Bangladesh and India are set to operate trial bus service on the newfound Dhaka-Sylhet-Shillong-Guwahati route from May 2 with the greater aim of adding a new dimension to regional connectivity.
The trial run of bus will continue for a week or more to ascertain the number of buses and fix the schedules in keeping with the trans-border traffic load.
Officials said as the roads on the Indian side are narrow, being in hilly terrain, the availability of small buses and skills of drivers will also be assessed during the trial.
The ministry of road transport and bridges held several inter-ministerial meetings to set the modalities of new bus service and decided to kick off the trial run for a week or so after holding talks with the Indian side.
Sources said as the Bangladesh Road Transport Corporation (BRTC) has no small-size buses, it has initially hired two buses from private agencies for the test run.
At the same time, India will also run buses on the route on a trial basis to finalise the number of buses for the cross-border communications.
"We are ready to launch new bus service on the Dhaka-Sylhet-Shillong-Guwahati route," said BRTC Chairman Mohammad Mizanur Rahman.
Road Transport and Highway Division Secretary MAN Siddique said BRTC will launch the service with one bus, but it will keep another bus on standby.
"Based on the trial run for few days or weeks, we (both Bangladesh and India) will like to take decision on the schedules," he told the FE over phone.
As the BRTC has no small-size buses, the secretary said, it will rent buses from private sector if the number of passengers on the route is seen increasing during the period.
He also said the trial run would help the two governments understand the needs for improving different facilities, including customs and visa formalities on the borders.
Earlier, a joint study team of Bangladesh and India made a trial run last December when route conditions and other technical parameters were assessed. It submitted report on the details and feasibility of regular bus services to the authorities concerned.
The regular bus service was set to start in February but was delayed due to technical reasons.
During the first trial run, more than 20 officials from both the sides, including from foreign, home, finance and transport ministries, undertook the survey trip and proposed the 500-km Dhaka-Sylhet-Tamabil-Dawki-Shillong-Guwahati route for bus service.
With the new one, the two neighbouring countries will have bus service on three routes connecting Dhaka with the Indian states of Meghalaya, Assam, Tripura and Paschimbanga through Shillong, Guwahati, Agartala and Kolkata under state arrangement.
There are private bus services between the two countries through different borders.
Sources said under state arrangement, buses will run up to their destinations without any change on the frontiers.
The regular bus service between Dhaka and Agartala started in 2003 and the Dhaka-Kolkata trip in 1999.
Apart from bus services, a train service between Dhaka and Kolkata has been in operation since 2008.
Now, sources said, Biman Bangladesh Airlines is considering operating plane flight between Dhaka and Guwahati.
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