A TOTAL of 120 brand new, green-coloured buses will ply on the Ghatarchar-Kanchpur route under a single authority on a pilot basis from December 1, as part of the Dhaka South City Corporation’s bus route rationalisation initiative. Dhaka Transport Coordination Authority (DTCA) has prepared a draft guideline to run the buses under the name Dhaka Nagar Paribahan. It has also prepared a draft of a joint venture contract for agreement among bus owners. Currently, there is no guideline to run the buses in the capital. Around 40 passenger stoppages and 16 bus-bays will be installed on the 21km long pilot route. But work for bus bays will start after the inauguration of the service.
No passenger will be allowed to board a bus without a ticket, which will have to be collected from certain counters. The design of the buses has been prepared, and a model bus has been made. However the proposed fare is nearly 30 per cent higher than the current fares in Dhaka city. According to the Bangladesh Road Transport Authority, 382 buses plying on 13 routes pass through Ghatarchar-Kanchpur. All these buses will be phased out, and the 120 buses will take their place. According to a draft guideline, all the buses will have to start from designated bus terminals or depots and operate at fixed times, which will be decided by the authorities concerned. The buses will be allowed to park only at designated spots, including bus terminals or depots.
Bringing discipline to the disarrayed bus route is an excellent initiative, but imposing higher fares is not justified at all. We do hope the authorities will examine the matter to make the system popular among commuters. Bus route rationalisation is to develop a transportation system that remains under the clutch of some influentials and complies with no rules or regulations. As the country transforms from an LDC to a developing country, all systems should be upgraded and the most visible up-gradation should be in the transportation system, not merely infrastructure building.
