FE Report
The mayor of Dhaka South City Corporation (DSCC) will now discharge the responsibility of developing a unified bus operation system.
Late mayor Annisul Huq initiated the move.
The decision was taken at the meeting of Road Transport Advisory Council held at the Ministry of Road Transport and Bridges on Monday.
Roads and bridges minister Obaidul Quader chaired the meeting.
Shipping minister Shahjahan Khan and state minister for rural development and cooperative M Moshiur Rahman Ranga and mayor of Dhaka south Sayeed Khokon were present, among others.
"We've taken the decision to speed up the process of modernising the city public transport system," said the minister while briefing reporters after the meeting.
Replying to a question, he said the responsibility given to Dhaka Transport Coordination Authority (DTCA) after the death of Annisul Huq has been shifted to the DSCC mayor for this purpose.
Mayor Annisul Huq had taken the initiative to rationalise the city's more than 200 bus routes into six for operating those under six companies in line with the recommendation of the strategic transport plan (STP).
Though it was a task of the coordination authority, the responsibility was vested with the late mayor after a directive from the Prime Minister.
But the initiative was stalled after his sickness for six months, despite holding several meetings with all stakeholders, including transport owners and workers.
A business model was also designed by the late mayor.
After his death, the coordination authority has got back the responsibility.
The board meeting held on January 07 decided to carry out the task on a pilot basis on two routes. Obaidul Quader chaired the meeting.
However, people familiar with the situation said due to non-cooperation from bus operators, the co-ordination authority could not hold any meeting.
Sayeed Khokon told the FE he will now form a committee to review the proposal of the late mayor and set up the companies.
The 42nd advisory council meeting held after almost 10 months also discussed road safety issues including three deadly road accidents occurred during the Eid-ul-Adha holidays.
Persons who attended the meeting said the council members also discussed the situation in the aftermath of student protests.
Most of the members took these issues seriously, they added.
The meeting took several other decisions including the ban of slow-moving, non-motorised vehicles such as Nasimon, Korimon, Bhotbhoti, Easybike and Leguna on national highways.
It also directed the authorities to take necessary measures to complete the removal of all hooks, angles and bumpers from buses, trucks and covered van and find suitable places near highways to dump vehicles without fitness and legal documents.
The meeting also reiterated the efforts taken by different agencies including BRTA, Highway Police and Dhaka Metropolitan Police to bring discipline on the roads.
Among the council members, inspector general of police, labour secretary, DTCA executive director, deputy commissioners, DMP commissioner, president of the Consumer Association of Bangladesh, secretary-general of the Bangladesh Road Transport Association, president of the Bangladesh Bus Truck Owners Association, general secretary of the Bangladesh Road Transport Workers Federation were present in the meeting.
© 2024 - All Rights with The Financial Express
