Display vehicle registration number inside bus for passenger safety: Road Safety Foundation

The Road Safety Foundation has demanded that the Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA) issued registration numbers for buses must be displayed inside the vehicles to ensure passenger safety. 

The foundation issued an official statement raising the issue on Monday (17 October). 

Road Safety Foundation Chairman Professor Dr AI Mahbub Uddin Ahmed and its Executive Director Saidur Rahman, in the statement, said that for several years, drivers and helpers in empty buses, during night time, have been raping and killing female passengers and dumping their bodies on the road. 

Incidents of passengers being thrown and pushed off buses and being killed following arguments over extra fares have become quite frequent and almost every day, bus drivers and their assistants are seen to be involved in various types of crimes.

Transport workers believe as there are many buses of the same company, more or less identical to each other, a victim will not be able to identify on which bus they fell prey to a crime.

This gives them a sense of security and immunity which later results in bus workers getting involved in serious crimes.

The foundation believes that if vehicle registration numbers are displayed inside buses –  in big, bold fonts – then the passengers will be able to send that to their respective family members using a mobile phone when faced with an untoward situation. 

This initiative will curb crimes committed by bus drivers and their assistants and save lives, said the foundation urging authorities concerned to take necessary steps in this regard and organise training sessions for transport owners as well as workers.