AN EVALUATIVE STUDY OF CHIEF MINISTER YELLOW CAB SCHEME 2011

An Evaluative Study of Chief Minister Yellow Cab Scheme 2011: A Case Study of Lahore

AN EVALUATIVE STUDY OF CHIEF MINISTER YELLOW CAB SCHEME 2011

Contents List of Acronyms List of Tables Table 1: Number of Yellow Cabs District Wise Table 2: Summary of Interview Results Abstract Introduction 10 18 5 6 8 10 11 11 12 13 14 15 20 24 26 . 4

Background of the Study Characteristics of the Scheme Significance of the Study Limitations of the Study Research Questions

Review of the Literature

Methodology Results and Discussion Conclusion

Recommendations

Avenues for Future Research References Appendices

Appendix A: Interview Questions Appendix B: Application form of Yellow Cab Scheme Appendix C: Advertisement Pamphlets of the Scheme

AN EVALUATIVE STUDY OF CHIEF MINISTER YELLOW CAB SCHEME 2011

Acronyms

BOP CNIC CNG ECIB PR SBP YCS

Bank of Punjab Computerized National Identity Card Compressed Natural Gas Electronic Credit Information Bureau Prudential Regulations State Bank of Pakistan Yellow Cab Scheme

AN EVALUATIVE STUDY OF CHIEF MINISTER YELLOW CAB SCHEME 2011

Abstract The government of Punjab has relaunched yellow cab scheme after two decades. The objectives of the scheme are provision of self employment opportunities to the educated youth and provision of economical public transport facility to the masses. This scheme would allot total 20000 vehicles containing 12000 Suzuki Mehran and 8000 Suzuki Bolan to the unemployed youth. To evaluate the performance of the scheme a qualitative approach is selected with a case study method. The data collection is made through structured interviews with the cab drivers. Along with interviews the data is also gained from the newspaper articles and documents of the government of Punjab for triangulation. The findings show that lack of parking facilities, fuel inflation, inadequate traffic infrastructure and political instability could cause problems in the successful achievement of the objectives of the scheme. Therefore a prudent planning is required at the end of government of Punjab to make this scheme a successful public program. Keywords: yellow cab, transport, Punjab, public, unemployment, youth, educated, Lahore

AN EVALUATIVE STUDY OF CHIEF MINISTER YELLOW CAB SCHEME 2011

Evaluative study of Chief Minister Yellow Cab Scheme 2011: A Case Study of Lahore Since 1947 different governments in Pakistan have introduced numerous programs to reduce poverty and disparity among the masses. To deal with the poverty issue several attempts in the form of interest free loans, financial assistance programs, subsidies and self employment schemes were made. In the same manner, under the rule of current government also, people have observed different forms of poverty reduction programs, such as Benazir Wasila Program, Benazir Income Support Program, Green Tractor Scheme, Ashiyana Housing Scheme, Chief Minister Yellow Cab Scheme 2011 and so on. However such programs face a harsh analysis and criticism from the opposition, media and the general public and the running government faces charges of corruption and monetary embezzlements in the planning and the execution of such programs. The recent financial and energy crises have resulted in plethora of difficulties and problems for the general public in Pakistan. One of the major outcomes is an increasing trend of unemployment especially among the youth. However along with this dismal trend of unemployment, educational institutes are producing graduates and educated youth in the job market continuously. The outcome of this positive aspect is going into waste due to inadequate opportunities of employment in the industry. In this regard the private organizations in Pakistan are on the verge of a complete collapse due to severe economic and political catastrophes in the country and they are exporting their capital to abroad turning a plenty of employed force into a pool of unemployed and dependent individuals. On the other side public organizations also do not have that much capacity and resources to support such a huge unemployed class by providing them employment rather the major public organizations such as Pakistan International Air Lines (PIA), Pakistan Railways, and Pakistan Steel Mills

