Road Safety Foundation options to restore traffic discipline

Traffic congestion on a Dhaka street._11zon

Dhaka, Feb 24 -The Road Safety Foundation has emphasised that political guidance is crucial for establishing discipline in Dhaka’s public transport system.

The foundation’s Chairman, Prof Dr. AI Mahbub Uddin Ahmed, Vice Chairman Syed Jahangir, Prof Hasina Begum, Dr. Kamran Ul Baset, Abdullah Md. Ferdous Khan, and Executive Director Saidur Rahman said this in a joint statement on Monday.

The most effective and sustainable solution to ensuring order in public transport and reducing traffic congestion is the introduction of company-based bus operations under the Dhaka Transport Coordination Authority (DTCA) through a route franchise system, it reads. 

They proposed that replacing old buses with 4,000 modern buses under the route franchise system, costing Tk 3,000 crore, would encourage many private car users to switch to public transport.

This would discourage private vehicle use and reduce traffic jams, according to the statement.

Implementing the route franchise system is the only practical approach to restoring discipline in Dhaka’s public transport sector and controlling traffic jams, reads it.

The government must have its own fleet of buses, as urban transport systems should always remain under government control to make it successful. Reducing congestion would save work hours, conserve fuel, boost economic activity, and improve both mental and physical health, ultimately creating a more livable city, it continues.

Although DTCA has taken initiatives to introduce a route franchise-based bus service, vested quarters, allegedly backed by political patronage, are obstructing its implementation.

The RSF urged political parties to demand discipline in public transport and support Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA) and DTCA in successfully executing this initiative. If political parties collectively back the government’s efforts, opposition from vested groups will be ineffective.

The disorder in public transport is fundamentally a political issue. Therefore, political parties must intervene. Since these parties claim their politics serve the welfare of the people, the foundation expects them to play an active role in ensuring discipline in Dhaka’s public transport system, it added. - UNB