Metro rail rescues Titu Mia from 4-hour commute

Every day, Md Titu Mia went from his home in Mirpur to Gulistan by bus for work. The morning trip took two hours. The return trip took another two. The loss of these four hours every day was nearly unbearable, he says.
But now, Titu Mia can make the trip in 22 minutes by boarding the Dhaka Metro Rail in Mirpur and getting off at the Secretariat station. He can walk the rest of the way to his place of business. It is a huge relief.
The clothing trader said his commute will be much easier now that the metro rail route from Motijheel to Mirpur will be open until 8:40 pm from Saturday, reports bdnews24.com.
"Now, I can return home at night by metro rail too. Just thinking about it makes me feel as if four hours of daily pain have been erased from my life," an elated Titu Mia said while boarding the metro rail for Gulistan at 11 am.
"Two hours in the morning and two hours at night. I had to spend a total of four hours every day navigating the irritations of bus drivers, conductors and traffic. It was nearly unbearable. It would ruin my mood. I had a headache nearly every day. I was dearly waiting for an end to this beastly suffering."
Some nights he would board the bus and be stuck in traffic at the intersection in front of the Department of Fisheries building for over half an hour, he said. Occasionally, when the road was gridlocked from Shahbagh, it would take over an hour.
There were times when he could not bear it anymore and got off the bus to walk all the way to Mirpur.
"Before I boarded the bus, I would be tense, worrying about how much time I would be stuck on it."
News of the metro rail's extended hours made him unspeakably happy, he said.
Metro rail rescues Titu Mia from 4-hour commute
"Now I'll live a few days longer," he said. "I have had a business in Gulistan for 25 years. As my home is in Mirpur I had to commute every day."
The 22-minute trip from Mirpur to Gulistan by metro rail is well worth the added fare, he said.
Most of the passengers on the metro rail expressed their delight at the extension of service hours.
Advocate Ibrahim Khalil, a regular metro rail passenger, said he works at the High Court. Making the trip from Mirpur by bus meant he would rarely make it at the scheduled court times.
Sometimes he would have to catch a bus at 7 am to ensure he would reach on time.
"I couldn't sleep properly. But, in the past few months, I have been able to use the metro rail to get to court. But, in the evening I would be in trouble again. I would worry about how I would get back. Now I can catch the metro rail and reach home safely. It is a massive relief."