Nobody expects the annual national budget to solve various socio-economic problems, as the budget is never a panacea. What is, however, rationally expected is that the finance minister's budget speech would recognise the key problems. Once the issues are recognised, an opportunity is provided to devise some realistic measures or guidelines to overcome them. Going through the proposed budget for the upcoming fiscal year (FY25), it is disappointing to find that the annual public expenditure outlay pays little attention to citizens' smooth and efficient mobility. In other words, it has no well-thought-out spending plan for revamping the country's public transport.
The lack of attention to public transport in the budget is not a recent development. For the past few years, this scribe has been tracking this trend. Absence of policymakers' concern about public transport is evident in their focus on expensive infrastructure projects, leaving little time for the development of an efficient public transport system. This lack of focus has led to a situation where, apart from the Dhaka Metro Rail, there is little pragmatic effort to address the public transport issues in the country. The finance minister in his budget speech, delivered on Thursday last, mentioned the 'public transport' only once and that also in reference to the metro rail.
Bangladesh is one of the fastest growing economies in the world and also one of the most populous countries. Dhaka is one of the most densely populated megacities across the globe. So, it is not possible to ensure smooth and fast mobility of millions of inhabitants in the city without an efficient public transport system. Moreover, bus-oriented public transport may provide a better solution in this already congested, chaotic city.
For the last couple of years, some initiatives have also been taken to revamp the public bus service in Dhaka. The much-hyped nagar poribahan (city bus), a good initiative, was welcomed by the daily commuters. Nevertheless, two years after its launch, the service was on the verge of collapse, mainly due to a lack of a supportive atmosphere. Public buses in Dhaka are known for overcrowding, lack of comfort and security, unsafe driving practices, and poor and dangerous boarding and getting-off facilities. Their service is irregular in many cases and no one should expect a minimum cleanliness in these public transports. Though most of the buses are unfit or semi-fit, these are moving without any restriction, causing environmental hazard.
As public buses are not sufficient to meet the demand of millions of commuters, an unplanned rise of para-transit like motorcycles, three-wheelers paddled rickshaws, and battery-run rickshaws has turned the city traffic into an unmanageable maze. Though these vehicles help ensure last-mile connectivity, a lack of a well-managed system has deteriorated the traffic movement. The increase in private cars only contributed to the chaos. It is sometimes difficult to comprehend why the authorities continue to allow chaos on roads and streets at the cost of time and money of millions of commuters daily.
The allocation for revamping the public transport in the budget is only part of it as it requires an integrated approach. There is, however, no such allocation although the budget for the transport and communication sector increased to Tk 829.12 billion in FY25 from Tk 752.40 billion in the revised budget of FY24.
The best solution to this problem is decentralisation of administration and creation of facilities for comparable education, healthcare and avenues of employment all across the country. The improved connectivity with Dhaka has helped the influx of millions in the capital city from other parts of the country. They are engaged in various informal and even demeaning jobs for their livelihoods, and some are also engaged in crimes. So, revamping public transport requires a broader approach linked to the greater socio-economic context. The budget for FY25 does not indicate this correlation.
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