Karachi – World’s Worst Transportation System

Karachi is considered to be the economic hub of Pakistan. With a population of about 16 millions, it is the third-largest city in the world. However, the living standards of the country have fallen drastically over the years. The political instability in the region has adversely affected the socio-economic conditions of the city.

Recently, a US based news agency, Bloomberg, declared Karachi’s public transport system to be the worst in the world. Terming the provincial capital ‘a political orphan’, Bloomberg pointed out the transportation flaws of the megacity. The city has had a fair share of incomplete development projects, subjected to administrative incompetence and criminal negligence of high-end officials.

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Unfinished roads, slums on railway tracks, elevated express lanes to nowhere — welcome to Karachi, home to the world’s worst public transport system. Years of political dysfunction have brought parts of Pakistan’s former capital to a virtual standstill, despite its economic assets — including the country’s main ports, and regional headquarters of Standard Chartered, Unilever, and other major companies. Now the planet’s third-biggest city is hatching a new plan to repair its crumbling transport infrastructure, after a $6.8 billion cash injection. Will this time be different? Link in bio for more, our @citylab content is free to read.

A post shared by Bloomberg Business (@bloombergbusiness) on Nov 2, 2020 at 1:30am PST

Karachi’s public transportation serves around 42% of the city’s population. However, the decade old buses, non-functional traffic signals, and roads covered in potholes portray the mismanagement of one of the fastest growing cities in the world. MA Jinnah Road is one of the most popular and busiest road in Karachi, which faces constant traffic deadlock for several hours every day.

Former capital of the country is a home main ports, trading organizations, and business headquarters, accounting for almost half of the country’s tax revenue. However, the city is still deprived of its constitutional and administrative rights. The funds granted for Karachi’s development are never practically spent on its infrastructure.

The local body administrators, provincial government and the federal government are always in a constant deadlock over solving the matters of Karachi. PM Imran Khan announced a package of Rs162bil for the city in 2019. Yet, the local officials complain that no funds have been granted since then. The federal government says it has allocated around Rs42bil already. The provincial government is always low on funds for Karachi, for which they also shelved the Blue Line Bus project in 2019.

Illegal encroachments and the gypsies living on railway tracks have made the entire transportation system dysfunctional. Furthermore, the citizens are often seen running red lights and ignoring traffic rules, adding up to the Karachi’s misery.

Karachi was once a well planned and connected city. Since then, the mismanagement of the city tells another story. There has been a constant increase in tragic accidents all over the city. Hence, it is high time that Karachi is carefully looked after, and developed in accordance with modern development trends and traditions.