AN EVALUATIVE STUDY OF CHIEF MINISTER YELLOW CAB SCHEME 2011

are also facing severe challenges making their very existence unviable. Therefore a real and valuable asset of educated youth has not been utilized at its best, so this under-utilization of human resources is aggravating the economic and social catastrophe in the country. There is enough evidence available from other developing countries which show that by increasing overall literacy through universal education better human resources can be developed which in turn help in reducing poverty as educated and skilled labor force can earn more (Ahmad, 2006). Furthermore Punjab, the province with the highest literacy rate and the largest population, is manifesting this trend more clearly and seriously. Hence this miserable situation invites public policy makers to give a serious consideration to this issue and develop a youth focused employment policy which can decrease this under utilization loss. In this regard, Government of the Punjab, after gauging the seriousness of the situation, has introduced a number of youth focused programs to make a better use of available human resources of the province to trigger economic development in the province. Along with other developmental initiatives, Government of the Punjab has initiated a project to facilitate educated unemployed youth of the province by providing them a self employment opportunity in the form of Yellow Cab Scheme 2011. The Yellow Cab Scheme also has different aspects to be studied other than the foremost one i.e. unemployment such as another implicit benefit of the scheme will to the transportation sector of the province. In this regard, it will be helpful in providing a transport facility to the general public and will reduce the transportation problems in the urban areas of the province. For instance the population of Lahore has been facing severe public transportation issues since the inception of new transportation system in the city and in this regard this scheme would provide an alternative transportation facility to the public.

AN EVALUATIVE STUDY OF CHIEF MINISTER YELLOW CAB SCHEME 2011

The other issues such as fuel shortage, lack of infrastructure capacity, environment pollution, violation of merit and transparency will also be addressed in the research. After scrutinizing all possible major factors and dimensions of the Yellow Cab Scheme 2011, a comprehensive knowledge and insight of the scheme can be developed. Moreover a significant comparison of this scheme with the yellow cab scheme in 1992 will also help to evaluate the scheme more critically. This scheme has a good potential of academic research where research tools and techniques can be utilized to create a pool of knowledge about this scheme particularly and about other public and unemployment reduction programs generally. The objectives of this research will be to conduct an evaluative study focusing the following factors; Transparency in the procedures of the scheme Budget of the scheme Effectiveness of the scheme Satisfaction level of the beneficiaries of the scheme Public perception of the scheme

Background of the study The yellow cab scheme that aims to curb unemployment and get rid of rickshaws has been reintroduced after two decades. The Punjab cabinet approved the schemes budget and execution on 14th July 2011("Punjab cabinet approves Yellow Cab Scheme," 2011). The government of the Punjab vowed that the Yellow Cab Scheme would be unique with regards to transparency brought about by the computerized balloting for the distribution of vehicles, which would be held at the divisional level in the presence of electronic media. Under the Yellow Cab Scheme, 2500 vehicles would be distributed among the winners of the draw every month and the process of distribution of 20,000 vehicles would be completed in

AN EVALUATIVE STUDY OF CHIEF MINISTER YELLOW CAB SCHEME 2011

eight months. At the start of the scheme the required educational qualification was decided graduation, but after discussion it was relaxed and an intermediate degree was accepted as minimum criteria for the application. However after receiving very low response from the public, the basic requirements for the scheme made more flexible deciding matriculation as the minimum educational qualification for the application and the due date for the form submission extended for fifteen days ("Poor response Yellow cab scheme basic conditions relaxed," 2011, p. 4). The Punjab government has so far distributed only 4,800 yellow cabs among the selected candidates against the target to handover 20,000 vehicles by the month of March. However completion of the distribution process may take up to a year, as slow manufacturing of vehicles and lengthy bank verification processes take up much time, resulting in delays. Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif had set the target to complete distribution of 20,000 yellow cabs by March 23rd and he had asked the Bank of Punjab to improve its system in this regard. However, the transport authorities claimed that the lists will be further scrutinized and transparent balloting process will continue till the last cab is distribution. The balloting of Yellow Cabs was held on August 29 in DG Khan, Multan and Rawalpindi divisions, while it was completed all over the province on September 10. The distribution of vehicles started on October 10th 2011 and so far the government had distributed only 4800 cabs in different areas of the province. It is worth mentioning here that the provincial government had fixed 7 billion rupees for the overhaul of transport sector, of which 4 billion had been allocated to the Yellow Cab scheme ("Yellow Cab scheme sluggishly moves ahead," 2012, p. 14). Moreover another 5000 applicants have also been named in the computerized balloting of the second phase of Chief Minister Yellow Cab Scheme held on 14th February 2012 in Lahore ("CM announces to go home if fails to end corruption." 2012, February 15).

