Kabul battles with traffic congestion

Standing in a sea of honking cars and clouds of exhaust, 41-year-old traffic officer, Sale Mehmed is bemused by all the congestion. Though hardly rush hour, the 20-year veteran of Lotas Square in the Afghan capital, Kabul says traffic has never been worse. "Where did all these cars come from?" he asked IRIN. Good question. According to the Afghan national department of traffic, there are more than 128,000 vehicles registered in Kabul alone, including 54,493 private vehicles, 27,853 trucks, 26,000 taxis, 17,154 private buses, as well as over 4,000 motorcycles and scooters. In a city of two million, with just a basic road network and few car parks, that’s a lot. Add to this a multitude of bicycles and the recent arrival of more than 10,000 UN and NGO vehicles, Kabul is well placed for a bit of gridlock. "There are far more vehicles now than during the Taliban time – at least 30 percent more," national department head, Abdul Shocar-Kherkhoi told IRIN. And while it is difficult to say where they are all coming from, the vast majority appear to be imported by Afghan returnees thronging the city from abroad. Debunking the myth that all returnees are penniless beggars, at a cost of between US $600 and US $5,000 per car - depending on model - importing a vehicle doesn’t come cheap. What troubles Shocar-Kherkhoi, however, is local capacity to manage the increase in traffic. Undermanned and under-resourced, his department is now struggling to oversee a trend that shows little sign of waning. "Accidents are much more prevalent," he explained, blaming the large number of right-hand drive vehicles (mainly imported or smuggled from neighbouring Pakistan) in this left-hand drive land. "About 85 percent of all accidents are because of this," he added. Moreover, as many Afghan drivers are unlicensed, the only traffic rule being observed these days is that there are no rules - a fact of life not for the light-hearted. Although life in the capital was undoubtedly full of privations under the Taliban, pollution, traffic noise and car accidents were rare. "These people are mad," 25-year-old Khalid told IRIN. "They just drive any way they want. Of course there are accidents," he exclaimed. For Mehmed, who earns just US $40 a month, trying to keep the traffic moving in an orderly manner can prove a fruitless task. "I like my job, but some of these people just don’t listen," he said as a bicycle veered towards him. Compounding the problem further are the often sudden and illogical excuses for traffic jams that spring up throughout the city at any time. Many aid workers told IRIN it can take up to an hour to cross the city if you don’t choose your timing carefully. The evenings are currently the worst - during the holy month of Ramadan Afghans suddenly take to the streets to get home before sundown before breaking their fast. But for the most part, most Afghans take the new traffic phenomenon in their stride, choosing to focus on the more positive changes taking place around them. Stuck in his car for the past 20 minutes, Abdul Qadir Niazi told IRIN one had to be philosophical about where the country was going. "I guess this is just part of the new Afghanistan we are going to have to learn to live with," he said.