Transportation in Karachi

Karachi is the economic and financial hub of Pakistan generating approximately 53.38% of the total national revenues. It is locally known as the "City of Lights. The city has an estimated population of 16 to 20 million. Karachi is the most populous city in the country, one of the world's largest cities in terms of population and also the 10th largest urban mass in the world. It is Pakistan's premier center of banking, industry, economic activity and trade and is home to Pakistan's largest corporations, including those involved in textiles, shipping, automotive industry, entertainment, the arts, fashion, advertising, publishing, software development and medical research. The city is a major hub of higher education in South Asia and the wider Muslim world. Approximately 75% of the population falls in category of poor or low income groups. Urban transportation system of Karachi has no mass transit system and people rely mainly on bus services. The people on average take 13.5 million mechanized trips per day, of which 52% is made by public transport. Karachi transport is synonymous with bad roads, overcrowding and speeding which does not only lead to numerous road accidents but has also led to riots in the city. All these have been due to the neglect to the transport system of Karachi despite the enormous increase in its population during the last sixty years.

Infrastructure of Karachi
Despite being a cosmopolitan and hub of Pakistan infrastructure of Karachi is not so much good and has become a hindrance in the phase of development. Bridges are horrible for they have protruding steel joints that damage vehicles, besides giving commuters a bumpy ride. Underpasses are even worse with uneven surface while most of them become artificial lakes during monsoon, posing dangers to pedestrians, especially small children. As for roads, they are pathetic. Apparently, they seem new but in fact they are minefields of potholes and manholes several inches above the road level. Drivers should always be on the lookout for these potholes and gutters in the middle of roads. Not a single road built through the package is even or without these potholes or manholes. The most distressing are the cats-eyes or one should say

iron bricks installed all over the city. Nowhere in the world one can see these iron bricks hammered into roads that too horizontally that damages tires and suspensions.

Modes of Commute in Karachi

In Karachi there are 3 main modes of commutes which include buses (coaches, mini buses, and steel buses, and newly introduced CNG buses by Mustafa Kamal), auto rickshaws cost effective and good for 3 person and ladies to move easily , and taxi which includes metered and nonmetered. Each one has their own pros and cons, and can be adopted as per the requirement.

Buses
Karachi's public transport buses are easily recognizable with their reflective tape, colorful paint decorations of birds and flowers, flashing lights, different loud melodious horns and loud music. Buses here dont have any fixed bus stops. Minibuses, coaches and large buses (all with a separate compartment for women) typically provide the cheapest way to commute across the city. Minibuses, coaches and large buses (all with a separate compartment for women) typically provide the cheapest way to commute across the city. In the buses Passengers have to actually JUMP onto or off the bus while the driver will only slow down to about 10-15 km/h... in this hectic city, time can't be lost, Very difficult for a newbie to get on and off the bus. Also, the buses are over loaded and crowded at rush hours; people tend to travel on top of the roof of the bus. Pick pockets are common in the bus. Hundreds of buses have broken windowpanes and other parts are seen plying on the city roads. The pathetic condition of buses, rude attitude of conductors and over-loading puts thousands of the commuters in great distress and mental torture. During strikes it becomes very difficult to find buses on the roads. Owing to cheaper fares, people prefer the bus service but during such conditions it is also not accessible for them But also considering that riding a crowded, smelly & hot bus probably isn't pleasant for those daily commuters that have no other choice as no any other source of commute is available for

the poor class people of Karachi. It seems the drivers are at least trying to brighten-up their passengers' days nonetheless other than music In 2009, Mustafa Kamal introduced the environmental friendly GREEN BUSES Project which is an another gift of Haq Parast Panel to the citizens of Karachi for easing out the transportation problems and providing them greener and cost effective transportation network.