AN EVALUATIVE STUDY OF CHIEF MINISTER YELLOW CAB SCHEME 2011

Characteristics of the Scheme The vehicles are consisted on 12000 Suzuki Mehran and 8000 Suzuki Bolan vehicles, total of 20000. In this scheme 40% quota has been allotted for south Punjab in an effort to compensate its grievances and in the rest of Punjab vehicles are allotted on the basis of population proportion. The vehicle will be allotted on a 20% down payment and the rest of amount will be payable within 5 years and monthly installment would be Rs. 7950 and Rs. 9250 for Suzuki Mehran and Suzuki Bolan respectively. The government of the Punjab would pay the mark up and the beneficiary would have to pay the cost of the vehicle only. The vehicle and the driver would also be completely insured and the vehicle would have tracker system installed. The distribution of the vehicles in yellow cab scheme is given in Table 1 with Lahore would get the largest number of vehicles 1670 and Hafizabad would get lowest 196 vehicles ("Lahore to get the lions share in Yellow Cabs.," 2011). Table1 No. of Yellow Cabs District Wise City Lahore Faisalabad Rahimyar Khan Multan Muzaffargarh Gujranwala Bahawalpur Rawalpindi
No. of Cabs City 1670 Jhang 1310 Sahiwal 1094 Lodhran 1038 Rajanpur 934 Layyah 847 T T Singh 838 Pakapatan 831 Attock No. of Cabs 440 430 391 387 387 377 310 299

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Vehari Khanewal Bahawalnagar Sialkot Sargodha Kasur D G Khan Sheikhupura Okara Gujrat

694 Narowal 671 Mandi Bahuddin 666 Bhakkar 654 Mianwali 610 580 579 555 534

289 263 259 251 249 235 221 217 209 196

Chakwal Nankana Sahib Chiniot Jhelum Khushab 481 Hafizabad

Significance of the Research Study The research study on the Yellow Cab Scheme 2011 has very important dimensions to explore as there is a dearth of scientific research work on such schemes in Pakistan. Although there are a number of public schemes introduced in different regimes in Pakistan and most of them remained unsuccessful to gain their objectives yet there is not sufficient academic research on such schemes. In this regard, research in such areas remained limited to the domain of journalistic research which could not contribute much towards knowledge creation in this field. Therefore an initiative is desperately needed to explore this area of public administration and to generate a good knowledge framework in this respect. This evaluative research study will provide a ground and guide for further advanced research in this area of knowledge. Limitations of the Research Study The limitations of this research study are as following; The study focus will be on one city of Lahore only. The Yellow Cab Scheme like other public development programs has a great number of diverse dimensions to explain but certain constraints of resources at the end of researcher make it impossible to conduct a research work which encompasses it

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completely. Consequently, here specific and clear dimensions of this scheme (e.g. unemployment, transportation, traffic infrastructure etc.) would be explored and analyzed avoiding dimensions which are too broad to be managed within a limited timeframe. As the Yellow Cab Scheme has introduced very recently, so there is a dearth of secondary data resources on this topic. With respect to this constraint, a research can be conducted at a rudimentary level explaining fundamental aspects of the scheme which can provide a foundation for the future and advanced research studies in this field. The research approach for the study is qualitative so there is limitation of generalizability regarding the findings of the study. Research Questions The research questions of the research study are as follow; 1. What is the procedure and criteria of vehicle allotment in the Chief Minister Yellow Cab Scheme 2011? 2. What are the hurdles which can hinder the successful achievement of objectives of Chief Minister Yellow Cab Scheme 2011? 3. To what extent Chief Minister Yellow Cab Scheme 2011 can be effective in coping with the unemployment in Punjab? 4. What are the other alternatives which the government can select to handle the problem of unemployment in the province? and 5. What are the potential benefits and the disadvantages of the Chief Minister Yellow Cab Scheme 2011 for the public and the Government of the Punjab?

