Dhaka South City Corporation [DSCC] is set to launch a drive against the unfit buses apparently to clear the roads from 20-year-old vehicles to ensure better transport service for city dwellers.
The drive will be conducted by the mobile courts headed by DSCC executive magistrates from Sunday.
Sources close to the DSCC told The New Nation on Thursday, a high-powered committee headed by Asset Officer Debashish Nag has been formed to conduct the drive under DSCC jurisdictions.
“We’ve discussed the matter in the meetings for some times. Officials of different transport organizations and law enforcement agencies were present at the meeting,” he said.
The DSCC, however, did not hold any formal meeting with the transport bodies in this regard, sources said.
On February 15, the DSCC made the announcement. But strangely, most of the bus drivers are not aware of the decision till the date. But they think that there will be no harm despite DSCC drive against unfit buses.
Meanwhile, the officials of Bangladesh Road Transport Authority [BRTA] said that there are more than 6000 passenger buses in the city. Of them, around 60-70 percent is older than 20 years.
The government had several times tried to withdraw the buses from the city streets, but failed due to noncooperation of transport owners. Especially, the transport owners and drivers in connivance of some transport leaders keep the buses out from the roads pushing the commuters in a troublesome situation when mobile courts start drive.
It is learnt that, the city dwellers suffer a lot every day due to poor communication facilities; the authorities concerned seem indifferent in taking effective steps to ensure better bus services. Although the buses are the main mode of transport for the people in the Dhaka city, most of the buses are very old and unfit for movement.
Since decades, the people are not getting proper bus service during rush-hour traffic. And so, the people have no alternative but to get on unfit buses. Usually, the people do not want to get CNG-run auto-rickshaw because of exorbitant fair. Besides, the taxicabs are not available even if the commuters are ready to pay extra money in emergency.
An official of Traffic Department, Dhaka Metropolitan Police, requesting not to be named said that most of the buses are plying on the city streets with broken windscreens, shattered windows, shabby seats and scrapes, and without having indicators, taillights and headlights.
It is alleged that many buses are running with loose body parts, putting the life of passengers at risk, while some have purposely smudged number plates to avoid police interference after any accident.
This correspondent while travelling by different city buses found almost all the buses and minibuses having extended the number of the seats and also take standing passengers to collect additional money in each trip. It was seen that the buses have increased the number of seats from 52 to 65 while minibuses from 30 to 45.
“I daily come out of my residence at around 7:00 to reach my office at 9:00am. I have to wait for around 30 minutes to one hour everyday to get on a bus. There are only two bus counters – one for BRTC and another for private bus operator-to go to Motijheel from Khailkhet. Earlier, there were six counters on the route,” Nazmun Nahar, a regular passenger on Khilkhet-Motijheel route in the city, said.
A passenger on Mirpur-Motijheel route Md Shamshu Mia, said that most of the buses of Mirpur-Gulistan-Motijheel route plying in a rundown condition though these are called ‘sitting service’. “It is quite impossible to get on a bus during rush hours. We have to struggle to get a ride on a bus during office hours. It is very tough for women passengers as the bus helpers do not want to take female passengers,” he said.
General Secretary of Bangladesh Sarak Paribahan Samity Khandaker Enayet Ullah, however, denied the allegations and said transport business has become difficult as prices of bus and its spare parts are now very high. “In the last two and a half years, a total of 40 bus companies wrapped up their service,” he said.
An owner of a transport company preferring anonymity said that general transport owners are losing interest in transport business due to various reasons, especially rampant extortion and fuel price hike and control over routes by influential transport owners.
Some transport owners said they have to pay toll to several parties, including Praibahan owners’ association, workers’ association, police and ruling party’s various organizations in each and every trip in the city routes.
