Plan after plan, a reliable bus service still eludes Dhaka

Highlights:

• Mayor Annisul Huq took the initiative in 2016
• Dhaka's 291 routes were merged into 42, grouped in 6 clusters
• Each cluster in different colours
• Only 6 companies joined Dhaka Nagar Paribahan
• 100 electric buses will be added this year

The two city corporations are once again trying to kickstart their initiatives to bring discipline to the capital's notorious mass transport system that had faced enormous challenges due to little to no enthusiasm from bus owners.

Former Dhaka North mayor Annisul Huq took the first initiative in 2016 for the operation of bus services under a single company.

The city's 291 routes were merged into 42, to be grouped in six clusters, each having different colours of buses, green, blue, pink etc.

The initiative lost momentum with the mayor's death in 2017.

The issue resurfaced once again following the road safety movement waged by students in 2018.

That year, a 10-member committee was formed with representatives of government bodies, police, transport owners, workers and experts.

The then Dhaka South mayor Sayeed Khokon was the convener of the committee which also failed to make any progress.

Then came the concept of bus route rationalisation and Dhaka South Mayor Sheikh Fazle Noor Taposh took the lead this time, adding another route in December 2021 under the new plan to run all city buses under a single company called "Dhaka Nagar Paribahan." 

The net gain is two specified routes: a committee and more than two dozen meetings with promises to better the city's bus service, which continues to elude the city's commuters.

What holds back the moves

Mayor Taposh faced the hurdle right at his first initiative. He had to defer the schedule to launch the Ghatarchar-Kanchpur route from 1 December to 26 December 2021 for what he called "non-cooperation of bus owners."

"I am committed to implementing the initiative, overcoming the non-cooperation of bus owners and various other obstacles," Taposh told a briefing in November 2021 before the launch of the route.

After deploying 30 wide-bodied buses from the state-owned BRTC, 70 more buses were expected from private bus operators to build a 100-strong fleet.

But only six companies joined the move with just a few buses.

The plan was big, running city buses under a joint venture with Dhaka Nagar Paribahan gradually on all 42 routes engaging other companies. Private bus companies, entrepreneurs and franchisees were invited to join the move.

But in one-and-half years, both the mayors vented their frustration again at the performance and response of private bus operators.

Taposh said how bus companies frustrated their pilot route initiative and why they would bank on state-owned BRTC for now.

100 electric buses this year

However, a lukewarm response from private bus companies has not stopped Dhaka mayors from planning even bigger.

Mayor Taposh came up with some good news yesterday when he announced that 100 electric buses will be added to the fleet of Dhaka city transport this year.

Although there are some minor obstacles, Dhaka's transport system is moving forward, he said.

"We are specifically identifying these minor bottlenecks and correcting them," the mayor said emerging from the 27th meeting of the route rationalisation committee at the Nagar Bhaban. 

Only new buses to ply Dhaka

Dhaka North Mayor Md Atiqul Islam said, "It was decided in today's meeting to conduct an operation against unfit buses."

The two corporations, along with law enforcers and the road authority will conduct combing operations to identify buses with old route permits, without fitness certificates to stop them plying the city roads, he added.

"Urban transport will be operated only with new buses," he said.

How route clusters will help

For the first time a whole cluster under bus route rationalisation is being opened, Dhaka South mayor said.

"We are going to open the whole green cluster, route number 21-28, by this year. Tenders will be floated soon for interested companies.

There are nine clusters of bus route rationalisation with a total of 42 routes in Dhaka.

Clusters are separated in different colours. For instance, the green cluster formed with the 21-28 number route.

This was introduced with the aim of providing quality service to the people with new buses, removing the old, broken, and discoloured buses.

Of the planned clusters, Dhaka Chaka Cluster between Police Plaza- Notun Bazar (Gulshan-Banani-Baridhara) is in operation and functioning well since its launch in 2016.

Until now the authorities were launching buses on one or two routes on an experimental basis. This time, the authority is going to open a whole cluster, the green cluster.

The authorities claim that this will eliminate all the traffic chaos in Dhaka city.

Besides, as they are to bring electric buses under this initiative, Dhaka's environment will also be benefited a lot, the mayor claimed.