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Review of the Literature The yellow cab scheme was firstly introduced in Pakistan by Mian Nawaz Sharif in his first period of government in 1992 and he decided to purchase yellow cabs without finding out if Pakistan could afford such purchases (Robert LaPorte, 1996). However during the scheme several discrepancies and corruption cases appeared in the media and it proved a big failure for the Nawaz Sharifs government (Saleem, 2007). Furthermore During the financial year (FY) 1993, the current account deficit was caused by a surge in automobile imports on account of the yellow cab scheme (Ahmed, 2009). During this period, institutional poverty was reflected in policies related to the political allocation of development funds, yellow cabs and green tractors (Tahir, 1999). Moreover this scheme had so much depressing effects that the Pakistan Muslim League (N) did not dare to reintroduce this scheme in its second tenure of government. Moreover several other public development schemes were allegedly introduced only to promote interest of a specific group of people and in this way a ruling party utilized the public money to please its voters only (Akram & Azid, 2006). During 1970s and 1980s different employment generation initiatives have been taken by the governments and non-government organizations. For instance The Small Business Finance Corporation initiated in 1972, an NGO supported The Agha Khan Rural Support Programme (AKRSP) in 1983, The Government/ILO/Japan Project started in 1994 and The Youth Investment Promotion Society (YIPS) established by the Federal Government in February 1987. The Youth Investment Promotion Society offered technical assistance and provide loans on soft terms to the educated unemployed youth of age 18 to 35 years (Chaudhry & Habib, 1995). Pakistan has been facing severe financial crises since 2008 and due to these crises several economic and social problems appeared in the country (Ali, 2011)13. The current

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economic situation of Pakistan is quite disappointed as Human Development Indicators remain low as almost half of the population is illiterate, infant and maternal mortality rates are high, access to quality education and health care particularly by the poor is limited, income and regional inequalities are widespread, infrastructure shortages and deficiencies persist, skill shortages are taking a toll in the economys productivity while at the same time, there is high unemployment and underemployment (HUSAIN). With the demographic transition taking place in Pakistan, youth unemployment takes centre stage. Youth should be absorbed productively well before the period when old age dependency threatens this potential. Consider that the labor force is growing every year but the opportunities for employment are declining and that too at a fast rate (Pakistan Economic Survey 2010-11, 2011). The Chief Minister said that the Punjab government is implementing a comprehensive policy for promotion of higher education and generation of job opportunities in the province which included projects like Yellow Cab Scheme, distribution of one hundred thousand laptops among talented students and self-employment scheme for the youth. The study of Punjab budget 2011-2012 reveals that Government of the Punjab has allocated Rs. 4.5 billion for Yellow Cab Scheme (White Paper Budget 2011-12, 2011)which will distribute 20,000 vehicles to unemployed educated youth of the Punjab. Methodology The methodology applied to conduct research study on the yellow cab scheme is qualitative approach and the selected research design is explanatory at the first level of study. Moreover the case study method has been utilized to complete the research study. Among the case study approaches the method of instrumental and single case study is used to gain greater insight of the yellow cab scheme and to understand the procedures of the scheme.

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A qualitative approach has been selected to conduct research study on this topic because it can provide a high level of flexibility to conduct a research on such an unexplored area. The data has been collected through conducting structured interviews of the cab owners. The interview schedule contains questions encompassing every major aspect of the research study. The interviews were conducted within the vicinity of Lahore with fifteen yellow cab drivers. The criterion to include a yellow cab driver in the interview is that the driver should be a direct allottee of the vehicle. Since until interviewee is not actual yellow cab owner he cannot answer the concerned questions of the interview and would provide incomplete information regarding the procedures of the yellow cab scheme. Therefore to avoid deviation from the main aspects and the wastage of time interviews have been conducted with the yellow cab drivers who are direct allottees of the vehicles. Besides the interviews with the cab owners analysis of the documents of government of the Punjab and newspapers stories and articles were also taken into account to gather relevant information regarding the scheme. Results and Discussion The results of the interview are summarized in the Table 2. As the table shows in front of Education nine respondents have educational qualification of matriculation, five intermediate and only one graduation or above graduation. The eleven respondents were self employed prior to avail this opportunity in different small businesses like running a small grocery store or running business of auto mechanic. One of the respondents was holding a private job in a transport company as a driver and three were unemployed without any source of income. No respondent was found working in a government organization. Two out of fifteen respondents gave response that they are spending less than eight hours daily on cab driving and spend remaining time in their other businesses. The seven respondents are spending eight hours to twelve hours and the remaining six are spending more than twelve

