Eid passenger rush set to treble, but transports not

Home-goers face immense sufferings during Eid vacations as the overall carrying capacity of transports falls short of the actual requirement, sector insiders have said.
Government officials and private transport operators say the number of passengers increases three times the usual flow of 2.5 million during any Eid festival putting extra pressure on transport operators.
According to the Bangladesh Road Transport Corporation (BRTC), Bangladesh Railway (BR), Bangladesh Bus-Truck Owners Association, Bangladesh Sarak Paribahan Samity, Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority (BIWTA) and Biman Bangladesh Airlines, about 2.5 million people usually leave Dhaka per day.
Of the total number of people, about 2.32 million leave the city by road, 0.15 million by waterway transports, 0.06 million by rail and 7,500-8,000 by air.
Experts have suggested raising the passenger carrying capacity by both rail and waterways to cope with the increased rush of passengers during Eid vacations.
According to the transport owners' associations at Gabtoli, Sayedabad, Mohakhali and Phulbaria bus terminals, usually 2.32 million people leave the city a day against their passenger carrying capacity of 1.5 million.
 "The additional 35 per cent passengers have to keep standing all the way during their travel because of the limited seating arrangement," office secretary of Bangladesh Sarak Paribahan Samity Md Samdani Khandker said.
"The number of passengers surge by about three times the usual flow, putting serious pressure on the transport operators during Eid vacations," he said.
Nearly 320-350 buses run on the Dhaka-Mymensingh route to carry 0.15 million to 0.16 million passengers on a normal day.
"The number of passengers increases many times few
days before the Eid, but the number of buses does not. This puts pressure on the transport operators," he said.
 "We can increase the number of buses to carry the increasing number of passengers. But the highways do not have the capacity to take the load, causing severe gridlock," he said.          
Md Salauddin Ahmed, working committee member of Bangladesh Bus-Truck Owners Association, said nearly 2200-2300 buses leave Dhaka on a normal day for destinations in the northern, north-western and southern districts and short-distance destinations like Dhamrai, Savar of Dhaka and Manikganj and Tangail districts.
 "The number of buses will increase to 3,000-3,200 this year before Eid," he said.
He also said the capacity of the private bus operators ahead of Eid would not be more than 0.4 million passengers per day, but the requirement would reach 0.65 to 0.7 million. That would put the transport operators under heavy pressure.
He also mentioned that severe gridlock might occur this time as road construction was going on from Nabinagar to Baipail and Ashulia to Baipail.
Md Shafik, manager of Nabil Paribahan, one of the leading northern region-based private bus operators, said nearly 100 buses of his company could carry maximum 4,000 passengers for 12 districts per day ahead of Eid.
 "But 25,000 to 30,000 people will try to get tickets. Last year the tickets for three days before Eid were sold out on the first day of the advance ticket sale," he said.    
Many of the operators admitted that bus owners were refurbishing many old and unfit vehicles to ply them on the roads to meet the extra pressure.
When contacted, BRTC Chairman Jashim Uddin Ahmed told the FE that the corporation-run buses could carry 0.15 million people per day.
He said the capacity of the state-run corporation increased by 25 per cent in last four years but it was not also enough in view of the growing demand.
According to the Bangladesh Inland Waterway Transport Authority (BIWTA) and private launch owners, nearly 0.3 million people would travel daily against the capacity of 60,000 by launch to the coastal districts ahead of the festival.
When contacted, member of Inland Water Transport Owners and Passenger Carriers' Association (association of the private launch owners) Shahabuddin Milon said nearly 0.15 million people leave Dhaka by waterways against the capacity of 60,000 on a normal day.
The number would reach 0.3 million per day ahead of Eid, he said.
He said nearly 12,000 to 14,000 cabins were required per day during the festival for the passengers travelling to the Barisal region against the availability of 2,250 to 2,300 cabins, he said.
According to the Bangladesh Railway (BR), the railway can carry 45,000 people per day from Dhaka.
A BR official told the FE that the railway was going to add 166 new bogies before Eid and the carrying capacity would reach the highest 60,000 per day on the occasion against the number of passengers soaring to nearly 1.0 million.
Experts suggested modernising railway and waterway transports to raise their passenger carrying capacity.
 "In the neighbouring country, India, 25 million people travel by train," economist Dr Khandoker Golam Moazzem said.
 "Railway is contributing a lot to the country's economy (India) as it minimises the carrying cost," he said.
Consumers Association of Bangladesh (CAB) secretary Humayun Kabir Bhuiyan said railway and waterways could ensure safe journey for people at less fares.
The carrying cost of goods for one kilometre is Tk 4.50, Tk 2.50 and Tk 0.90 per tonne by road, train and waterways respectively, according to him.
The railway and waterway transports are also environment friendly as "they require minimum fossil fuel," he said.
The passenger-carrying capacity of the BR should be increased to at least 1.0 million per day from the present 0.12 million in next few years, he added.