Fewer buses on Dhaka roads, more small vehicles

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Buses have increased at a low rate in the last decade and a half in Dhaka. Cars or sedan cars, sport utility vehicles (SUVs, also known as Jeeps), microbuses and motorcycles have grown by leaps and bounds. Autorickshaws have increased, but are still less than required.

Government policies have encouraged car buying. Due to this, traffic congestion has increased. The Awami League government, deposed in the July mass coup, has taken a project worth thousands of crores of rupees in Dhaka in the name of solving that traffic jam. But it can be seen that there is a traffic jam on those high-cost airlines.

According to Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA) data, the number of buses, minibuses, cars (sedan cars), SUVs, microbuses, autorickshaws and motorcycles registered in Dhaka till 2010 was 4 lakh 62 thousand 785. 5 percent of these were buses and minibuses. In 2025, the number of these seven types of vehicles will stand at 19 lakh 21 thousand 387. Out of this, buses and minibuses are 2.83 percent.

A large number of buses and minibuses registered in Dhaka ply long distances and from Dhaka to surrounding districts. Mainly minibuses ply within the city for short distances. Compared to 2010, the number of minibuses increased by 25 percent to 10,341 in 2025. Cars and SUVs increased by 152 percent during this period.

The number of battery operated rickshaws on the roads has increased by leaps and bounds in the last few years. According to passenger rights organisations, the police and other stakeholders, the number of illegal battery and motorized three-wheeler rickshaws is as high as 1.5 lakh. Road accidents have also increased due to small vehicles.

Saidur Rahman, executive director of the Road Safety Foundation, an organization working on accident prevention, told Prothom Alo that previous governments have encouraged car buying in Dhaka in various ways. Various obstacles have been created in the field of bus registration. As a result the number of buses did not increase that way. He said that 53 percent of the city’s passengers are transported by buses. About 15 percent of the roads are used. On the other hand, 9 percent people travel by car. But about 70 percent of the road is occupied by cars.

The government approved the 20-year Strategic Transport Plan (STP) for Dhaka in 2005. The deadline for its implementation is 2025. In this plan, it was said that most of the people in the city are dependent on buses for transportation. So bus needs to be given importance in short and long term planning. The plan called for bus route rationalization, bringing buses under route-wise single companies, replacing small buses with comfortable big buses, etc.

JICA formulated revised STP in 2015. It is said that 80 percent of the people of Dhaka travel by public transport. The remaining 20 percent is by private vehicle or other means. About 64 percent of those who use public transport use buses and minibuses. According to the revised plan, six metrorails, several flyovers and special bus lanes (BRT) are to be built in Dhaka by 2035. Still, by 2035, 57 percent of travel will depend on buses and minibuses.

Governments have de-emphasized buses. During the 15 and a half years of the Awami League government, one flyover was built one after the other. Metrorail has also been built and is reaping its benefits; However the benefits are limited to only one route.

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The analysis shows that in the name of decongesting Dhaka, the government has spent about 50 thousand crore rupees on various projects including pedestrian bridges, flyovers, BRT (bus rapid transit). 33 thousand 472 crore rupees have been spent on metro rail. But there has been no change in the bus, the vehicle used by most people in Dhaka.

Metropolitan Regional Transport Committee (Metro RTC) gives permission (route permit) for the movement of passenger buses and minibuses in Dhaka. Its chief ex-officio is the Commissioner of Police. The concerned officer of BRTA performs the duties of member secretary. In addition to the relevant government officials including the police, the leaders of the transport owners-workers organization are members of the committee.

In 2018, the board meeting of the Dhaka Transport Coordination Authority (DTCA) decided that new bus route permits will be issued in Dhaka as part of bringing order to public transport and introducing company-based bus services (bus route rationalization). After that, the then mayor of Dhaka South City Corporation, Sheikh Fazle Noor Tapas, instructed Metro RTC not to issue new bus route permits from 2019.

As part of route rationalization, buses were dropped on several routes. However, this system is no longer effective. Metro RTC was implemented after the interim government took over. Since then more than 2500 bus route permits have been issued. However, BRTA sources say that almost all the buses that have received new route permits are old. Because RTC permit has to be renewed every year. As the RTC is ineffective, route permits of almost all buses in Dhaka have expired. In other words, after 2019, no new buses were launched in Dhaka in that sense.

Transport sector-related people cite another reason for the new buses not taking off. That is, since 2015, there is talk of removing old buses. There was talk of offering low-interest loans to owners, but that didn’t happen. On the other hand, there was less interest in investing in new buses due to the dominance of old bus owners. On the other hand, several inferior buses have come from China and India in the last decade. Meanwhile, CNG-powered buses have become obsolete within a few years, which are not actually on the road.

“Business is not visible”

Analysts say that the government does not have the money to take up big projects in the road sector in Dhaka. Economy has slowed down, revenue collection is low. Now the government can ensure affordable and comfortable movement for people by looking at bus management. That requires initiative and not succumbing to any group pressure.

Road Safety Foundation’s Saidur Rahman said, Dhaka’s public transport system is not people-friendly. The new government must take steps to do that. But the initiative is not visible in that regard.