After missing three deadlines, the Dhaka South City Corporation (DSCC) is going to inaugurate bus service on the Ghatarchar-Kanchpur route under one authority from December 26. The service “Dhaka Nagar Paribahan” will start its operations with 50 buses – 20 brand-new and 30 old BRTC double-decker buses, all coloured green — as part of the government’s bus route rationalisation initiative. DSCC Mayor Sheikh Fazle Noor Taposh said they are going to inaugurate the service with 50 buses, but in the next two months, a total of 100 buses, of which 10 will be BRTC buses, will run on the route. Bus fare from Ghatarchar to Kanchpur via Motijheel and Signboard has been fixed at Tk 2.15 per kilometre, and an e-ticketing system will facilitate the service.
Through this service, Dhaka’s transportation system is set to enter modernisation and rationalisation procedures to end decades-long indiscipline. No bus will be allowed to pick up or drop passengers anywhere aside from designated places. Earlier, the DSCC decided to run 120 brand new, green-coloured buses on the route under a single authority on a pilot basis from December 1. But the initiative did not materialise due to the unwillingness of bus owners to provide new buses. The owners submitted a list of 104 buses, but only six of them had complied with the criteria set by the rationalisation committee. The committee later decided to invite applications for new buses, and eight companies and individuals showed interest to run 157 buses on the route.
The Dhaka Transport Coordination Authority (DTCA) has prepared a draft guideline to run the buses. It has also prepared a joint venture contract document for an agreement among bus owners. All the buses will run under a management committee comprising bus owners, and the committee will be responsible for the whole operation. Rationalisation of bus routes in the capital is a long-felt demand to make bus services efficient. This long-hyped project should not end in disarray. If properly implemented, commuters will benefit from rationalisation of the capital’s transportation system.
