City traffic worsens as state agencies fail to coordinate

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Begum Mazeda Rahman

Munima Sultana
Almost all efforts of the government to ease the city's nagging traffic congestion has apparently failed due to lack of coordination among its agencies, officials and experts said.
The government has at least 11 agencies to improve traffic situation in Dhaka, but they hardly coordinate with each other, compounding the woes already created by the city's narrow roads and growing number of vehicles.
Experts said absence of coordination among the agencies has been the main reason why traffic in the city remains standstill for about 7.5 hours between 8am and 8pm every day.
"There is no doubt about the sincerity of the government in improving the city's traffic situation. But lack of coordination is aggravating the problem," said Dr Salauddin, additional executive director of Dhaka Transport Corrdination Board (DTCB).
The DTCB was created early this decade to coordinate the efforts of the state agencies involved in building roads in the city, issuing motor vehicle licenses, designing new routes or controlling movement of traffic.
But officials alleged that the board is usually left in the dark when other agencies take any traffic-related decisions. "We become aware of their decisions through the media," said an official.
In Dhaka, Roads and Highways Department and the Dhaka City Corporation are in charge of building and repairing roads, the Bangladesh Roads Transport Corporation (BRTC) works as a main public transport provider and the Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA) issues licenses and permits for new and old vehicles.
In addition, Bangladesh Bridge Authority (BBA) and the Local Government Engineering Department (LGED) look after the special projects such as flyovers, the Rajdhani Unnayan Kartipakkhya (RAJUK) residential plannings and the Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Corporation (BIWTC) and Bangladesh Railway provide alternative transports.
These agencies have been tasked with introducing bus rapid transit (BRT), bus rapid franchise (BRF), mass rapid transit (MRT) and building elevated expressways, flyovers, overpass, tunnels, east-west connecting roads, inter-city railway and waterbuses.
DTCB officials said these agencies are supposed to inform the board of their activities so that it can coordinate the work with each other in an effort to cut costly duplications and quicken project execution.
But a new study titled 'Dhaka Urban Transport Network Development'
has found that four agencies DCC, DMP, BRTA and Department of Environment (DOE) regularly step in each other's feet while performing their jobs.
The study conducted by a Japanese study team found duplications in almost every layer of these agencies' work including traffic jam intersection operation, bus and bus-stop operation, improvement of traffic discipline, management facilities, safety and parking control.
It revealed that both DCC and DMP are involved in controlling street parking and introducing toll parking facilities while BRTA and DMP also work on traffic safety issue, keeping separate accident record system.
Though the JICA study team has suggested that DTCB coordinate all traffic management activities, the government has meanwhile planned to convert the board into mass rapid transit authority to run BRT, BRF and MRT -- three modern traffic system to transit high volume passengers from one corridor to another.
The DTCB has already introduced BRF in April 2009 forming Association of Bus Companies (ABC) with some bus operators which used to operate their vehicles separately on Uttara-Azimpur route. The ABC has jointly put 50 buses on the route, aimed at easing congestion by replacing innumerable mini-buses and tempoes.
"But the BRF system is heading to a complete failure as DMP has not taken any steps to withdraw scores of mini-buses and tempoes plying on the Uttara-Azimpur route," said ABC president Khandker Rafiqul Hossain Kajal.
He said the real charm of BRF has been lost as buses, tempoes and minibuses are still overtaking and driving recklessly on the same route worsening traffic jam. "The DMP hasn't stopped issuing new licenses to these jam-creating vehicles."
Experts said recently introduced DMP's lane and signal operation programme in important streets has not been introduced in conformity with BRF and DCC's traffic engineering department.
DMP reinforced automatic signal system and divided four lanes for motorized vehicles keeping private cars in the right tract. But the government is planning to introduce BRT through setting up a dedicated lane for these buses in the middle of the road.
The government has recently unveiled ambitious projects to construct three elevated expressways, six overpasses and tunnels to ease traffic problem in the city. But the RHD, BBA, LGED and DCC have been working separately on these projects.
Also recently, the Planning Commission rejected a RHD proposal on the construction of six flyovers in Moghbazar, Malibagh, Saidabad, Jurain, Karwan Bazaar and Banani due to project overlapping.
"The RHD's proposal on six flyovers was rejected on the ground that many of these projects are being planned by other agencies like the DTCB, Army, LGED and DCC," a communication ministry official told the FE, adding the commission only accepted the proposal to construct Jurain flyover by the RHD.
Among the six proposed flyovers, DTCB has been tasked to construct one at Moghbazar under Japan government's fund. Bangladesh Army will construct a flyover at Banani linking the Dhaka Cantonment with Mirpur.
Although LGED was interested in constructing an overpass at Karwan Bazar railway crossing, the DTCB rejected the proposal as it might overlap with elevated expressways. Meanwhile, the communications ministry in a recent meeting has given responsibility to the LGED to work on the feasibility study of the Malibagh flyover.
Officials said the state-owned public transport provider BRTC has launched a project to introduce bus service for schools in the city. But the DTCB is also trying to convince school and college authorities to introduce bus services of their own or with private operators.