Ensuring comfortable commute on public transports

In Bangladesh, 'unsafe public transport' has turned into a buzzword, especially due to the reckless attitude of public transport drivers and staff and the number of road accidents that public transports are involved in. A recent study by Accident Research Institute of Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET) has found that 47 per cent of road crashes in Bangladesh is caused by buses, trucks and other heavy vehicles.

Besides the fear of road safety, constant harassment of female commuters has become a common and horrendous occurrence on these transports. As far as school, college and university students are concerned, they are usually seen as minors. Local buses rush away as soon as they detect students waving the bus to stop from afar. This is done because the buses do not want to take half fare from the students as is the rule. Otherwise, they search every nook and corner to find passengers on the roads, deceive them with excessive fares and violate the traffic laws.

The public transport authorities should strictly enforce their existing rules. They should also provide better training to the staff.

Nusrat Jahan Priety

East West University

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