KARACHI: Due to acute shortage of public transport in the metropolis, about 65.5 percent commuters use their personal transport while only 44.5 percent commuters rely on the unreliable private public transport, which shows to lack of civic facilities to general public in Karachi, which is considered as one of the largest urban population centres of the world. An official meeting to review the progress of lingering bus rapid transit (BRT) project headed by Karachi administrator was informed that majority of the city commuters use their personal transport due to unavailability of proper public transport. These figures have been compiled by the experts of urban development in Karachi. The vital sector of urban public transport in Karachi is being run in an inadequate manner due to inefficiency and corruption in the related department. The officials sources said that 90 percent of mini buses and coaches running in Karachi are the discarded mini buses of Peshawar and other cities of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province that were banned in that province due to the expiry of their useful engine life. However, private and public transporters have not only successfully managed to bring these very old and dangerous vehicles to Karachi but also obtained their engine fitness certificates from the concerned provincial government departments of Sindh, sources added. This issue needs to be probed at FIA, NAB and Rangers’ level as mega corruption, misuse of power and violation of laws and rules are involved in it. Another verya serious matter is inordinate delay in repair of the Karachi Circular Railway (KCR). The sources inside the department said that same vested interests are involved in the delay of KCR that are minting money by running junk-class mini buses on the city roads adding that the KCR, if repaired and run could manage at least 30 percent commuter of Karachi, which would not only facilitate the citizens but also would reduce road congestion. It is said that the industrialists who are assembling motorcycles in Pakistan are also amongst the strong opponents of a proper public transport sector in Karachi, as this city is the largest market of motorcycles. The commuters of Karachi are compelled to buy and use motorcycles due to unavailability of public transport. The sources said that if Karachi gets a proper public transport system, a BRT and a working KCR it means huge loss to the motorcycle makers and private public transporters who run old and unfit mini buses of other provinces in this city, making a windfall, but at the cost of huge air and noise pollution in the mega city. It is learnt that though the federal government has already been working on Green Line Metro Bus project from Surjani to Tower but the other RBT projects including orange, blue, red and yellow lines of the provincial government of Sindh are so far on paper only and there is no hope of their seeing the daylight if proper funds are not allocated for them in the coming budget.