All modes of transport -- from private car to public bus and rickshaw -- are on a continuous rise in the city far surpassing its road capacity as the authorities look over a looming crisis.
Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA) continues to give registration to motorised vehicles, totalling 885,024 by May this year, mostly of those under private ownership.
Such a mismatch takes place, according to experts, mainly for a lack of mass transports in this overcrowded metropolis.
A hard fact remains that many roads get clogged with vehicles largely more than their capacity during both peak and off-peak hours.
On some routes, however, passengers have to go hanging like bats on smaller number of outdated, small-sized vehicles.
Experts said the twin Dhaka city corporations also remained totally indifferent in counting the number of non-motorized vehicles in the capital since long. A surge in such jumble of vehicles is making the city cramped.
The BRTA authorities do have an explanation as to why they allow so many vehicles beyond road capacity. "We cannot stop registration as per the existing law," said BRTA chairman Nazrul Islam.
He said since people's purchasing power is increasing, the plying of private and other vehicles would continue to rise.
Due to the reluctant authorities, Dhaka now boasts at least 15 kinds of motorised and non-motorised vehicles, making it the lone city having so many vehicles with varied speed on the same streets.
Bus, minibus, private car, human hauler, tempo, auto-rickshaw, taxicab, truck, covered van, motorcycle, bicycle, rickshaw, rickshaw-van, manually pulled cart, horse cart, mishuk, battery- operated auto-rickshaw and rickshaw are huddling on a same lane.
According to BRTA, the number of registered motorised vehicles has increased 70 per cent on average since 2009.
During the last five years, registered private cars have increased 48 per cent, bus 46 per cent, covered van over 300 per cent, truck 100 per cent, microbus 48 per cent and motorcycle 95 per cent.
Though the government has recently put bar on plying minibuses, the data showed that 135 minibuses were registered in 2014 against 83 in 2013.
On the other hand, hardly any new roads, save Hatirjheel passageways and two flyovers, are added to the city network during the period.
Though the Authority does not have any accurate information about how many registered vehicles run on the city streets, the BRTA admits that 80 to 90 per cent of the vehicles found in and around the city areas are registered.
Bangladesh Association of Recondition Vehicle Importers and Dealers (BARVIDA) leaders also said almost 100 per cent of their sold vehicles run in Dhaka.
There are no official statistics about the numbers of rickshaws, rickshaw vans, battery-driven auto-rickshaws and rickshaws and bicycles running in the streets.
BARVIDA data show an increase in import of reconditioned vehicles from last fiscal year despite a fall since 2009 due to some tax measures.
Some 18,413 reconditioned vehicles were imported during FY2013-14, up by 11,060 from the previous FY. By February of 2014-15, the number reached 10,408.
At present, a tax of Tk 15,000 has been imposed on the private car over 1,500 CC. Some supplementary duties are also there for both over 1,500 CC private cars and microbuses.
Registration of minibus and auto-tempo has been stopped, but, sources said, it is also being done in different BRTA codes.
BARVIDA leaders, however, said sale of private vehicles could not be controlled with such tax, duties and credit-control measures.
"People have no choice. Those who even have cars may not bring its expensive car on the street at least once or twice a day if there is standard public transport system in the city," said BARVIDA president Mohammad Abdul Hamid Sharif.
Abdul Mannan Chowdhury Khasru, a former BARVIDA president, said different modes of vehicles have been on the increase for lack of regulatory system. And it refutes the BRTA claim of increased purchasing capacity of people as the reason for the rise of small-seated private modes.
Though more than 6,000 buses are now operating, hardly any air-conditioned buses or standard seating-service buses are there to allow car users to use public transport for a single trip, experts noted about the outmoded communications in the capital city in a paradox with imposing high-rises.
None of these buses could provide public-service standard for commuters.
In absence of fit public transports, including mass-transit system, transport experts said, the city has been jam-packed with motorcycle, bicycle-like small-capacity modes of transport.
"The more small vehicles will be allowed on roads, the more scope of introducing public transport will lessen. And it will make difficult to manage traffic gridlock," said professor of the Department of Civil Engineering of BUET Dr Shamsul Hoque.
A study done under the Dhaka Transport Coordination Authority in 2010 found that out of 20 intersections in the city, eight are used to get more than 6,000 passenger-car units per hour (PCU/hrs) both during day and nighttime.
These include Jatrabari, Shahbagh, Science Lab, Sonargaon, Farmgate, Shishumela, Kuril and Kuril Biswa Road and GPO.
The PCU/hrs in other 12 intersections was also very close to 6,000.
Another study done by the Japanese team under the Mass Rapid Transit Development project also showed that Rokeya Sarani, Farmgate, Satrasta crossing, Mohakhali, Tongi, etc were already overcrowded. Commuters have to wait five to 10 minutes in each crossing.
Though introducing two mass-transit systems (MTS) is on in the city, transport experts, however, argue that multimodal transport system with a scientific sealing of different modes of vehicles is necessary to reap the benefit of MTS.
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