Auto Rickshaw- Tuk tuk

Rickshaw is most popular mean of Transport in absence of reliable and quality Public Transportation System in the city. These 3-wheeler VESPA of Italy and assembled in Pakistan can carry max 3 Passengers and widely used by peoples especially females traveling alone prefer Rickshaw over Taxi's because the Drivers LALA (means the Brother) are Reliable. Cost, well there used to be Meter but no more, its need to be set and bargain before get in, for short ride like 2 or 3 km it costs 30 and for a distance like 10 km Approximately Rs.70 to 80 . Rickshaws are run by every demographic of people but Pashto speaker and older retired people are majority among them. On the other hand people with the governmental job especially policemen are also found to run rickshaw to support their house hold expenses in this era of inflation. Running or renting out rickshaws has turned into a lucrative business after the CNG rickshaw scheme introduced during the Musharraf regime .In days of yore, rickshaws were a means to earn a decent livelihood for Pashto-speaking drivers, who in most cases would own one of the vehicles which they would personally drive around and earn fares from passengers. But, the introduction of CNG rickshaws by former President Pervez Musharraf has changed that culture forever and savvy businessmen invest in fleets of rickshaws which earn big profits. There were as many as 52,000 two-stroke rickshaws in Karachi in the past and the more recently introduced four-stroke variation of the vehicle gained immediate popularity as around 48,000 of them are running on the citys roads. As well as they are environmental friendly and cost effective as well as a CNG rickshaw can run for 70 kilometers resource on a single kilogram of gas, while the more thirsty petrol ones can only achieve 20 kilometers on a liter of petrol. And government of Pakistan has also given a deadline to move to the new CNG model rickshaw to support the

nature and economy of Pakistan. Some years ago, the number of two-stroke rickshaws was 51,000. Currently, there are less than half that figure and a mere 25,000 run on the city roads

Cab or Taxis
Karachi has 3 types of taxis. 1. Yellow Taxi / yellow Cab 2. Black Cab 3. recently introduced new cab companies( metro cab , white cab) Yellow and black cabs are old taxis (without ac, un metered ) There will take a long interview about where you want to go, which street, which building and either they will agree and they will not agree. Bargain or common in this sort of commute If you are tourist they are likely to agree and will ask for extra / huge fare. The condition of the taxi is very much bad. It is better to take the new metered taxis. RED TOP cab is the new addition; the cabs are new Suzuki liana, air condition and metered there are a few cab companies in Karachi whose fare are somewhat PKR. 15 per 1 km, PKR. 50 per first 3 Kms, and then PKR. 15 / Kms thereafter. RED TOP CAB STAR CAB METRO CAB WHITE CAB SANA CAB

All these cabs are new air conditioned cars, metered taxis. But mind you, drivers might drive rough at times .Also; you can hire these cabs for the whole day for around PKR. 1500 / for 7 hours or 100 Kms.it can be considered as a Better way to move around the city.

Comparing with the other Cosmopolitans

Mumbai involves the transport of millions of its citizens by train, road and water. Over 88%[1] of the commuters in Mumbai use public transport (suburban trains or buses). It is the most

convenient, efficient and cheap form of transport to a population largely without sufficient income to afford cars. Mumbai has the largest organized bus transport network among major Indian cities. But the train network is constantly struggling to cope with the growing population. A train compartment is usually filled with over three times the passengers it was meant for at peak hours. Mumbai's public transport primarily comprises Public bus service (BEST) NMMT-Navi Mumbai Municipal Transport TMT-Thane Municipal Transport Suburban electric trains Public taxi/auto rickshaw services(metered taxi) Waterway services Metro train

Future Transport Plans

The transport problems in Karachi are now being taken up at the appropriate metropolitan, provincial and federal levels. Karachi Transportation Improvement project are being initiated by Environmental Management Consultants (EMC) in collaboration with Karachi City District Government (CDGK) and Japan International Co-operation Agency (JICA). With the availability of a good deal of knowledge base about these problems in the form of a number of studies conducted in the city for various mass transit initiatives, efforts are now underway to evolve a permanent solution to the problem by carving out future transport plans for the city on modern lines The implementation of CNG bus project is an important component of the transportation system improvement measures and schemes being undertaken by the CDGK to transform Karachi into a modern city of vast business opportunities and growth potential. The CDGK has already undertaken an ambitious program of upgrading the city infrastructure such as

construction of roads, flyovers and underpasses, signal free corridors, etc. which would facilitate in development transportation in Karachi