Dhaka city's infamy for its chaotic public transportation system is known but now it makes news for the dwindling of the fleet of buses. The bus service system in the town is steadily losing its share of passengers for a lack of popularity and under the pressure of rising non-motorised transports (NMTs). According to a report carried in this newspaper, Dhaka's mass transportation system has now reached a disastrous level with 9.2 per cent share of passenger-kilometres (PKM) while human-powered transports like pedal-rickshaws and battery-rickshaws have grabbed as high as 30 per cent.
Based on a modal split of transport in Dhaka metropolitan area, an FE report shows that bus service in the city displayed a steady declining trend beginning with 28 per cent PKM in 2009 that came down to 21 per cent in 2014 and to the latest 9.2 per cent in 2023. On the other hand, rickshaws' share of passengers first came down to 21per cent in 2014 from about 39 per cent in 2009 and again rose to 30 per cent in 2023. Motorbikes' share also shows a rising trend -- from 3.4 per cent in 2014 to 9.5 per cent in 2023. The share of buses fell despite increase in people's mobility by 38 per cent over nine years since 2014. This has happened as a result of growing un-popularity of bus service and partly due to the boom of NMTs on the one hand and shelving of the franchise-based bus service project on the other.
A modern city with a burgeoning population needs to have an extensive mass transportation network but Dhaka is on the reverse gear in this respect. Increase in the number of buses and other mass transportation system could have reduced the use of private cars and thus save more road space and ease traffic condition but it is not going to happen now. The introduction of metro rail service between Uttara and Motijheel is an important addition to the city's mass transportation system but it fulfils only an insignificant part of the need, and that too in a particular region. While increase in the share of rickshaws is an indication of self-employment of hundreds of thousands of unemployed people, the problem with boom of these slow moving improvised vehicles is that those are clogging the city streets and leading to further worsening of the perennial traffic movement situation. If due emphasis is not given to the development of mass transportation system, experts opine, share of rickshaws would increase further with the passage of time. Uncontrolled movement of motorbikes has increased chances of road accidents.
City dwellers now walk more than before -- recording a steady growth from 19 per cent in 2009 to 35 per cent in 2023. Instead of remaining stuck to the road due to traffic snarl-up, it is possible to reach destination earlier, especially when the average speed of traffic in Dhaka has come down drastically. Walking is also good for health. But the problem remains that adequate attention has not be given to improving walking facilities. Moreover, walking cannot be a viable option in case of long distance.
The Bus Route Rationalisation initiative under a franchise-based bus service project launched in 2021 could have helped restore order in the mass transportation system and increase its share in the service. But the project did not succeed because of Dhaka Transport Coordination Authority's failure to prevent unauthorised buses from operating on the designated routes as FE reports. After the initial euphoria, there is no visible initiative to go on with the project. The BRR initiative has now been relegated to the backburner.
However, reduced share of mass transportation is not all about the state of affairs in the city; there are several other ordeals that the city dwellers have to go through on a regular basis. Dhaka has the record of being the slowest city in the world with an average traffic speed of less than five kilometres per hour (US National Bureau of Economic Research). It is also one of the most polluted cities in the world with the highest presence of harmful substances in the air (IQAir). Even if it fails to occupy the topmost position, it surely occupies a place among top 10 or so. Dhaka is the world's ninth largest city with a population of about 20 million but it is nowhere near other modern cities in terms of liveability indices. It is the sixth densely populated city in the world with more than 23 thousand people crammed per square kilometre (World Population Review). It is also one of the fastest growing cities with an annual growth of population at the rate of more than 3.0 per cent but almost totally unprepared for such a burgeoning population. All the rivers around the city are exceedingly polluted, with water far beyond purification level. From sources of clean water, those have now turned into sources of toxic odour. Due to pollution of the rivers, the city has to depend on groundwater to meet some 70 per cent of its daily need for water. Dhaka also has the notoriety of being a city of mosquitoes and vector-borne diseases. These show how the city is at risk of fast becoming unliveable.
Given the colossal and complex nature of the tasks to make Dhaka liveable, only a comprehensive plan with all damaging factors taken into consideration can deliver desired results. The city must be freed from all the negative factors urgently to protect it from crumbling down under its own weight. A dilapidated condition of the city is the last thing the nation can afford.
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