Abstract

Urban transport systems in low income countries are marked by fragmented infrastructure, poorly regulated traffic and rising congestion. They are also paradoxically rich in underutilized public assets. This article examines a novel model developed in Islamabad, Pakistan. It strategically repurposes existing public resources such as institutional buses, state owned fleets, human capital and Safe City surveillance infrastructure to design an integrated, smart public transport system without the burden of new large scale investments. This study investigates how system inefficiencies are perpetuated and how public transport can be reimagined as a socially inclusive, environmentally sustainable and economically feasible public good. The research utilizes mixed methods design including ethnographic fieldwork, stakeholder interviews, route density analysis and carbon emissions modeling. The findings demonstrate that through optimal reallocation and digital augmentation of existing resources, public transportation in South Asian cities can become not only viable but also transformative. This work contributes to both urban sociology and transport policy by offering an empirically grounded, replicable framework for smart urban mobility in the Global South.