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hours a day in cab driving. The three respondents answered that they were earning a net income of Rs. 500 or less per day on average, while ten responded that their net earnings lied in a range of Rs. 500 to Rs. 800 per day on average. However, only two of them responded that they are earning a net income of more than Rs.800 a day on average. The most of the interviewees (twelve out of fifteen) had cab driving experience less than one month and three of them had experience more than one month but less than two months. Moreover not a single case found with experience of more than two months. The eight respondents answered that they applied for the scheme to get an employment independency and four out of the remaining responded they applied for the scheme only to improve their existing income level. Moreover two out of the fifteen respondents applied without any clear motive and made their mind after balloting when their names were in the cab winner list. The remaining one responded that he wanted a vehicle to support his existing supply business so he applied for the scheme to support his existing business. The six respondents were highly satisfied with the yellow cab scheme, while the seven others were satisfied with the scheme but only two respondents were not satisfied with the scheme. On the question whether they had seen any violation of merit and transparency during the process of the scheme, thirteen answered in negation that they had not seen any violation. However, only two of the fifteen respondents answered that they saw violation of merit as vehicles were also allotted on the basis of political influence. The all fifteen respondents stated the lack of parking stands and facility as the major problem faced by them after getting the vehicle. Six out of fifteen said that the security of the drivers is also another major problem in this profession while the other nine respondents did not consider it as a major issue at all. Eight out of fifteen responded that they have problems in maintaining and repair of their vehicles as they are new to this business and have very less experience to deal with the auto mechanics in their workshops. The remaining seven responded that it is not a

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major problem for them and they can handle this problem quite easily. As for as the fuel inflation is concerned, all of the fifteen respondents considered it as the most disturbing problem in this area of employment. In response to the most important benefits of the scheme eleven out of fifteen respondents asserted respectable employment opportunity as the most significant benefit of the scheme. The remaining four respondents said it is public transportation facility. When the respondents were questioned regarding the suitability of cab driving to their education, five respondents considered it as a highly suitable and appropriate profession for them and it certainly matches to their educational qualification. Another eight of the remaining respondents said it is suitable for them to drive a cab as something is better than having no employment at all in these hard days of inflation and economic crises. However only two of them considered this job inappropriate for them but they have no any option so that they are driving the cab. Furthermore in response to the question regarding the continuity of the yellow cab scheme eleven of them asserted that government of the Punjab should continue this scheme and more vehicles should be allotted to the needy individuals. However four out of fifteen answered the question in negation and said it is enough for the vehicles now and instead of yellow cabs government should advance loans to them so that they can invest it in their area of interest and expertise. Moreover thirteen out of fifteen respondents said that this scheme is helpful in coping with the public transportation crisis in the city but the remaining two respondents said that it is not helpful in this regard. When the respondents were asked to give their suggestions twelve of them said that the vehicles should be CNG converted because the high petrol prices make their profit margins substantially low. The remaining three said that it is good to have a vehicle on petrol because it increases their vehicles engine life and reduces the repair and maintenance costs in a long run. Nine of the respondents said that government should also provide them separate parking facilities in the different areas of the city while the

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remaining six said that instead of providing separate parking facilities they should be allowed to stop at the bus stops or government should extend existing parking areas. Moreover five of the fifteen respondents said that government should also provide them special subsidized workshops for yellow cabs specifically in the city but the remaining ten respondents did not show any interest to buy this suggestion. Table 2 Summary of Interview Results
Sr. No Variables 1 Education Matriculation Intermediate Graduation or higher 2 Status of employment vehicle allocation before Self Employed Government Job Private Job Unemployed 3 Duration in the cab driving Less than 1 month 1month to 2 months More than 2 months 4 Time spent on vehicle driving Less than 8 hours 8 hours to 12 hours more than 12 hours 5 Average Earnings per day Less than Rs. 500 Rs.500-Rs.800 More than 800 6 Motive of application To get Employment Independency Just to Avail Opportunity To improve income level Others 7 Satisfaction with the procedure Highly satisfied 6 8 2 4 1 3 10 2 2 7 6 12 3 0 11 0 1 3 9 5 1 Responses

