The same old scenario has re-surfaced. Traffic movement is back to its usual mess after a prolonged period of violence and political unrest. Severe gridlocks at most of the strategic points of the capital are paralysing life, adversely affecting the economic activities in particular.
The capital's messy traffic management system is left again to be manually handled by around 3,000 policemen, making it increasingly difficult for them to enforce traffic rules. With around 173 new motor vehicles hitting the city streets every day, traffic police are often found too exhausted to manage some vital intersections where violation of traffic rules is very frequent, especially by buses and jaywalkers.
As the number of vehicles has shot up over the years, the automatic signal system is no more functioning. It eventually got replaced with manual control. The traffic department has already installed traffic boxes at all important intersections so that its personnel can work round the clock in three shifts.
The automatic traffic signal system was introduced in 2005 at about 70 points with a view to easing the capital's bizarre tailback. But the system petered out by 2008, as the maintenance and updating of the system's synchronisation proved difficult on the part of the traffic department.
As automated signals at most of the points fail to work, traffic rules are being violated at random. The traffic police and sergeants are reluctant to take action against lane violators, illegal parking and obstruction of vehicular movement. Nobody knows what the close-circuit television sets installed at vital intersections of the roads are doing in locating lane-violators.
Existing infrastructures are feared to crumble in the next two years, meaning the capital's traffic system is likely to worsen in the coming days. It is impossible to strictly enforce traffic rules even if the authorities deploy a huge number of policemen unless new communication infrastructures are developed.
Experts say Dhaka city should have 25 per cent of its total area for roads, considering its population. The roads should have at least two lanes and be able to accommodate three types of vehicles -- passenger vehicles, ambulances and fire service vehicles -- side by side. But the capital has less than eight per cent of its space for roads, and only 2.5 per cent of those can accommodate those three types of vehicles side by side.
In all, the city has 2,500 kilometres of road, which is too little for some 0.78 million motor vehicles, mostly private cars. In addition, there are thousands of illegal rickshaws and other slow-moving vehicles.
Rules are being violated as the vehicles carrying lawmakers and top government officials often come before the queue of vehicles at signals using the lanes meant for left turn only. Then they compel the traffic police to allow their vehicles to pass, halting the traffic flow of other roads.
Then again, buses frequently stop to pick or drop passengers at intersections, which are strictly prohibited. Rickshaws ply the VIP roads that are off-limits to them; pedestrians cross roads whenever and wherever they like. And the walkways are fully or partially occupied by vendors, bikers, parked cars or construction materials.
Loading and offloading passengers by jam-packed buses, minibuses and tempos, in the middle of the roads are a common feature. Pedestrians, on the other hand, follow their own rules. Whether or not there is any zebra crossing or footbridge, most of them make their way through the speeding cars, trucks, buses etc. If new roads are not built and Bus Rapid Transit (a lane designated only for bus) or metro rails are not introduced, it will be impossible to control the city traffic any more.
For planning and management of traffic and maintenance of roads and highways, a number of organisations are involved. Besides the communications ministry, Rajdhani Unnayan Kartipakkhya (RAJUK), Roads and Highways Department (RHD), Dhaka City Corporation (DCC), Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA) etc., are some of the major stakeholders in the development and transportation activities of the city.
Despite their otherwise robust presence, the city's traffic system presents a deplorable look. Instead of giving concerted efforts to improving the overall communication, transport and traffic situation, such organisations suffer from mismanagement and irregularities of many sorts and work with zero coordination among them.
The special drives to get rid of old and dilapidated vehicles, which were used to be launched every year, ended in utter failure. Media reported seizure of a small number of old and unfit transports following the very short-lived drives. The drives allegedly helped a section of unscrupulous members of the law-enforcement agencies to receive a handsome amount of speed money. It was even alleged that on-duty policemen were more interested in filing cases and collecting fine than improving the situation.
Since the time factor is of utmost importance, the government is planning to build a number of elevated expressways first, then go for underground railway. In case of metro rail, it would take at least a couple of years to complete all the initial procedures. But some urgent measures need to be taken right now to bring sanity on the roads - and it is long overdue.
The existing city roads need to be made wider and new roads constructed so that commuters may have three to four alternate roads to reach destinations in any given direction. Better and integrated traffic control system -- good road signs, easily visible and properly timed traffic signals, creating more one-way streets etc. -- needs to be put in place immediately. Traffic regulations should be strictly enforced by deploying well-trained and closely supervised traffic police.
To make a system work, it requires collective willingness and the habit of following the rules and regulations. It doesn't matter how much fund the government provides and how modern system and equipment it introduces. Things will continue to remain in a deplorable state, if the commuters and the authorities are reluctant to make it work.
szkhan@dhaka.net
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