Public transport system needs improvement

Dhaka's traffic seems to be getting slowed down with the passing of every single day. Transport experts say that the average speed of buses in the city should be around 30 kilometres per hour. But regrettably in Dhaka, the average speed of buses hover at 10 kilometres/hour during the day when the traffic is heavy in most of the areas.

Dhaka is a city of nearly 18 million people. The public transport system that it has cannot accommodate even half of the population. As a result, most of the middle and upper income households buy vehicles. This increases the congestion on the city thoroughfares, the number of which has not increased much over the past few years.

Lower middle income groups depend on rickshaws, human haulers and other transports that clog the streets more. In developed countries, buses use 10 per cent of road space but carry around 70 per cent of the passengers. This is why, more public buses need to be introduced.

If the public transport system is developed, then the number of personal vehicles will decrease after some time. Also the roads, especially the highways, need to be repaired on an urgent basis to ensure faster movement of traffic.

Once these improvements are ensured, the economy will be benefited leading to faster economic growth.

Sojol Chowdhury

Badda, Dhaka