 to 1994 until it was abruptly shut down in 1999. Its total number of stations in Karachi were 23 The total length of the track was 50 kilometers. Which covered Karachi city to Gadap and Kemari to hub almost covering all major areas of Karachi. In August 2020 Federal government approved Rs 10.5 billion to restore the project and in November 2020 the circular railway resumed in limited tracks. It needs to become fully operational as it was before 1994 to address the lack of much needed public mass transit system in country’s largest city which is also an economic and financial hub.
Rikshaws And Chinchis To Be Banned
When these projects are fully operational the Sindh government needs to enforce a ban at local Rikshaws and Chinchis at major roads and downtown areas such as Rashid Minhas road, I.I. Chundrigar road, Malir Cantt etc.
Rikshaws and chinchi drivers often don’t possess authentic driving licenses/permits and contribute towards traffic jams via violating basic traffic, driving rules and regulations. Hence, authorities must ban rikshaws and chinchis to ease the burden on city’s traffic/road infrastructure and replace them with comprehensive mass transit systems comparable to that of other modern cities around the world.
