URBANISM: COPING WITH KARACHI’S KILLER TRAFFIC

The recent tragic accident on Karsaz Road in Karachi that snuffed out two precious lives was undoubtedly a result of reckless driving. The same day, a policeman was killed in the North Nazimabad area, as he tried to stop a Mazda truck involved in a hit-and-run that proved fatal for a motorcyclist. A day later, on August 20, a young woman riding a scooter was run over and killed by a dumper truck, when her vehicle slipped on a dilapidated patch on Rashid Minhas Road.
These three incidents are part of a larger malaise, often blamed on the incapability of our traffic police and city administration to promote disciplined attitudes and safe driving practices on the roads. Part of the blame also lies with a crippled infrastructure, where poorly-lit roads are peppered with potholes, and pits too, that turn into death traps — not just during the rainy season, but also when undrained water overflows on to the roads and streets.
While there are no exact figures on the number of road traffic accident fatalities, data compiled by the Edhi Foundation — which runs the country’s largest ambulance and rescue service — showed 780 people died in road accidents in the city in 2022.
But the actual number is likely to be much higher.
The now-defunct Road Traffic Injury Research Centre, which operated from the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre (JPMC) for a decade before being shut down in 2016, found that more than 1,000 people died from road accidents in the city every year. Its numbers were based on data collected from the emergency departments of at least five of the biggest hospitals in the city.
In a 2018 report, the World Health Organisation (WHO) estimated that, in Pakistan, road traffic accidents result in 14.3 deaths per 100,000 population. For Karachi’s population of 20.3 million, according to last year’s census — which was heavily criticised for “massively” understating the city’s population — this amounts to at least 2,800 fatalities annually.
PLANNING SANS IMPLEMENTATION
One of the reasons for the high number of fatalities in Karachi is the state of the city’s roads, which depict a scenario of utmost chaos, confusion and lawlessness. Commuting is a nightmare for a sizable population of the metropolis, with basics of traffic management seemingly difficult to implement. A focused review of the subject unveils many chronic issues that require careful consideration.
Historically, Karachi’s urban transport system was a combination of road-based facilities, such as public buses and mini-buses, and rail-based services, including the Karachi Circular Railways (KCR) and the intra-city tram service. It might be difficult to believe now that, half a century ago, the city possessed a road and rail network that was rated satisfactory for the needs and requirements of commuter and freight movement.
There have been various city plans that analysed this system in detail. They proposed pertinent guidelines to manage the future demands of expanded volumes of traffic. They included a conscious restraint on the increase in private cars; a proportionate raise in the number of public buses; efficient use of the circular railways (inoperational since a quarter of a century) and its potential extension loops; focused support to paratransit modes, such as camel carts for short-haul services; improvement in traffic management approaches; and rationalisation of fare levels.
Disappointingly, little was implemented from these well-researched planning exercises, carried out in the eighties and nineties. Instead, the ensuing years witnessed an exponential rise in the number of private vehicles, the shrinking of road space, an inadequate number of public buses, a diminishing contribution of the KCR in overall transport, and chronic deficiencies in traffic management.
Among the plans were specific remedies for the impending transportation ailments. The protection and extension of major corridors for transit way development, revitalisation of the KCR and improvement of bus services were among its key recommendations.
It is a sad commentary on the state of affairs that none of these vital plans could be officially notified. While a few proposals, such as the Karachi Northern Bypass, were voluntarily adopted by the agencies concerned, the plans could not be enforced with the comprehensive prescriptions.

BOTTLENECKS GALORE
It is relevant to recall that Karachi inherited an efficient and adequate road network. In 1990, the total running length of roads was 7,400 kilometres. It is now over 10,000 kms, with many additions and extrapolations made to the existing network. The potential of these roads is ill-utilised for multiple reasons.
Several major roads have been infested with physical encroachments that impede the regular movement of traffic. These obstacles include moving and stationary hawkers, publicity structures and hoarding poles, auto workshops and repair yards, illegal parking, unplanned installations related to infrastructure, and police posts and stations.
