Sheer inability of Dhaka to take the mounting load of motorised and non-motorised transports has been mathematically proved in a recent study that indicated the city traffic is facing a "total blockage'.
It has found that the capacity of the capital city's prime roads has been oversaturated for not taking any pragmatic remedial measure, like constructing necessary main and diversion roads.
Experts say the road capacity of a street is assessed through passenger car unit (PCU) which should remain higher than the PCU measures from available vehicles on that road.
If the PCU of the road exceeds by even one unit, or even remains same, it means total blockage of traffic flow.
The study, done by the Japanese consulting firm for the Dhaka Mass Rapid Transit Development (DMRTD) project during May-June period this year, found that traffic flows in Mirpur and Airport roads get 3348 and 6060 PCUs against the roadway capacity of 3200 and 6000 PCU respectively.
Rokeya Sarani PCU is also very close to the road capacity.
The study was conducted on the MRT line-6 corridor, which found out a chaotic state of the overcrowded city's traffic system.
Transportation experts said this situation was inevitable for lack of efforts by the authorities concerned despite alert was given in the Dhaka Urban Transport Network Development Study (DHUTS)--another study, done in 2010, by a Japanese team with Japan International Cooperation Agency funding.
Shamsul Haque of Civil Engineering Department of Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET) said this kind of deadlock cannot be solved without widening or stretching road or withdrawing transport from streets.
In 2010, the DHUTS recommended for the government to construct prime roads immediately on the outskirts of the city where land-development was going on massively.
As there was hardly any scope of improve land use within Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) and Rajdhani Unnayan Kartripakhya (RAJUK) areas, it suggested construction of road network in the form of urban expressway, missing link, radial road, inner, feeder, outer-ring roads on short,-medium-and long-term basis to add an estimated stretch of 680 kilometres to the Dhaka road network covering eastern and western fringes, Purbachal etc areas.
The MRT's Japanese consultants found Farmgate to Shahbagh most congested section of the city thoroughfares. The travel time on both buses and cars along the MRT corridor (Uttara-Motijheel) increase for 21 intersections.
The present state of traffic congestion is worse in Satrasta, Rangs and Tongi crossings where buses lose more than half an hour and cars over 40 minutes during peak hours.
It also found that both cars and buses have to wait from six minutes to half an hour at these intersections during rush-hour traffic, making their journey longer than usual.
The study also found nearly 55 per cent trips being made by walk and non- motorized transport, causing congestion on local roads.
The FE correspondent crossed the Maghbazar-Satrasta section on a bus one afternoon in 105 minutes.
Professor Shamsul Haque said the collapsed situation of the city traffic could have been averted if Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA) had reviewed the PCU before giving registration of new motor transport every year.
"Instead," he said, "the Authority continued giving registration of motorised transports, including buses, private cars, human haulers, minibuses without trying to understand the road scenario."
As the prime road is inadequate to cater the present traffic demand, the BUET professor said the existing road network would not be able to take the load of 30 million trips.
The prime road -- north-south directive roads-- is considered spine of road network which, however, could not take the load of increased traffic unless feeder road, radial, inner and outer-ring roads are constructed to enable traffic of different areas to shift.
According to BRTA, some 329,846 motorised vehicles have been given registration in Dhaka city since 2010 that took the total to 846,758.
During the period, no significant new roads were constructed, save 30 to 40 kilometres of roads along the Hatirjheel, Jatrabari flyover and Kuril road. All of these are east-west directive in and on the outskirts of the city.
Instead of taking the DHUTS recommendations into account, the BRTA gave registration to highest 76,165 vehicles in 2010 and 72,947 the following year.
Though the number of registrations had dropped in 2012 and 2013, the BRTA had already given registration of 66,669 vehicles by November this year.
Sources, however, said there are several thousand motorised vehicles unregistered in the streets and no measures are there to check the plying of non-motorised transports like rickshaws and bicycles.
Traffic experts also pointed out the damage done to road capacity for allowing low-passenger-capacity transports like motorcycles, bicycles during the last four years without segregating road lanes for them.
The DMRTD project's official said implementation of the DHUTS recommendations was necessary to get the benefit of the mass-transport system after introduction.
Officials of Dhaka Transport Coordination Authority (DTCA) under which the DHUTS was done, however, claimed they shared the study with all relevant agencies for taking necessary steps.
Roads and Highways Department (RHD), Dhaka City Corporation and RAJUK, which are responsible for developing the capital city and its surrounding road networks, hardly did anything to implement the recommendations during the last four years, it was stated.
Critics said in absence of efforts, authorities concerned have allowed grabbing land of fringe areas by private investors, which even is gradually obstructing future options of developing new road network.
An official of RHD Planning Section, however, denied having received the DHUTS but said the department had developed new roads making exit from and entry to Dhaka city.
He, however, admitted no prime roads have been planned.
Road Transport and Highway Division Secretary MAN Siddique also said the division has been constructing different roads in the light of the local needs and thoughts.
"Several new exits of the city, including circular road, have been developed," he said.
Regarding implementation of the DHUTS recommendations, the secretary, however, said: "As most of the recommendations of the studies are made based on satellite pictures and foreign concept, the ministry has taken measures to review those, including the Strategic Transport Plan."
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