Agonies of umpteen commuters seem destined to prolong as introducing single-company-based bus route for operating modern mass transport service looks finally shelved with an ancillary project ditched.
Officials have said the Planning Commission recently rejected extension of the related technical project on bus route rationalization (BRR) showing grounds of poor progress, to the frustration of transport experts having an eye on the much-cherished transport upgrade in this sprawling, crammed capital city of Bangladesh, where lost man hours in traffic jams cost the nation billions of taka annually.
Sources have said Dhaka Transport Coordination Authority (DTCA) sought time extension of the technical project titled 'preparation of concept design and implementation plan for bus route rationalization and company-based operation of bus service in Dhaka' till June 2026.
"Though the proposal on revision of the technical project was sent last November 2024," said one project official, "the commission rejected the plea only recently after holding some meetings during the last 10 months."
Transport experts also reacted over the rejection of the important project as it was prime to bringing discipline in the chaotic city bus system that allows, somehow, gaggles of honking rundown buses besides multifarious modes of transport vehicles.
Life-sapping noise pollution with random horn honking and air/environment pollution with toxic exhausts spewed by old buses are a matter of grave concern raised by experts at home and from international agencies concerned.
When the government planned to go for multimodal transport system, closing BRR project will reflect bad impact on the planning. One source also says the move to close the Tk 244.9 -million BRR project is also "the reflection of non-cooperation by different quarters, including traffic police and transport owners and workers".
But officials mention that the Planning Commission was dissatisfied with DTCA's performance after querying on the progress of the project during the last five years.
Progress reports showed that financial progress of the project was recorded only 19 per cent and physical 30 per cent since taken up in August 2020. The DTCA could spend only Tk 50 million in choppy work for roadblocks as cited above.
The government-funded technical project has so far been revised twice without increase in the cost. Though the DTCA applied for the time extension from January 2025 to June 2026, its studies will be half-done.
Sources have said the consulting firm -- DOWHA-DDC -- for the project was appointed in June 2023. It has so far completed five reports since agreement signed.
But four reports remained pending though related surveys, including traffic survey, on the BRR routes were completed, they added.
Though the BRR project was taken following the initiative to introduce company-system bus service, a committee led by the mayors of Dhaka South City Corporation and Dhaka North City Corporation launched bus services on some routes deviating from the main concept of single bus company on each route.
Neither transport owners cooperated in operating those buses branded as Nagar Paribahan nor the traffic police assisted the operator by removing hundreds of buses of different companies on the same route.
The DMP, meanwhile, reacted with the exclusion of the traffic department from route planning and formulated its own route plans to operate the city bus services.
However, another source said, the Road Transport and Highways Division is likely to hold a meeting next week to discuss the Planning Commission refusal on the project extension and plan next course of action.
smunima@yahoo.com