ahmedsadatsakif
commented
2 months ago I have an observation regarding points 5 and 6.
I've done independent studies on what went wrong and the primary reason I found was that the bus owners were quite rigid about the change as it tried to replace them in the beginning.
Later when the city corporation wanted to compensate the bus owners for rebranding their ramshackle buses, it started to look feasible around 2020 but, it feel apart again when the government could not find a feasible reimbursement mechanism for the bus owners.
We have to make sure that we work WITH the current stakeholders and not try to replace them in any initiative we take.
This will reduce resistance and will bring them under the system. Once they are stable in the system, it is possible to exert pressure on them slowly.
Traffic control experts say capital-intensive projects alone cannot reduce traffic congestion and increase road speed, unless we impose discipline on the city roads.
Low-cost measures like bus route franchises and pedestrian-friendly footpaths still remain on the backburner.
"We are very enthusiastic about the big budget projects because it involves a lot of money."
" If you chant the slogan that there will be no traffic congestion in the city by constructing these, it means that you are inviting more people to Dhaka," said Professor Hadiuzzaman
Partial implementation The Strategic Transport Plan 2005 (STP) recommended that ramshackle buses be cleared away and the bus routes be franchised. The Revised Strategic Transport Plan 2015 (RSTP) reiterated the policy. But that has not seen much progress. Although the initiative to implement bus route franchising began in 2016, no one knows when the piloting will be completed.
The Ghatarchar to Kanchpur route, where only the Nogor Paribahan buses are supposed to ply. But we see ramshackle buses also plying alongside them.
The city corporation would have to clear the occupied footpaths. The number of rickshaws will have to be controlled and parking has to be regulated.
The new metro stations will be hotspots of congestion during the peak hours.
People hesitate to ride buses and those who can afford it, end up buying cars.
"These cars also occupy 80% of the city road space. Yet 28% of the total trips are carried out by buses, which only use about 5 % of the road space," reads the World Bank's blog.
BRTA does not have any statistics about the capacity of the city roads. But they should provide registration to the new vehicles after knowing the capacity of the city roads.
A few months back, the government issued a circular setting the economic life of buses to 20 years and for trucks, 25 years. The circular was postponed recently. ****
BRTA also does not have any data on how many vehicles have run out of their economic life, as many vehicles do not go to them for fitness verification.
Rajdhani Unnayan Kartripakkha (Rajuk), Dhaka City Corporation (DCC) and Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA) - these 3 agencies are the controller of traffic in Dhaka
25% of city dwellers walk to their workplace. If we can make the footpaths pedestrian-friendly, the number of users will increase and it will bring down the pressure on the roads.
Rajuk has to make sure that no one can construct buildings without a traffic impact assessment. If we have more artery roads, the speed of the city can be increased.