Articulated bus service in city soon
July 26, 2009 00:00:00
The government has decided to introduce articulated bus service (dedicated-lane bus service) in the city soon as a pilot project, as part of efforts to resolve nagging traffic congestion, reports UNB.
The decision came from a recent inter-ministerial meeting held with Roads and Railway Division Secretary ASM Ali Kabir in the chair.
According to the decision, 20 buses - 10 of BRTC and 10 privately owned double-deckers run by diesel - will ply Gabtali-Asad Gate-Farm Gate-Shahbagh-Gulistan route under the articulated bus service.
Executive Director of Dhaka Transport Coordination Board (DTCB) Abu Bakar Mohammad Shahjahan was learned to have told the meeting that there was no alternative to introducing articulated bus service in Dhaka, as traffic congestion in the city was getting worse day-by-day.
He said some 4,000 minibuses were now plying in the city and those needed to be phased out to ease the traffic jam.
The DTCB executive director also called for making the city roads free from rickshaws before introducing the articulated bus services.
Found almost exclusively in public transportation use. The articulated buses are approximately 18 metres (60 ft) long, while regular buses are 11 to 14 m (35-45 ft) long. To make them nimble enough to safely navigate streets at their increased length, they are fitted with an extra axle (set of wheels) and a joint usually located slightly behind the midpoint of the bus, behind the second axle.
The special features of an articulated bus are rapid and simultaneous boarding and disembarkation through more and larger doors, much larger passenger capacity (120+ versus 80-90), increased stability from a lower centre of gravity, a sometimes smaller turning radius, higher maximum speed, and accessibility to people with disabilities and also the elderly.