A mass rapid transit is needed to reduce the traffic congestion in Dhaka. A sign of relief is that with financial support from JICA, Dhaka is expected to have a mass rapid transit by 2019. However, that is still a very long time to come. In the mean time, something needs to be done to ease the ever worsening traffic congestion in the capital.
The dismal state of the public transport system in Dhaka mostly consisting of buses and human haulers is forcing people to commute by other inefficient modes of transports such as rickshaws, autorickshaws, taxis and personal vehicles. This is worsening the traffic congestion.
To reduce traffic congestion, public transport system needs to be improved so that people travelling by personal vehicles are encouraged to commute using public transport. Two cost-effective quick solutions to improve the public transport system in Dhaka are provided below.
The capacity of the buses and legunas that ply through the city are not enough to serve the demand of public transports which is why those remain crowded for most part of the day and during rush hours people have to wait for hours to board the buses. To make public transportation popular, the capacity and frequency of the public transports need to be increased so that people can ride them more comfortably. It will also be a plus point if all this can be done by occupying less space on the road. This can be done by deploying more double-decker buses because compared to regular buses, double-decker buses can carry more people in the same length and breadth of space.
There are many people who commute long distances in Dhaka. However, the city buses stop frequently, hence for long commuting distances the buses are inefficient as the travel time is fairly long. This is why, people who have to commute long distances, prefer personal vehicles or taxis or autorickshaws. In many cities around the world, such as Bangkok there are public transports that provide 'express service' which means that they travel long distances but stop only at very few designated locations on their way. In Bangkok, this service is operated using commuter vans. Furthermore, to provide safe and comfortable journey, the operators operate the service with experienced staff, take only sitting passengers and provide air-conditioned, well-maintained, clean vehicles. Service like this should also be considered in Dhaka on long routes such between Uttara and Motijheel, Azimpur and Gabtoli, Mirpur and Motijheel.
Steps like the above can improve the public transport system, which may help increase the users of public transport, reduce use of personal vehicles and thus curb traffic congestion.
The writer is a transport engineer based in Thailand. ridwanq@gmail.com
Need for double decker bus and \\\'express service\\\'
Ridwan Quaium | Published: October 11, 2014 00:00:00 | Updated: November 30, 2026 06:01:00
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