The government is yet to take initiatives to implement different policies taken in transport sector to make its billion-dollar investment for introduction of a mass transport system in the capital productive.
These include integrated multi-modal transport system, bus network reform, traffic management, pedestrian-first policy and strengthening of capacity of the Dhaka Transport Coordination Authority (DTCA).
Transport experts said despite formulation of some policies a few years back, these were not executed due to unknown reasons.
They said these policies are necessary to make the mass transit system planned in the city's different corridors to remove traffic jams.
Of these, the integrated multi-modal transport policy was formulated in August 2013.
There were many studies done in connection with traffic management to facilitate the concerned agencies to ease traffic congestion by removing repetition of services.
The FE correspondent could not find even a single agency to start the process of setting up a multi-modal hub at the railway station near Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport, the plan of which was also taken in 2012.
This hub was initially planned to be constructed under public-private partnership as a place for inter-change of all kinds of public transports including buses, taxi cabs and metro rails. This was to be the place where mass rapid transit (MRT) and bus rapid transit (BRT) passengers would need to change their modes of transport for going to different directions.
According to a study done under the revised strategic transport plan (RSTP), only six per cent of 30 million trips now generated in the city could be managed by MRT or metro rail and BRT, a service having dedicated lane for buses.
Despite the fact that the MRT and the BRT could transport 30,000 to 60,000 passengers per hour within respective corridors, share of buses in transportation of city commuters will continue to dominate from 69 per cent to 75 to 80 per cent of the total modes of transports in the next 20 years.
At present, the government is implementing a MRT line-6 and BRT line-3 projects in the city's north-south corridor considering high demand for trips. It has also a plan to introduce four more MRTs and another BRT by 2035 to manage 55 million trips.
A World Bank-supported study titled Dhaka Bus Network and Regulatory Reform Implementation reveals that total daily trip is likely to be 51.17 million in 2035.
Officials in the DTCA said the RSTP has also emphasised on reform of bus networks in the city and improvement of traffic management system for immediate relief from congestion.
Meanwhile, the Prime Minister has directed reorganisation of the public transport system in the capital to operate bus services under the management of different companies but no initiative has yet been taken in this connection.
Dr Sarwar Jahan, an urban planner, said due to non-execution of the integrated multi-modal transport plan, the city has been overcrowded with countless small vehicles. Traffic management system continued to remain poor.
If there is no push given to implementation of policies to manage traffic system in both short and long term, MRT and BRT would not be able to play any role in easing traffic jams.
Professor Jahan of the Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET) recommended formation of a task force to manage the city traffic system.
The government formed the DTCA to coordinate integration of transportation related activities but its strength has never been proved.
Transport experts said without reforming the bus networks, MRT and BRT would only benefit commuters who will be living within one or two kilometre area of the stations of these services.
The Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) which have been providing technical and financial assistance for implementing MRT and BRT in the city also recommended the government to implement all the policies.
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