Addressing the problem of urban paratransit

Paratransit plays a critical role in improving mobility in urban areas across Asia. Instead of being efficient, it is rather chaotic. This is the case in Bangladesh, where the expansion of paratransit becomes disorderly, making things worse. Paratransit is generally known as a demand-responsive and self-organised mobility service that serves commuters mainly in an informal way. It is operated under a business model based on passengers' fares with no access to public subsidies. Multi-passenger small vans, passenger motorcycles and even non-motorised rickshaws are considered paratransit and largely a unique feature of many Asian cities, including Dhaka. Sometimes, paratransit is used interchangeably with informal transport. However, according to the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP), some modes of paratransit are regulated and operated by licence.
There is a debate over the effectiveness of the paratransit system, which provides feeder services to and from inner city roads to bus and rail stations. Paratransit vehicles offer door-to-door services between points that are not served by regular public transit. These vehicles also serve as 'a personalised and flexible public transport mode' and are considered 'highly responsive to passenger demand.' As some of the paratransit vehicles can navigate narrow alleys and dead-end streets, these become a 'convenient transport option for women, children and the elderly.'
Nevertheless, paratransit is a major source of traffic congestion in many cities and urban areas. Instead of easing mobility, the unregulated operation of these vehicles creates barriers to the smooth movement of people on streets and roads. Being informal, the operation of these vehicles is largely controlled by a group of rent-seekers who exploit both passengers and operators. As paratransit is a source of employment for low-income people, many rural people migrate to urban areas to find a job as a paratransit driver. It also creates additional pressure on the population in urban areas.
The most problematic area of paratransit is the spread of small or micro vehicles like motorcycles and three-wheelers. Though these vehicles can ensure last-mile connectivity, things become chaotic in the absence of a well-managed system. Motorcycles become a severe troublemaker to other motor vehicles on roads and pedestrians due to unruliness. Being used both as a private vehicle and a paratransit one, it is a gross violation of traffic rules. Riding on footpaths and driving from the opposite direction of the roads by the bikers have become unstoppable.
Besides the human-peddled rickshaws, battery-run rickshaws become another problem in the urban area. Due to the lack of strict implementation of traffic rules, the number of these vehicles is increasing, creating traffic congestion on the alleys, streets, and even some parts of the main roads. Both types of rickshaws generally carry three people at a time along with the driver but occupy a place of at least six people, making it inefficient and costly. These have reduced the space for smooth and safe walking within a short distance.
Nevertheless, the expansion of paratransit finally reflects the lack of efficient and well-managed public transport systems. There has been no significant progress in making urban public transport efficient, decent, and sustainable. Public buses are ramshackle and dirty, offering nightmarish service at the cost of the mental and physical anguish of the daily commuters.
As elimination of the paratransit vehicles is neither possible nor realistic, it is necessary to improve the system and make it efficient by curbing the unregulated expansion of those. It is also necessary to make those complementary to public transports which, on becoming more pro-people, will gradually phase out paratransit.

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