Open AccessCHARACTERISTICS OF INFORMAL TRANSPORT IN PAKISTAN: A CASE STUDY OF PESHAWAR CITY
Author(s) -
Shahan Ahmed,
Abdül Waheed,
Syed Akhtar Ali Shah
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
xi'nan jiaotong daxue xuebao
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.308
H-Index - 21
ISSN - 0258-2724
DOI - 10.35741/issn.0258-2724.56.6.85
Subject(s) - public transport , service (business) , business , government (linguistics) , novelty , accountability , flexibility (engineering) , private transport , transport system , transport engineering , transport network , mode of transport , local government , marketing , engineering , public administration , economics , political science , linguistics , philosophy , theology , management , law
Informal public transport serves most of the daily commuters in cities of the developing world; its effectiveness is due to the on-demand service, mobility, flexibility, and the fact that this service has already infiltrated the transport network of cities where the government has failed to provide mass transit, has inadequately provided it, or was far too late to provide it. Although this service provides mobility services to a huge chunk of commuters daily, it is associated with ills like safety concerns, source of noise, air and visual pollution, lack of regulation and accountability. This overshadows the benefits and the value that the service brings to the transport network. The true potential of the service cannot be realized without research on the very characteristics of the informal transport service and the modes of transport used in the service. To better understand the informal transport system, empirical research was conducted in Peshawar city. The results give important first-time insights into the transport network's characteristics and create a knowledge base about the modes used in informal transport in Peshawar. There is no current knowledge about these aspects of the public transport sector, which is a testament to the study's novelty. This paper will also shed light on the road safety associated with the different modes of the informal transport system. The study shows that even though the informal transport system does not comply with regulations on operations and safety, it is an important part of the city's transport network and a major part of the social-economic life of its citizen. Thus, it cannot be uprooted and must be integrated into a formal transport network with compliance with regulations in operations, vehicular conditions, and integrated systems and infrastructure.