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satisfied dissatisfied highly dissatisfied 8 Witnessed any violation of merit Yes No 9 Problems faced Parking Yes No Security Yes No Repair & Maintenance Yes No Fuel Inflation Yes No 10 Most Important Benefit Respectable self employment Transportation facility 11 Suitability of career highly suitable suitable unsuitable Highly unsuitable 12 Opinion about continuity of the scheme Yes No 13 Role of the scheme in coping with the public transportation problems Yes No 14 Suggestions for improvement CNG Converted Vehicles Yes No Separate Parking stands Yes

7 2 0 2 13

15 0 6 9

8 7

15 0 11 4 5 8 2 0

11 4

13 2

12 3

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No Workshops Yes No

6 5 10

Conclusion The findings regarding the first research question of the procedure and criteria of vehicle allotment in the Chief Minister Yellow Cab Scheme 2011are as follow Eligibility Criteria, Terms and Conditions of the Scheme Only one application per person shall be accepted. Lease facility for only one vehicle per family (applicant and his/her parents/spouse & children) shall be allowed. Applicant must be 21 to 35 years of age Applicant must possess valid CNIC. Applicant must possess a valid Car Driving license Applicant must have minimum qualification of matriculation. The applicant must not be defaulter of any bank/Financial Institution. Applicant must not have any criminal record. Applicant must be domiciled in the district from where application is being made. The total assets of applicant and his/her parents/spouse & children must not be valued at more than Rs. 2 million. Applicant must not be employed in any public or private organization. Applicant cannot be guarantor of another applicant. One person can be guarantor of one applicant only. The vehicle shall be used for the purpose it is allowed.

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The vehicle shall not be transferred in the name of successful applicant till maturity of lease facility or 03 years, whichever comes later.

The facility is subject to compliance of all SBP prudential regulations. The application may be rejected/cancelled or facility may be called back at the sole discretion of BOP, if any stated information is found incorrect, false or forged.

The charges relating to legal documentation, repossession or any other matter related to lease facility will be borne by applicant.

The ECIB/courier/other bank charges shall be submitted with application from and will be nonrefundable.

Allowing the facility shall be subject to availability of allocated quota, compliance of PR, future cash flows & verification of credentials & veracity of documents.

Selection will be done through live computerized balloting against quota of his/her Tehsil of residence in front of electronic media.

Successful candidate will have to complete a two weeks mandatory training at the driving school identified by Transport Department, Government of the Punjab.

Incomplete & false information shall lead to disqualification of the applicant and he/she shall not have right to initiate any legal proceedings against the BOP.

Rules & procedures of the bank shall remain applicable all the times. Successful applicants shall deposit Lease Key Money within stipulated period.

The procedure of the scheme starts with the submission of the application after fulfilling all of the above terms and conditions with form processing fee of Rs. 450 for Suzuki Mehran and Rs. 550 for Suzuki Bolan. After application government of the Punjab announces a date of computerized balloting to name the cab winners, and after the balloting the winners are given fifteen days to submit twenty percent down payment to the Bank of the Punjab. After

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receiving down payment from the applicants a date for the training of the driver is declared. In this regard a two weeks training of the driver is conducted under the motor way police to make drivers capable enough to drive the vehicles on the roads. After completion of this two week training the vehicles are allotted to the successful applicants. 2. What are the hurdles which can hinder the successful achievement of objectives of Chief Minister Yellow Cab Scheme 2011? As for as the second research question regarding the obstacles which can hinder the successful achievement of objectives of the scheme is concerned, the following answers are concluded; The lack of parking facilities for the yellow cabs in the city can make the scheme difficult to provide benefits to public transportation requirements. This problem is making great difficulties for the new cab drivers and that is why they are trying to use their cabs for other purposes such as supply business. Moreover the respondents in the interview also reported that they know the cases where applicants are using the yellow cabs only for their domestic use. In this regard the yellow cabs would not be successful in solving public transportation crisis in the city that is an important objective of the scheme. The inflation trends in the fuel prices are also a potential threat for the yellow cab services as price hike of petrol would make the cab services expensive and out of reach for the general public and in this way yellow cabs would provide no benefits in transportation services for the masses. Therefore the objective of the scheme would remain unachieved. Another important aspect that can affect the successful execution of the scheme is perception of the drivers that cab driving is not suitable to their educational qualification. In this regard they are not committed to this career and they are only doing it because they do not have any other option. This attitude of the cab drivers can adversely affect the performance of the overall scheme.

