Passengers' frantic efforts to get into a bus in Paltan area in the city on Monday. The city is experiencing a shortage of transports after the launch of the traffic campaign — FE photo Commuters continued to suffer for the acute shortage of public transport during the ongoing campaign against delinquent city bus service operators.
People were seen Monday waiting at different places in the city for hours to catch bus to go to various destinations.
This has been the usual scene for several days as owners have almost halved the services on the streets for the reason.
Transport operators and traffic police sources attributed this thin presence of buses to the possible action against unfit vehicles and unruly drivers.
The number of buses plying in the city came down after the start of the month-long campaign of Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) on September 04 to restore order in traffic management system, said commuters.
Nishat Sraboni, a student of Sher-e-Bangla Agricultural University, said she has to fight for boarding a bus to travel to and from her home via Mirpur road.
Mamunur Rashid, an official of a development organisation, welcomed the month-long traffic campaign.
Traffic hassle is mounting in Dhaka city, he said, adding that the real picture of the traffic system emerges when such campaigns are launched.
A checker of MN Lavli Paribahan said they have reduced the number of their buses to 60 from 90 after the campaign was launched.
Lavli runs on the Farmgate-Mouchak-Malibagh-Saidabad-Jatrabari route.
He said tough traffic rules, checking of fitness and legal paper by lawmen forced the owners to take some buses off the roads, thus causing sufferings to commuters.
Echoing the same view, Tafir Ahmed of Welcome Bus Service said they are operating the buses having fitness and legal papers for drivers.
They are now operating only 35 out of 60 buses on the Savar-Motijheel route.
Others are also maintaining the same practice in the city streets.
On-demand ride-sharing services are getting enormous response in the present circumstances, but that was not a cheap service, commuters observed.
Ariful Islam, 'rider' of a popular service, told the FE that he was receiving more requests from travellers for weeks due to transport crisis.
Bangladesh Transport Owners' Association secretary general Khandaker Enayetullah said, "Those who fail to show legal papers of their vehicles cannot run buses."
On transport crisis, he said they [owners/associations] are thinking of easing public sufferings.
"We have efforts to bring more new buses to hit the streets. To do so, we are talking to respective authorities who decide on the matter," he mentioned.
Mir Rezaul Alam, DMP additional commissioner (traffic), told the FE that the campaign has marked a significant change in the city's traffic system.
"The changes are visible. People are responding positively to traffic laws, using zebra crossings, footbridges and underpasses. The operators are keeping legal papers of their buses," he mentioned.
About public bus shortages, Mr Alam said no buses will ply the streets without having legal papers.
According to the DMP, more than 17,000 cases have been lodged and Tk 10 million claimed from those who violated the traffic rules.
Four traffic departments have set up 40 checkpoints here to check fitness certificates and licences.
A total of 121 bus stops have been set up to prevent buses from stopping wherever they wish.
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