The concept of transit ways is that of providing exclusive ways for public transport. These transit ways provide a complete, separate facility for public transport incorporating not only the traveled way but also passenger stops, stations and provision for pedestrian access to stations.

The Light Rail Transit (LRT) operates:

• At grade (on ground level)
• Elevated
• Underground

AT GRADE

The impact of having the LRT at grade level is that it reduces roadway space and the accessibility to adjacent land used apart from the increased automobile travel time and delays. More crucial are the intersections where LRT crosses roadways and here it is given priority hence increasing travel time for automobiles.

ELEVATED

Where transit way alignments are problematic, there is a choice for elevation of the tracks but here the physical impacts like noise pollution and visual intrusion have to be kept in mind.

UNDERGROUND

Wherever grade alignments are impossible, the transit-ways are designed to go underground. Over here, cost plays a major role in its selection. This system is environmentally friendly with no visual intrusion or shortage of road space.

The selected 87 kilometers transit way network will be built over a period of years. The network links are not needed immediately; some portions become important as future traffic increases and other portions become important after high priority transit way segments are in place. It would be impractical to build the entire network all at once because of the scale of effort required to create detailed designs and acquire rights of way. Similarly, the level of construction activity would be excessive, straining capabilities to provide manpower, equipment and materials. The 87 kilometer extent of the transit ways was chosen on the basis of year 2000 traffic forecast and therefore construction is programmed to complete the network soon after.

The highest priority corridors will be built first; this will provide a logical sequence of transit ways available. This approach helps to make best use of all the resources involved in design, management and construction of the facilities.

The objectives of deciding the fare are as follows:

• The first fare objective is that fares are high enough for private bus operators to find the provision of bus service in Karachi, an attractive choice.
• The second objective is to keep the fares low enough so that they do not turn into a serious deterrent to public transport travel by the lowest income groups in Karachi.
• The third objective is to earn enough revenue to make a significant contribution towards the cost of mass transit infrastructure.

It has been decided at he present moment to keep the fare at Rs. 7.50 for the entire length of the 1^st corridor. Nonetheless, it is quite obvious that there would be only a few individuals who would be traveling the entire length of the transit way, therefore the fare for shorter routes would be less than that.