![\"Historic](\"https:\/\/www.zameen.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/Traffic-Management-Graph-1024x640.jpg\")
A\nstudy conducted by an NED research team, and funded by the carmaker, Indus\nMotors Company calculated the traffic volumes in Karachi during peak hours to\nbe 3500 vehicles per hour, even though the current road capacity allows for\nonly 3400 vehicles per hour on the road. This is exacerbated by road\nencroachments and absence of laws that regulate car parking. According to the\nsame study, an average delay of 13 minutes was recorded in free-flowing traffic\nper trip. Moreover, a 2013 study estimated that the cost of traffic congestion\nin Karachi was $688 million annually. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Naturally,\nwhen the number of vehicles on the road goes up, it causes traffic congestions\nwhich in turn degrades the road infrastructure, causes noise and air pollution,\nand ends up costing road users in fuel costs and in terms of lost time. Thus,\naside from being a nuisance, there is also an economic cost to traffic jams. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Commonly, policies to control\ntraffic involve widening roads, attempts to curb encroachment (which, lately,\nhas been on the agenda of Karachi administrators), and constructing high\noccupancy vehicle (HOV) lanes, planned foot over-bridges, underpasses as well\nas U-turns. There are also smart technology solutions such as installing intelligent\ntraffic signals that adapt to the flow of traffic, and route guidance systems that enable drivers to track traffic\npatterns in advance. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
However, research suggests that widening roads or building\nnew ones actually causes traffic to increase proportionally\u2014which is why\ninvestment in roads may not be as worthwhile since, roads induce demand to\ntravel. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Of course, this theory may not be plausible when it comes to\nthe dilapidated state of roads in a city like Karachi. However, other well-crafted\ninterventions are necessary. Since, public transit projects as well as most\nsmart city solutions require hefty investment, economists argue that road\npricing can play a pivotal role in addressing the traffic problem as not only does\nit provide a source of funding for these projects but also relieves congestion\nby discouraging the demand for travel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n