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Moreover the political instability is also a great danger for the scheme as the Chief Minister of Punjab is enjoying all the credit of this scheme, the rival political parties are not in favor of the scheme and are making severe allegations against Punjab government for using public funds to give benefits to their cronies. In this regard these parties can make a purposeful attempt to make this scheme a failure just for their political motives. Consequently the obvious effect would be in the form of another example of failed and unplanned public program and wastage of public money. 3. To what extent Chief Minister Yellow Cab Scheme 2011 can be effective in coping with the unemployment in Punjab? The yellow cab scheme is very useful in providing the employment opportunity to the educated youth in the province. The most of the respondents had an educational qualification of matriculation and intermediate and they said that this profession matches to their qualification. As they were running business at a small level before allotment of yellow cabs and it was very difficult for them to purchase cabs for the purpose of business because of lack of financial resources. Therefore in a way this scheme has given them opportunity to become owner of the vehicle after paying just twenty percent of the total price of the vehicle. However as the interview results show that only three out of fifteen respondents were actually unemployed and all others had employment in one or the other field. 4. What are the other alternatives which the government can select to handle the problem of unemployment in the province? The most of the cab drivers responded in favor of continuity of this scheme but some commented that it was better for them if they were provided the capital and given a choice to invest that capital in their area of expertise. More or less all respondents had good remarks about the scheme and considered it a positive step for the reduction of poverty in the

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province. Moreover government of Punjab can invest money to provide entrepreneurial training and guidance to the unemployed people to make them capable to start an entrepreneurial venture even with a small amount of capital. 5. What are the potential benefits and the disadvantages of the Chief Minister Yellow Cab Scheme 2011 for the public and the Government of the Punjab? The potential benefits for the public are reduction in unemployment and economical transportation facility in the city. On the other hand the government of the Punjab has also political benefits from the scheme as this scheme has been advertized as a revolutionary step to reduce unemployment and poverty in the province. This scheme along with the other such youth focused schemes would be used for political mileage in the upcoming elections. A successful execution of this scheme would increase the popularity of the ruling party in the province. Recommendations After going through the procedures and the nature of the yellow cab scheme, the following are the recommendations in this regard; There are only three cab stands in Lahore situated at Allama Iqbal International Airport, Lahore Railway Station and Mall Road. These parking facilities are not adequate to support the number of cabs in the city so the government of Punjab should provide more parking facilities throughout Lahore so that the cab drivers could wait for the passengers there. In this regard the government should construct these parking stands on emergency basis at the central points of the city so that the maximum number of cab drivers can utilize this facility. The government of Punjab should devise a comprehensive plan which can ensure the use of the vehicle as a cab to provide transport facility to the public. In this regard a

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continuous post delivery inspection of the vehicle is needed so that if any violation of terms of the scheme is witnessed a remedial measure would be taken. The government of Punjab should provide CNG converted vehicles so that an economical transport service be provided to the masses. Moreover special arrangements could be taken into consideration to make uninterruptive supply of CNG to the yellow cabs in the form of special yellow cab CNG stations. It would make yellow cab service as economical as the rickshaws and would also be helpful in controlling noise and air pollution in the city. To make this scheme more effective the government of the Punjab can make subsidized repair workshops for the yellow cabs specially. In this regard these workshops would not only provide repair and maintenance for the yellow cabs but also provide more employment opportunities to the labor class in the city. To facilitate the passengers, the government should take measures to implement meters in the cabs so that a uniform fare rate can be imposed. In this regard the passengers would be protected by being exploited by the higher fare charges from the cab drivers. The city of Lahore is facing severe traffic issues so it cannot support a huge lot of new vehicles on the road at this time. In this respect the government of Punjab should focus on the developmental projects going on in the different areas of Lahore to complete them speedily so that a road infrastructure would be adequate to support new vehicles. The government of the Punjab should give only an optimum number of vehicles to the people and use the public funds in other schemes. In this regard as also discussed in

