After waiting for nearly 20 minutes for a Dhaka Nagar Paribahan bus, Farhad Hossin boarded a bus of Rajnigandha Paribahan from Zigatola to go to the Ghatarchar area in Keraniganj.
“The Nagar Paribahan buses only stop at the designated bus stands as a result it takes less time travelling on them than other bus services; however, there are so few buses,” said Farhad said.
Fahad is not the only one with that complaint.
The initiative of the piloting of the Bus Route Rationalisation has already hit a snag as the number of buses in two of its routes - Ghatarchar-Katchpur and Ghatarchar-Kadamtali has decreased, forcing passengers to commute on buses owned by privately owned companies.
On the other hand, the bus service of the Ghatarchar-Demra-Staff Quarter route remained closed for nearly six months.
With the aim of restoring order in the capital's public transport, the Bus Route Rationalisation committee started the Dhaka Nagar Paribahan bus service from Ghatarchar to Kanchpur through Mohammadpur, Zigatola, National Press Club, Motijheel, Jatrabari route on 26 December in 2021.
It started with 30 double-decker buses belonging to the Bangladesh Road Transport Corporation (BRTC) and 20 buses from a private company.
A year later in 2022, the Dhaka Nagar Paribahan buses started on two new routes with 50 buses for each route.
Sources said that there are more than 200 bus routes in and around Dhaka. As many companies’ buses operate on the same route, they compete on the road to pick up passengers. Many times, it leads to accidents.
The 20-year Transport Plan Strategic Transport Plan in 2004 recommended the introduction of Bus Route Rationalisation or Bus Route Franchise. The main aim of this initiative was to remove the dilapidated buses from the city roads. Buses will run under a handful of companies and the owners will receive profits.
In 2015, then Dhaka North City Corporation (DNCC) Mayor Anisul Huq first took the initiative to operate buses under route-based companies.
Later, the Bus Route Rationalisation Committee was formed in September 2018. The former mayor of Dhaka South City Corporation (DSCC) Mohammad Saeed Khokon was in charge of this committee. But it could not get any bus down the road.
Later, Sheikh Fazle Noor Taposh became the DSCC mayor and the convenor of the Bus Route Rationalisation committee. During Taposh’s tenure, Dhaka Nagar Paribahan buses were launched in three routes.
Mayor Taposh said Nagar Paribahan buses will be in all over Dhaka city by 2023, but it did not happen.
Less than half buses plying on the routes
The number of Dhaka Nagar Paribahan buses has fallen on the Ghatarchar-Katchpur route.
The bus service on the Ghatarchar-Katchpur had started with 30 BRTC double-decker buses and 20 buses from a private company. The private company have already taken away its bus from the fleet and the state-run BRTC has brought down the number of its buses in the Dhaka Nagar Paribahan fleet.
BRTC’s Narayangan Depot Deputy General Manager Moniruzzaman Babu said they are operating between 16-18 buses on a daily basis.
He said the reason behind the lowering of the number of buses is that they are incurring losses by operating buses on the route.
“We have been facing problems, we are finding it hard to get passengers,” added Moniruzzaman.
However, he said that the BRTC headquarters will manage more buses after the Eid-ul-Azha.
In 2022, Road Transport and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader inaugurated the Ghatarchar to Kadamtali and Ghatarchar to Demra Staff Quarter routes of the Dhaka Nagar Paribahan.
Private bus company Ovi Motors used to provide 30 buses in the Ghatarchar-Demra-Staff Quarter area. However, the operation of buses on the other route Ghatarchar-Demra-Staff Quarter has been suspended for many months now.
Around 15 BRTC buses are operating on the Ghatarchar-Kadamtali route.
BRTC Deputy General Manager (Operations) Sukhdeb Dhali, said they have been operating their buses on the Ghatarchar-Kadamtali route.
He said they have reduced the number of buses to 20 because the demand for passengers has fallen.
“We have buses ready, if the demand for the buses rises, we will be able to provide them,” added Sukhdeb Dhali.
Dhaka Transport Coordination Authority (DTCA) Deputy Transport Planner Drubo Alam told Bangladesh First, “A private bus company, Ovi Motors used to operate their buses on the Ghatarchar-Demra-Staff Quarter route. But they suspended their operation six months ago.”
When asked about the failure of the pilot project, Drubo Alam, who is also the project director of the Bus Route Rationalisation Project, said, “Besides the operation of private buses illegally running on Nagar Paribahan routes, the bus operators' mismanagement played a role.”
Professor Hadiuzzaman at the Department of Civil Engineering at Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology said the piloting was done in a faulty way.
“It is hybrid piloting because you are doing the piloting by keeping the private companies’ buses on the same route. This will not do. In this competition, the Nagar Paribahan buses will not survive,” he said.
“I believe that there is nothing to do with piloting. It is an issue of implementation,” Professor Hadiuzzaman added.
