BRTA submits proposals for improving taxicab facilities
Friday, 19 September 2008
Mahmuda Shaolin
Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA) has placed a set of proposals to the ministry of communications for amending ‘Taxicab Services Policy Guideline 1998’ to improve the country’s taxicab facilities.
In collaboration with Bangladesh Association of Taxi Cab Operators (BATCO), BRTA prepared the proposals for making the cab service more travel-friendly through stopping harassment of passengers, said a BRTA official.
In the proposal, BRTA has suggested allowing importing five years old cars having minimum capacity of 2000cc for cab service. Cars having capacity below 2000cc must not be older than three years for such services.
Engine capacity of most of the taxicabs now plying in the city varies from 796cc to 1242cc.
It has also suggested enactment of harsh rules for punishing the cab drivers for any offences, including misconducts with the passengers, and for taking necessary steps to execute all rules properly by the law enforcing agencies.
BRTA has proposed to the ministry of communications to ease the import rules of reconditioned spare parts, saying that such a step would ensure availability of spares at reasonable prices through curbing the monopoly of businesses of spares. This will also help reduce the maintenance cost of cabs.
BRTA has also suggested that the ministry consider the city’s cab business a ‘sick industry’ and provide necessary support, including bank loans at low interest, to modernise the cab services in the country.
BRTA has proposed to reset the economic life of taxicabs up to 11 years deducting one year from the date of manufacture of the vehicles. The government had set an eight-year economic life for a taxicab when it was first introduced in Dhaka in 1998.
Earlier, the government extended route permits of taxicabs for another two years from the existing eight years that allowed at least 8000 taxicabs to return to streets despite the end of their tenure in December last year.
After the expiry of the economic life, the route permits of at least 8000 taxicabs had become automatically cancelled on December 31, 2007.
BRTA allowed operation of 2000 taxicab only in the city’s metropolitan area when the government first introduced cab service in 1998. Later, the authorities increased the number of taxicabs to 10, 857—AC 4,407 and non-AC 6,450—and extended taxicab service to Narayanganj, Savar, Tongi, Munshiganj, Dohar Pourasava and Mawa. Besides, there are 500 cabs in Chittagong city and 200 cabs in Sylhet city.
Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA) has placed a set of proposals to the ministry of communications for amending ‘Taxicab Services Policy Guideline 1998’ to improve the country’s taxicab facilities.
In collaboration with Bangladesh Association of Taxi Cab Operators (BATCO), BRTA prepared the proposals for making the cab service more travel-friendly through stopping harassment of passengers, said a BRTA official.
In the proposal, BRTA has suggested allowing importing five years old cars having minimum capacity of 2000cc for cab service. Cars having capacity below 2000cc must not be older than three years for such services.
Engine capacity of most of the taxicabs now plying in the city varies from 796cc to 1242cc.
It has also suggested enactment of harsh rules for punishing the cab drivers for any offences, including misconducts with the passengers, and for taking necessary steps to execute all rules properly by the law enforcing agencies.
BRTA has proposed to the ministry of communications to ease the import rules of reconditioned spare parts, saying that such a step would ensure availability of spares at reasonable prices through curbing the monopoly of businesses of spares. This will also help reduce the maintenance cost of cabs.
BRTA has also suggested that the ministry consider the city’s cab business a ‘sick industry’ and provide necessary support, including bank loans at low interest, to modernise the cab services in the country.
BRTA has proposed to reset the economic life of taxicabs up to 11 years deducting one year from the date of manufacture of the vehicles. The government had set an eight-year economic life for a taxicab when it was first introduced in Dhaka in 1998.
Earlier, the government extended route permits of taxicabs for another two years from the existing eight years that allowed at least 8000 taxicabs to return to streets despite the end of their tenure in December last year.
After the expiry of the economic life, the route permits of at least 8000 taxicabs had become automatically cancelled on December 31, 2007.
BRTA allowed operation of 2000 taxicab only in the city’s metropolitan area when the government first introduced cab service in 1998. Later, the authorities increased the number of taxicabs to 10, 857—AC 4,407 and non-AC 6,450—and extended taxicab service to Narayanganj, Savar, Tongi, Munshiganj, Dohar Pourasava and Mawa. Besides, there are 500 cabs in Chittagong city and 200 cabs in Sylhet city.