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the results section the government should increase budget for the youth interest free loans scheme instead of allotting vehicles continuously. There are complaints regarding the slow process of the scheme and it is required to remove excessive bureaucratic delays in the scheme to distribute vehicles in the stipulated time period. There is a need to provide vehicles to the trained but uneducated or less educated cab drivers so that they can use it more effectively and efficiently. Avenues for Future Research As discussed in the limitation chapter of the research this study has been conducted within a limited time period and under limited financial resources. Moreover basic qualitative research tools have been employed in this research work so in future advanced and complex qualitative designs and methods could be used to crystallize the findings of this research study. The scope of the study is limited to one city Lahore only so in future the same research design could be applied to a large size of sample in different cities of Punjab. Furthermore only actors on the one side of the scheme the cab drivers have been interviewed, in this regard a more comprehensive research could be conducted covering other side of the scheme including bank and the concerned government departments.

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References (2011). Pakistan Economic Survey 2010-11. Government of Pakistan, Ministry of Finance. (2011). White Paper Budget 2011-12. Finance department. Government of the Punjab, Finance Department. Ahmad, D. J. (2006). Employment Generation Strategy for PRSP II. Ministry of Finance, Pakistan. Ahmed, H. (2009). Capital Flows and Real Exchange Rate Overvaluation - A Chronic Ailment: Evidence from Pakistan. The Lahore Journal of Economics . Akram, M. S., & Azid, T. (2006). Economics of Regaining Office:The Case of Pakistan (1947-2005). The Pakistan Development Review . Ali, A. (2011). The Impact of Financial Crisis on Pakistani Economy. Islamabad, Pakistan: The Institute of Strategic Studies Islamabad. Chaudhry, S. A., & Habib, M. (1995). Pakistans Experience in Employment Generation at the Micro and Macro Levels, and Future Directions. The Lahore Journal of Economics , 2 (1). Daily Times (2012, February 15). CM announces to go home if fails to end corruption. Daily Times (Lahore). HUSAIN, I. Structural Reforms in PakistanS Economy. Lahore to get the lions share in Yellow Cabs. (2011, July 19). The News, Retrieved from http://www.thenews.com.pk/TodaysPrintDetail.aspx?ID=58325&Cat=5&dt=7/19/201 1 Poor response Yellow cab scheme basic conditions relaxed. (2011, July 31). DAWN, p. 4. Punjab cabinet approves Yellow Cab Scheme. (2011, July 16). The Nation (Lahore), Retrieved from http://www.nation.com.pk/pakistan-news-newspaper-daily-englishonline/Politics/15-Jul-2011/Punjab-cabinet-approves-Yellow-Cab-Scheme

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Robert LaPorte, J. (1996). Pakistan in 1995: The Continuing Crises. Asian Survey , 36, 179189 . Saleem, S. (2007). SMEDA SME Policy Paper 2007- A Critical Review. Tahir, P. (1999). Economic Policies Continuation:A Critical View of the Eighth Plan 199398. The Lahore Journal of Economics , 5 (1). The Nation (2012, February 14). Yellow Cab scheme sluggishly moves ahead. The Nation (Lahore), p. 14.

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Appendix A Interview Questions for the Cab Drivers What is your educational qualification? For how much time are you driving the cab? What have you been doing before availing this opportunity? How much time do you spend on cab driving? What are your average daily earnings from the cab driving? Why did you apply for this scheme? What is the complete process of this scheme? To what extent are you satisfied with the process of this scheme? Did you find any violation of merit during the process of the scheme? What are the major problems faced by you in this occupation? What do you think what benefits have this scheme for you? Do you consider that cab driving suits your educational qualification? Do you think the Government of the Punjab should continue this scheme? To what extent will this scheme be effective in coping with the public transportation problems in the city? To what extent will this scheme cause to increase traffic problems in the city? Have you any suggestions to improve this scheme? Have you anything else to say on the scheme?

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Appendix B: Application Form

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Appendix C: Advertisement Pamphlet for the Scheme

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