Nagar Paribahan still struggling to thrive

Nagar Paribahan or 'Mayor Paribahan', whatever byname the new city bus service takes, is still struggling to prove itself an improved service for non-cooperation from stakeholders concerned.

Sources said a special committee, earlier formed under the leadership of two mayors, also could not manage bus operators to obey basic norms of the 'single company, single-route' service.

The two mayors opened the pilot service on Ghatarchar-Katchpur route on December 26, promising steps in phases to ensure an improved service for commuters.

After its 24 meetings, the committee on bus route rationalisation now plans to run the service on three more routes in Dhaka city.

It missed the opening deadline for second time on September 01.

But transport experts said such haphazard initiatives in the name of a 'single company, single route' were taken for lack of knowledge and real definition of bus route franchise (BRF).

This is nothing but "old wine in a new bottle", they uttered.

Nagar Paribahan thus runs like any conventional bus, picking and dropping passengers randomly, skipping purchase of e-tickets by helpers, and drivers without formal dress and appointment and any fixed salary.

Passengers only get sense of 'some' comfort using Nagar Paribahan as its 'hardly cleaned' buses carry less passengers than other buses during peak time.

However, the committee is yet to form a single company merging all bus services running on the route.

It launched the service picking a private operator through an open call and managed a 50-bus fleet-20 from Trans Silva and 30 from the BRTC-for the route.

The 10-member committee, led by DSCC mayor Sheikh Fazle Noor Taposh as chairman and DNCC mayor Atiqul Islam as co-chairman, sought to introduce BRF by rationalising over 400 city routes into six clusters.

This step is supposed to bring discipline in streets, now occupied by nearly 4,000 buses running under multiple ownership and in a tumbledown state.

Overtaking, overcrowding, honking, indiscriminate parking and haggling with passengers over fares are a common sight in the city.

Prof M Shamsul Hoque, however, said according to the BRF concept, the government is supposed to get revenue from each bus service for allowing a company on a route which is only possible after clearing all operators from it.

"Mayor Annisul Huq managed it in Gulshan area by creating a green field," he told the FE over phone when asked the reason why the government's single company formation initiative is not working.

He said the BRF could be introduced anytime if the government rehabilitates transport owners like paying landowners for various projects.

Then it should call tender inviting international companies like cellphone companies to launch new buses, he added.

Dr Hoque of civil engineering department at BUET said the central bank's special fund for bus purchase is also not necessary for BRF.

The announcement of Tk 40 billion for city buses by Mayor Annisul Huq was nothing but to lure bus owners and route owners of money.

It is found that both Trans Silva and the state-run BRTC have failed to increase the number of buses and improve the bus services in the past nine months.

Even Jahan Enterprise, which assured of joining the fleet with 25 more buses later on, withdrew its commitment.

Recently, it informed the committee's secretariat-the Dhaka Transport Coordination Authority (DTCA)-that it would not join forces with Trans Silva.

The committee's 23rd meeting decided to blacklist Jahan Enterprise.

The FE talked to Trans Silva and DTCA officials and found that none was happy with the new bus service.

Trans Silva claimed of being deprived of ticket earnings and said that joining hands with the state-owned company was a wrong decision.

Trans Silva chairman Syed Karim told the FE that as per the contract, they are supposed to get 35-per cent share from total ticket sales but the record of many ticket sales is not maintained by BRTC operators.

DTCA sources said although four committees were formed to submit a monthly report after monitoring and inspecting buses, they are yet to get any from any committee.

"We have not got any report from monitoring committee regarding any problem," said an official when his attention was sought about the FE's finding that three Nagar Paribahan buses were found at a time at Paltan crossing around 11:35 am on Sunday as well as passengers were allowed inside without tickets.

DTCA executive director Sabiha Parveen, however, expressed her hope to improve the situation gradually, saying that it is not possible to resolve a problem that has been lasting for decades.

However, Prof Hoque said these are technical problems but political with massive rehabilitation and resettlement plan like the government took for Padma Bridge-like development projects can find a solution.

A strong syndicate has been at play centring bus routes which can only be resolved through a rehabilitation and resettlement project, he concluded.

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