Traffic poses a negative externality upon the society. It is a social cost that every one of us has to incur. It also poses a severe threat to the economy as well as the environment. Since Dhaka city has more vehicles than any other place in the country, most of this congestion occurs in Dhaka.

It is very hard to tell the exact reason for congestion in this city as it does not follow any pattern. It is common practice in Dhaka to blame the rickshaw-pullers as the sole reason for traffic jam in the streets. But in reality there are many other reasons for this traffic congestion. The reasons include: significant increase in pollution and all types of vehicle, traffic mismanagement i.e. violation of traffic rules and regulations, poor transportation and infrastructure planning i.e. the unplanned growth of the city. It can be also be due to political reasons as every day at least one or two street processions or protests occur in Dhaka because of the all-time political instability of Bangladesh. These processions slow down the traffic flow of the important streets during the peak hours.

Although the problem of traffic congestion is universal, its solution is not easy. What is applicable or what should be applicable in Europe or the US might not be applicable to every country of Asia. As for Bangladesh, we cannot go for remedies like the US or Europe because of our technical or technological deficiency. Therefore I really hope that something is done about the traffic congestion in Dhaka city, not only for the country but also for the people.