City’s bus operating system needs major reforms: Study

A study has recommended bringing about major reforms of the existing bus operating system in the city for getting benefit from investment of billions of taka in the mass transit system.
Traffic experts say minimum investment of Tk 500 billion is expected in the transport section in next 10-15 years to establish the mass transit system.
They also say this system is likely to manage a portion of 30 million trips per day as more than 70 per cent of the trips would depend on the bus network.
According to the latest study carried out under the Dhaka Transport Coordination Authority (DTCA), 69 per cent of 30 million trips generated in greater Dhaka are now dependent on the bus network.
Share of bus in trip generation is likely to grow by 75 per cent to 80 per cent in next 20 years if mass rapid transit (MRT) and bus rapid transit (BRT) systems are introduced on some corridors by 2035.
At present, the government is implementing a MRT line and a BRT line in the city's north-south corridor, considering high demand for trips.  
In the revised Strategic Transport Plan (STP), a total of five MRT and two BRT lines have been proposed for greater Dhaka to manage 55 million trips by 2035.
As per the study, only six per cent of trips would be managed through MRT and BRT lines and demand for public transports including bus would continue to grow to reach their desired destinations.
It shows that the existing bus system is able to carry more than 45 per cent of the trips against need for 70 per cent.
The study done under the Dhaka MRT Development Project in 2014 shows that 29.99 million trips are generated in the city per day which will increase to 55.58 million by 2035.
The 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.
It says 137 companies are currently operating in the city and eight of them are big companies which account for 26 per cent of the fleet. Some 75 companies have less than 50 vehicles.
Several individual owners are operating over 850 buses and they often share the same routes.
Fifty per cent of 7,053 buses and minibuses have already crossed 10 years of service life.
In addition, the study finds that though minibuses have gradually been phased out from the streets, there is pressure from the operators to continue plying of minibuses.
Investment in the bus system has drastically fallen since 2006, the study says.
"The bus network is extremely fragmented and vehicle fleet in operation is unsuitable for a large city Dhaka," said Ernesto J Mata, team leader of Advanced Logistic Group (ALG) Transportation, Infrastructure and Logistic which conducted the study.
He recommends a new business model putting passenger safety priority.
The DTCA study recommends constituting a bus network manager which is to coordinate hundreds of private bus operators by forming larger companies to run their buses on specific corridors.
It also suggests rationalising the city routes to remove duplication and overlapping on the bus routes and developing infrastructures including fleets, depots and bus stops through network planning and service design.
It also recommends developing transfer stations and depots to facilitate interchanges between public transport services.
Reform of the ticketing system is also being recommended through ticket vending machines, on board 'touch in and touch out' and card system.
At present, 12.5 per cent of the city road networks are suitable for bus service.
Traffic Engineer M Anisur Rahman said if nothing is done for introducing any mass transit system, dependency on buses will continue to grow. And the share of buses would be diverted to other small passenger vehicles like taxis, CNG-run auto-rickshaws and private cars.
He said there is no option but to reform the bus network for removing overlapping of routes, withdraw unfit public transports from the streets, develop necessary infrastructures, parking facilities to bring system in the important public transport sector.
DTCA Executive Director Kaikobad Hossain said they have already taken initiative to hold talks with bus operators to find the best possible solution for the Dhaka city.
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