Bus Route Rationalization: New experiment with old buses begins tomorrow
Collected Photo
A new initiative called "City Transport" is set to begin on Sunday with 816 buses on six routes to restore discipline in Dhaka's public transport sector.
Buses from various companies will operate on these routes, which are 26 to 30 kilometers long. But they are not new; old buses are being unified under the name of a new company. These buses will connect important destinations in the capital, including Gazipur to New Market, Mirpur to Keraniganj, and Ghatarchar to Kanchpur and Abdullahpur. This time too, e-ticketing, salaried recruitment of drivers, and measures to control the movement of other companies' buses on designated routes are not being implemented at the outset.
According to the route-based details of the Dhaka Transport Coordination Authority (DTCA), five of the six routes will have general buses and one will have air-conditioned (AC) buses. The Gazipur–Motijheel–New Market route is 26.47 kilometers long. A total of 253 buses will operate from Gazipur, Chourasta, and Tongi through various important throughfares of the capital to New Market. Buses of VIP and Bikash Paribahan will be merged and operate under the name VIP Paribahan. The Mirpur–Keraniganj route is 17.18 kilometers long. A total of 133 buses will operate via Diabari, Kazipara, Kalyanpur, Shyamoli, Asadgate, Science Lab, Shahbagh, Press Club, Gulistan, and Sadarghat, crossing Babubazar Bridge to Keraniganj. Buses of Dishari, Tanzil, and Metrolink Paribahan will be known under the new arrangement as "Chiriakhana City Bus." The Ghatarchar–Mohammadpur–Basabo route is 24.49 kilometers long. A total of 70 buses will operate on this route via Basila and Mohammadpur, crossing Basabo to Demra. The buses will be operated under the name Ramzan Ali Enterprise. The Ghatarchar–Kanchpur route is 25.05 kilometers long.
A total of 150 buses will operate via Basila, Mohammadpur, Science Lab, Shahbagh, Jatrabari, and Matuail to Kanchpur. Buses of Rajanigandha, Malancha, Somoy, and Midline Paribahan will be merged and operate under the name Four Star Bus Line. On the other hand, the Ghatarchar–Abdullahpur route is 30 kilometers long. A total of 190 buses will operate via Mohammadpur, Asadgate, Shyamoli, Technical, Mirpur-1, and Mirpur-10, crossing Pallabi, Kalshi, and ECB Chattar to Abdullahpur. On this route, PNP City Service will get a new identity.
The Tongi–Dakeshwari route is 22.89 kilometers long. A total of 20 AC buses will operate via College Gate, Abdullahpur, Airport, Khilkhet, and Bashundhara to Dakeshwari. The buses will be operated under the name Dhaka Chaka. The goal of bus route rationalization is to ensure buses operate on designated routes, passengers board and alight at designated stops, fares are collected through e-tickets, drivers are recruited on a salary basis, and profits are distributed among owners. This is expected to reduce competition for picking up passengers and the tendency to stop buses indiscriminately.
According to the Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA), there are 418 authorized bus routes in Dhaka, of which 98 are currently active. Among these, ‘City Paribahan’ will operate on six routes on a trial basis, while buses on other routes will continue to operate as before.
The BRTA has stated that approximately 7,000 to 7,500 buses operate daily across all routes in Dhaka, carrying about 3.7 to 3.8 million passengers.
