Supreme Court bans unregistered Qingqi rickshaws across the country

The Supreme Court on Wednesday banned the use of unregistered motorcycle-rickshaws, better known as Qingqi rickshaws, across the country, however, it reluctantly allowed the use of government approved Qingqi rickshaws.

A two-member bench of the apex court headed by Justice Gulzar Ahmed issued the order saying, “Besides approved Qingqi rickshaws no other rickshaw shall be allowed to operate.”

Highlighting the poor standard of transport in the country, Justice Gulzar said, “Busses from the 1950s are still operational in Karachi. Noisy Qingqi rickshaws are running all over the country. These rickshaws are dangerous and often flip over while maneuvering sharp turns.”

“The government has developed the Metro Bus, Green Bus, and Orange Line Transport services across the country. But there is no one to regulate the system of Qingqi rickshaws,” he lamented. “The government is sleeping on these matters.”

The government needs to solve this problem and make sure that people don’t lose their sources of income, the court ruled.

Justice Gulzar Ahmed said that the ban on illegal Qingqi rickshaws is being imposed in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Punjab and Balochistan. The Sindh High Court (SHC) has already ordered legal action against the illegal vehicles in the province.

The SHC had observed that the description of Qingqi rickshaw did not the match with the description of the vehicle prescribed in terms of Rule 2(e), (f) and (ff) of the Motor Vehicles Rules, 1969.

Source: Dawn