KARACHI: Karachi’s traffic police have begun rolling out a citywide “faceless” electronic ticketing system, replacing traditional roadside fines with automated citations issued through surveillance cameras, a major shift in a city long plagued by chronic congestion, weak enforcement and crumbling roads.
The new system, launched on Oct. 27 with 1,076 surveillance cameras, is part of the larger “Karachi Safe City” program. Authorities say it will reduce corruption, improve compliance, and eventually cover the entire metropolis, one of the world’s largest megacities with an estimated 6.5 million registered vehicles.
Karachi’s road network has struggled to keep pace with explosive population growth. The World Bank’s Karachi Mobility Project notes that the city’s arterial roads were designed decades ago for far fewer vehicles. Congestion, informal traffic patterns, weak lane discipline and deteriorating surfaces mean average commuter speeds have steadily declined. A 2016 study by the International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED) found that Karachi’s road infrastructure was “severely challenged” due to limited capacity and poor maintenance, issues that continue to fuel accidents and gridlock today.
