Karachi Circular Railway (KCR) – Policy Guidelines For Sustainable Urban Transport

Transport-related problems in Karachi have significantly increased in recent decades. Traffic congestion contributes to increased air and noise pollution, health problems, high accident rates, and environmental degradation. It has also meant declining living standards, as to avoid long commutes, people’s livelihood choices have become more limited and this has determined where they live. Long commuting times, congestion, over-loaded and poorly maintained vehicles are the common problems for the residents of Karachi. The share of public transport in vehicular mode distribution is 4%, however they carry 43% of the total passengers in Karachi. Private cars are 37% of the total vehicular traffic, and carry 22% of the passengers.