Traffic discipline is within sight, but we need to move slower

The unhealthy competition between buses often cause traffic jams and damage to vehicles. Sometimes, it has tragically cost lives. Photo: TBS

While navigating the extremely chaotic streets of Dhaka or sitting in congestion for a long time, one would probably think that this is the fate of the nation and that we will never get out of it.

Right now, the situation feels especially volatile. As I write this, the blaring sound of police sirens competes with the chants of rickshaw pullers protesting in Mirpur. News of clashes between law enforcement and autorickshaw drivers is spreading across social media, painting a stark picture of the city's unrest.

Traffic in Dhaka has always been a nightmare, but things took a turn for the worse after the city's newfound independence on 5 August. Thousands of auto rickshaw pullers poured in from surrounding areas, flooding the streets without any meaningful traffic control. 

These vehicles now dominate not just the main roads but also narrow lanes, creating chaos wherever they go. This has become the new normal, making an already unbearable traffic situation even more excruciating.

Even before this recent influx, Dhaka's streets were famously slow. Efforts in the early 2000s to make some roads rickshaw-free failed to improve traffic speed. Instead, the reduced availability of these convenient three-wheelers drove more people to buy personal cars, further clogging the city's arteries.

But can we really blame commuters? Public transport in Dhaka has long been infamous for its inefficiency and discomfort. Buses, except for the rare exceptions that never lasted, were often so bad that only those with no other option dared to use them.

The metro rail has shown that people are willing to ditch their cars if a comfortable and efficient alternative is available.

A story by The Business Standard once explored why large companies hesitate to operate buses with better services. The answer? A toxic mix of syndicates and extortion. While the fall of the Awami League regime has weakened some of these corrupt networks, others seem to have taken their place. 

Even so, the ouster of Sheikh Hasina's government has sparked new hopes, making once-unthinkable reforms seem possible.

The Bus Route Rationalisation project, long touted as a solution to Dhaka's traffic woes, is finally showing signs of progress. Launched in 2016, the initiative has struggled to gain traction, but a major decision at the 29th meeting of the Bus Route Rationalisation Committee (BRCC) earlier this month offers new hope.

The plan is to bring all buses in the city under a single company, Dhaka Nagar Paribahan. This move aims to eliminate the unhealthy competition between buses, which has not only caused traffic jams and damage to vehicles but has tragically cost lives.

At a press briefing on 11 November, Nazrul Islam, administrator of Dhaka South City Corporation and president of the BRCC, shared some promising updates.

"We've asked all public transport operators in the capital to apply for inclusion under Dhaka Nagar Paribahan," he said. "So far, 80 bus companies have submitted their applications. Operators will have until 30 November to apply."

If implemented successfully, this plan could pave the way for safer, more organised public transport in Dhaka, bringing much-needed relief to its congested streets and attracting a lot of new passengers who would not usually dare take a bus.

This will stop pushing people to take a rickshaw for a ride through the city's main roads, where it is dangerous. This will in the process reduce the dependence and demand on rickshaws on the main streets.

In the meantime, the government must delineate and implement rickshaw lanes. Rickshaw lanes have been successful in some areas of the capital, so it should not be impossible to replicate them elsewhere.

Rickshaw lanes will justify cracking down on unruly rickshaw pullers, and people and law-abiding rickshaw pullers will support such measures. 

Also, the government should think about legalising rickshaws, even auto-rickshaws. This might be counterintuitive, but think this way: traffic police can issue traffic fines to vehicles which are altered or modified without taking prior approvals; similarly, if rickshaws are made legal, their designs can also be improved and approved with the help of engineers and experts. 

Local companies like Beevatech have been designing and manufacturing heavier rickshaws with a lower centre of gravity, motorbike-like wheels and drum brakes, making them a lot safer.

Legalising rickshaws will enable traffic police to penalise them just like any other vehicle on the road. Vehicles comply with the land's laws and regulations because of the fear of being fined. Rickshaw pullers should also be held responsible for their actions.

Another important thing is the traffic signalling systems. It is quite reassuring to see the government finally going for locally made traffic signals – manual at first with the hope of automating them soon. 

Previous governments spent hundreds of crores on automated traffic signalling systems, backed by loans and advice from international financial corporations (IFCs). Unfortunately, these efforts failed. Experts like Dr Md Hadiuzzaman, a professor at BUET, have pointed out that Dhaka is simply not ready for automated systems due to the chaotic mix of slow-moving vehicles, like rickshaws, and faster traffic on its streets.

The interim government is now scrambling to manage the autorickshaw influx without resorting to heavy-handed crackdowns. However, the situation is spiralling out of control.

What Dhaka needs now is a phased approach to fixing its traffic chaos. Instead of rushing to ban auto rickshaws outright, the government should focus on gradual improvements. The first step? Implementing bus route rationalisation. By ensuring commuters have a safe and reliable alternative to rickshaws on main roads, the city can begin to tackle its traffic woes strategically.

There's already proof that better public transport works. The metro rail has shown that people are willing to ditch their cars if a comfortable and efficient alternative is available. Similarly, introducing decent bus services could reduce the reliance on personal cars, further alleviating congestion.

Change won't happen overnight, but with practical steps like these, Dhaka can start moving toward a more organised and efficient transportation system. 

Ashraful Haque. Sketch: TBS