Metro rail slashes time but offers no ease of commute

Some call it metro magic, others 'a slice of foreign land'. By foreign land, they mean the most advanced countries in the West where life is so synchronised that it can with rare exception go by the clock. Movements on roads are disciplined and trains run on time. In short, commuting is easy and comfortable for commuters so that they hardly ever fail to maintain their appointment.
Indeed the metro rail, the first of its kind in Bangladesh, has come as a blessing for people who can avail of its benefits but had to groan in agony in the intractable Dhaka traffic mess for years. Before January 20 last, the metro rail provided limited benefits with the service from Agargaon to Motijheel, the official hub of the capital, continuing up to 11:30 am. Even before that for about a year, the Agargaon-Uttara North segment of the overhead rail served only partially the commuters of a limited northern part of the city.
But once the Uttara-Motijheel route was open to the public, commuters rushed in droves to avail of the opportunity. Now the rush is so heavy that not all the passengers assembling at several stations can be accommodated. Metro rail staff have to request commuters over loudspeakers to wait for the next train. But there is no guarantee the next train will be empty enough to take all the passengers.
Well, the trains are running on time but commuters are sorely missing the ease and assurance of a nice trip on the train. Pushing and jostling are as hard as it was in rush time buses. Anyone averse to physical contact in crowd would better avoid a metro rail journey at least on week days. After all, in a highly populous country and in a city with the highest density in the world, a one-off facility ---much as it may be of the order of the most advanced kind---can offer the desired service.
Had the bus service been decent and not coercive and unmindful to the commuters in the city, people did not suddenly opt for the metro travel. According to survey conducted between July 17 and September last year by the Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology, 69.41 per cent commuters of metro rail travelled by bus before. That was the time when the metro service was from Uttara to Agargaon. A fresh such survey is expected to give a far higher percentage of commuter who have changed their transportation mode since the metro train's operation up to Motijheel from Uttara.
Now the metro rail authority is struggling to cope with the heavy rush of commuters. It is thinking of reducing the time gap between two trains and also adding two more compartments with each of the trains. The authority reportedly confirms that addition of two more compartments to a train is possible. Sure enough, this will help ease the rush of the commuters. Now the question is if the required engines and compartments are already there or a few more will have to be imported from Japan. In case of the latter scenario, both reduction of frequency of trains and addition of compartments may be delayed. But if the changes can be brought about with the existing trains, commuters will enjoy the benefit soon.
Now that the rush is heavy, commuters cannot shirk their responsibility to make it this worse. Discipline is lacking at the station. The majority of Dhaka's citizens are yet to make it a habit of cosmopolitan culture. They would like to take undue advantage. This is why pushing, dashing and jostling ensue at the time of boarding the train. This can be easily avoided if the commuters stand in queues side by side along the space of the door. Inside the train, the chaotic accommodation can be disciplined if commuters stand in neat rows. Although, there are instructions for leaving seats to the aged and women with children, not many young people are found to be interested in such a small sacrifice.
Last but not least, people here are accustomed to commuting in worse condition. So however much the rush is, they will prefer the metro journey because of the certainty of reaching their workplace in time and also the travail is not for long---just a matter of 10 to 31 minutes. There is another development right under the route and on the road. Passengers are avoiding bus journey and bus operators are contemplating to reduce the number of their vehicles and press those on other routes. Other bus owners think better and improved buses may help sustain their business. Either way if the bus service improves, commuters may not totally desert the service and this is good for both.