Road discipline in the capital remains as bad as ever even after observing many traffic weeks and awareness campaigns, and carrying out drives by the law enforcers, reports UNB.
Transport sector experts have identified poor traffic and bus management system, dysfunctional signalling system, reckless driving and evil race on roads by drivers among the reasons why the traffic situation in Dhaka remains chaotic.
The reasons, as they mentioned, also include unplanned development, unauthorised parking, the growing use of private and small vehicles, the presence of rickshaws on key roads, and lack of proper enforcement of laws.
Last year, the death of two college students triggered a countrywide road safety movement.
At that time, there were widespread crackdowns on drivers and vehicles without licences.
But things have gone the downhill as soon as the movement stopped.
Talking to the news agency, BUET's civil engineering department Professor Dr Mohammad Shamsul Hoque, urban expert Iqbal Habib, Buet's Accident Research Institute (ARI) Director Professor Mizanur Rahman, Bangladesh Road Transport Owners' Association Secretary General Khandaker Enayet Ullah said some low-cost projects and a holistic approach in line with the Strategic Transport Plan (STP), revised in 2015, need to be implemented to restore discipline on the city streets.
Though it looks impossible, the traffic situation in the capital is still manageable, they said.
Ashis Kumar Dey, general secretary of the National Committee to Protect Shipping, Roads and Railways (NCPSRR), suggested leaving the city traffic to the Army for a year.
Iqbal Habib said there is no improvement in the city's traffic situation though the engagement of law enforcers have increased to some extent in the name of conducting some drives and observing traffic weeks.
During the drives, the law enforcers fined vehicles, mainly for violating some traffic rules.
"But they didn't take action against contractual appointment of drivers, arrest drivers without licences or seize unfit vehicles.
These three issues must be strictly dealt with to restore discipline on roads."
Habib, also a joint secretary of Bangladesh Poribesh Andolon, said most buses in Dhaka are unfit.
"The government should give the bus owners tax-free facility and soft loan to procure high-quality buses to replace the old ones."
He said there is no effort in sight to remove rickshaws from the main roads and discourage the use of private vehicles to increase the road capacity for mass transport.
"It's also regrettable that traffic signal system is still ineffective in the city."
Prof Shamsul Hoque said the government is struggling to bring back discipline on the city streets for lack of implementation of some pragmatic plans and enforcement of relevant laws.
He said the traffic situation will improve considerably if some low-cost projects and actions in light of the revised STP can be implemented.
As per the STP, he said, the government must recover footpaths, make roads and intersections more usable, bring buses under some franchises, enforce traffic rules and restore discipline in the transport sector.
Besides, Hoque said, the number of small vehicles, like auto-rickshaws, human-haulers and rickshaws, must be restricted on main roads.
"The government doesn't need much money to implement these plans, but it has no interest to do so.
It only focuses on mega projects like flyover and metro rail to solve traffic problems, but those are not solutions."
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