There are more than three dozen police pickets and offices constructed on road shoulder spaces, which are normally provisioned for expansion schemes or pedestrian movement.
During the evening and night time, many major roads are transformed into night-parking yards for public transport vehicles. S.M. Taufiq Road, parts of the University Road, Shahrah-i-Pakistan and the National Highway are a few prominent examples.
Intercity buses have also illegally converted many busy roads and adjacent spaces into their terminal sites. Roads and streets around Saddar, Cantonment Station, Lea Market and Pak Colony are locations from where the operation of intercity buses continues unabated. A bus stand exists right next to the Liaquatabad-Karimabad flyover.
Meanwhile, with the Red Line Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) corridor under construction, University Road has turned into an absolute nightmare for commuters. The NIPA flyover and Civic Centre traffic sections are two visible examples.
Moreover, the utilisable portion of University Road is infested with potholes. There is hardly any asphalt surface available to motorists. Alternative tracks must be developed to ensure smooth traffic operations on this major road. Contractors need to be instructed to adopt proper safety procedures, including the safe operations of cranes and dumpers. A work regime with full illumination at night may be useful to ensure timely completion of the work.
If that isn’t enough, the project, which finally started in 2022, continues to suffer from time delays and cost escalations. At a recent meeting, the completion date was moved forward to 2025. A 30 percent cost increase was also approved, meaning the project could now cost Rs103 billion as opposed to Rs79 billion.
PUSH FACTORS
A significant reason for the declining performance of road traffic is the rising load of vehicles, with numbers spiralling up in exponential progression.
According to conservative estimates, more than 900 private cars and 1,200 motorbikes are registered in the city every day. The deputy inspector general of traffic has stated the current number of vehicles on Karachi’s roads are nearing six million.
One of the reasons for this massive increase is the easy availability of flexible and attractive deals on automobile financing from commercial banks. But the absence of decent public transport options and declining levels of comfort in services remain the dominant push factors, contributing to the rise of privately-owned vehicles.
People prefer to brave the inconveniences of traffic jams, the stresses of driving and the scarcity of parking spaces to the ‘privations’ of public transport. Affordable options
in motorcycle purchases have greatly attracted the youth and upwardly mobile nuclear families.
By any standard, the available public transport is incompatible with our current requirement. The averages of several studies show that the city possesses around 2,000 public buses and 4,500 mini-buses and coaches, which are grossly inadequate for a city of over 20 million people.
While some relief has been provided by the Peoples Bus Service and the Green Line BRT operations, the city needs at least 20,000 more buses to meet the demands of common passenger trips.
Besides, the lack of preferential ‘bus ways’ and ‘bus lanes’ render public transport devoid of threshold operational velocities for passenger satisfaction. Surveys have shown that riders on public transport are mostly captive passengers, without any alternative available to them.
Meanwhile, auto-rickshaws now function as quasi-public transit and connect long distances. However, the provincial transport department refuses to issue them route permits, perhaps on account of safety considerations. But this has not restricted the rickshaw operators from plying on the roads.
In many neighbourhoods and for several common city destinations, the rickshaw is the only option. They are especially preferred by women, who perceive them as safe and relatively convenient for work trips.

‘A MOCKERY OF URBAN PLANNING’
It is interesting to note that the present regime in the provincial government has greatly focused its attention on transportation, through undertakings of new road constructions, underpasses and overpasses.
The Red Line BRT is already in the construction phase, while work on the Yellow Line BRT is expected to begin soon. However, the manner in which these projects are being carried out is contrary to the essentials of urban planning and execution.
Normally, the corridor development work is done only when alternative routes/conduits are appropriately developed and duly communicated to the users. Besides, the construction work is carried out during off-peak hours and at night to minimise the impact on traffic. It is also done with safety measures in place, so that the life and property of commuters is not endangered. The situation is quite the opposite in our scenario.
