Karachi: Commissioner Karachi Syed Hassan Naqvi chaired a meeting of the Regional Transport Authority (RTA) Board at his office on Wednesday and decided to rationalize the existing bus route policy to provide transport facilities to the citizens.
In this context, the ‘Karachi Mobility Project ‘, a plan proposed by the Transport Department Government of Sindh was also reviewed.
The meeting was attended, among others by Transport Secretary Asad Zamin, DIG Traffic Syed Pir Muhammad Shah, all Traffic SSPs, Assistant Commissioner (Headquarters) Iqra Jannat, the RTA Secretary, the Director of the Traffic Engineering Bureau, and others.
The Commissioner said that the policy of issuing bus routes should be rationalised and aligned with the needs of the citizens, ensuring that transport facilities are accessible to residents in every part of the city.
He directed the Secretary of the Regional Transport Authority (RTA) to prioritize the issuance of bus routes for areas including suburbs where residents face diffic
ulties in accessing transport services.
The meeting also decided to avoid establishing long-distance bus routes within the system. Furthermore, efforts to alleviate traffic congestion were reviewed, and the meeting was informed that work has commenced on the project to computerize traffic signals. Five traffic signals in Karachi are being computerized.
The meeting was informed that work has already begun on computerizing three intersections specifically, PIDC, Sindh Club (Metropol Hotel), and Avari Towers, which will help make traffic flow better and remove congestion in the city.
It was informed that the work for computerisation of traffic signals is set to commence soon at the Teen Talwar and Boat Basin signals. The senior official at the commissioner’s office, Ghouse Bux Abbasi, briefed the commissioner, saying that 12 of the city’s 16 non-functional traffic signals have been made operational, with work ongoing on the remaining four.
The meeting also reviewed complaints regarding arbitrary fare charges
by rickshaw drivers and decided that digital meters would be installed in rickshaws.
The meeting also decided that rickshaw fares would be determined based on distance, with the digital meter displaying the fare accordingly, which would enable passengers to know the required fare for their journey and resolve complaints regarding overcharging.