Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP) reflects the development framework of the government with sectoral and regional priorities set under the national plan. It reflects an important tradeoff between the paucity of resources and the development needs of the country. This warrants optimizing outcomes through efficient resource allocation and effective implementation of a development programme to achieve socio-economic development objectives. PSDP gives impetus to economic growth, creates spillovers for private investment and boosts business activities. The overall objective of the PSDP is to bridge infrastructure gaps and improve human and social development indicators. However, the PSDP in Balochistan seems to be nonchalant towards the transportation system in Balochistan. In this all scenario, the most important factor has been brushed aside. This factor is the transportation for the poverty ridden capital city of Quetta.
“A developed country is not a place where the poor have cars; it is where the rich use public transport”, Gustavo Petro, Mayor of Bogota, Colombia. Road transportation is one of the most serious issues confronting most of the world’s population. Traffic congestion is a typical phenomenon in major cities across the world, including Quetta. In metropolitan settings, traffic congestion tends to delay, hinder, and be non-productive economic operations. Several studies on traffic-related issues are being conducted under various clusters, with economic and financial issues being considered. Financial losses due to traffic congestion have been recorded in several urban centers across the world. And Quetta city, being a rigid portion of Balochistan, is facing the worst position.
The city has a population of nearly 3 million people and is home to 25 percent of the population of Balochistan. The public transport system runs on old buses which are small, slow and uncomfortable. Only those who have no other means of transport use these buses. Rickshaws also operate within Quetta but these are expensive for the lower middle class and not very comfortable for those who can afford them. Therefore, the only convenient mode of transport in Quetta is driving a privately owned car.
When private cars become the sole mode of transport in a city, a wide range of problems arise. For instance, a small neighborhood in Quetta has 50 people who have to travel to work on a daily basis. If the public transport was workable and convenient, then all of them could travel in one bus or a train. However, under the current circumstances, this neighborhood needs 50 vehicles for the daily commute. This increases traffic congestion on roads, people’s disposable incomes will fall as they spend on the purchase and maintenance of the vehicle, not to mention the volume of the pollutants these vehicles emit and the subsequent damage caused to the environment.
Moreover, the provincial administration of Balochistan decided to launch the first-ever green bus project in Quetta in the month of March to provide quality transport services to citizens as far as the CM of Balochistan Mr Quddus Bizanjo went on to announce it. Other provinces in the country have already implemented similar plans by introducing metro bus services in places like Karachi, Lahore, Rawalpindi, and Multan. Quetta has had an old public transport system for the last three decades, with an estimated 550 carriers to serve a population of about three million. And these bus services have turned to become a lobby in the city.
However, there are only seven routes for the buses, making it difficult for people to commute to different locations in the city without hassle. “The government purchased eight fleet buses in 2021 to start the green bus service in Quetta,” said the provincial transport secretary, Dr. Muhammad Aslam Baloch. He added “however, the project should not be implemented due to some reasons. Now, the government has decided to resume it under a public-private partnership program. “Four buses will cover the transport routes from the Railway Station to Sariab Custom, and four will commute from the Railway Station to Baleli, an outskirt neighborhood in Quetta,” he continued. “We have decided to start the service within the next three months.” It is a welcome position for the people in Balochistan most particularly for the students who leave out their homes to stay in the capital city for their studies to reach the libraries which are at the center of the city.
It is pertinent to note that the Green Bus Service project was finalized in August last year by Balochistan Public Private Partnership (BPPP) Board. The project is part of the 15 development projects under the PPP mode. The government needs to chart out policies for the fees charged from different routes. It is a need for the government to focus properly on the people who are related to the fields such as the education, health and other prioritized institutions. The political leadership of the province comes from the elite classes and so it shows no concern for improving public transport facilities. This is the primary reason which has prevented the political leadership from allocating any resources for the establishment of a workable public transport system in Balochistan.