Contractors hardly take any basic precautionary measures while carrying out construction work. They even leave dug up trenches unmarked and unattended. Such trenches are death-traps in waiting for motorists and pedestrians alike.
It is also unprofessional and technically incorrect to begin all the projects in one go. Usually, such work is carefully programmed and coordinated, so that problems to road users and citizens are minimised.
Road and infrastructural works have to take place under the design and supervision input of qualified and experienced civil, transportation and urban engineers. Some of this strength has to be created in the local departments. Merely relying on consultants is not enough. The authorities concerned need to bolster departmental capacities to at least evaluate and monitor the ongoing works.
AN ILL-EQUIPPED FORCE
The task of enforcing traffic rules, regulations and codes is shouldered by the traffic police. This department faces serious problems, some of which are chronic, such as understaffing.
For a city of Karachi’s size and complexity, the net working strength of traffic cops is not more than 6,000 at any given moment. They are assigned diversified duties. Regulating traffic flow at intersections, facilitating emergencies where construction/ repair works are ongoing, VIP and VVIP duties, assisting traffic magistrates and similar officers, routine patrolling, manning the entry and exit points to the city, crime control, snap-checking and enforcement of ‘no-parking’ and ‘tow-away’ zones are some of the usual tasks performed by this ill-equipped force.
The absence of proper communications equipment, protective gear and devices, fast and powerful motorcycles/cars and a traffic monitoring system (backed by electronic tracking and surveillance) are some of the handicaps that need to be addressed without delay.
The department could also benefit from a better salary structure, and fringe benefits, including housing access, healthcare and education for children of the traffic cops. They must also be trained and sensitised to prevent wrong-side movement of vehicles, especially motorbikes and rickshaws, which has become extremely rampant.
It warrants a mention that, while traffic cops get criticised over their slackness and corruption as a norm, their good work and initiative are seldom appreciated. Many traffic policemen lose their lives while trying to intercept speeding vehicles.
Drives such as those against the use of tinted glasses and illegal number plates or the display of firearms are often abandoned on the complaint of high-profile individuals ‘inconvenienced’ at being stopped over it. The cops also do not have the authority to check official and military vehicles for instances of traffic rule violations.
With their present status of working at operational capacity, the traffic police can hardly cope with all their tasks.
LAND-USE PLANNING
Improvement in traffic cannot be achieved until integrated attempts are made, especially related to land-use planning. The past development plans prepared for the city kept this factor into view. Due to the loosening of development control and the emergence of a developer-builder-state official nexus, the norms of land-use planning have been blatantly violated.
Instead of securing and safeguarding land assets, many state agencies sold them prematurely, without congruent planning stipulations. This gave rise to anomalous densities and traffic volumes. Analysis in this respect has identified that the southern and central parts of Karachi are the most acutely affected, and thus in need of immediate attention.
The relocation of wholesale markets towards peri-urban locations; the creation of transport terminals; securing proper spaces for exclusive bus lanes and the future expansion of roads; rationalising the north-south and east-west arterial movement; balancing work journeys by rationally distributing the business, commerce and educational zones; and creating an efficient bypass movement system for freight traffic, are a few important projects that require priority attention.
There is no denying the fact that traffic management is an extremely complex affair. However, concerted attempts can certainly help improve the situation. An incentive-based approach needs to be devised, to enact an efficient public transport system, with exclusive operational preferences assigned to it. Starting from large buses, the system should possess an in-built capacity to be upgraded to any suitable mode of mass transit.
An integrated transportation plan must be worked out, aiming to disperse the city functions to new locations, where concentrations of peak-hour flows could be broken down.
The current land-use changes along the culmination points of the Northern Bypass and the Lyari Expressway must be controlled and utilised under this guideline. Emergency healthcare and trauma centre facilities need to be decentralised, preferably away from the corridors of VVIP movement. And a rational option for an at-grade, north-south loop, parallel to Shahrah-i-Faisal, must be worked out.
The writer is an academic and researcher based in Karachi
Published in Dawn, EOS, September 1st, 2024