Long tailbacks on Dhaka streets continue to torment the city dwellers despite several efforts of the government to bring discipline in traffic. Photo: Shafiqul Alam

Traffic Nightmare
Steps left a lot to be desired

Tawfique Ali

Perennial traffic chaos continues to vex the city dwellers as inadequate road network did not let the government's short-term patchwork make the expected improvements.

The government's sincere steps over last one year like rescheduling timings of government and private offices, road and lane demarcation, the use of automated traffic lights failed to make any meaningful difference with ever-increasing vehicles getting on the very inadequate number of roads.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina at a cabinet meeting on August 31 directed officials to plan separate schedules for government and semi-government offices, schools, banks and markets to ease congestion in the capital.

Under the short-term plan to reduce congestion, the government also tried to recover occupied car parks and introduced DST.

But no tangible improvement was visible due to lack of a coordinated transport plan, encroachment on roads and pavements and efforts to recover occupied car parks failed.

Prof Alamgir Mojibul Hoque of Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (Buet) and head of the evaluation committee for STP said proper car park management, retrieval of car parks, optimum use of the existing road width, removal of unnecessary traffic bottlenecks, enhancing capacity of intersections and restrictions on right turning should be implemented as short-term measures as per the Strategic Transport Plan (STP).

Mid-term measures should include building east-west links, bus franchising, small-scale improvement of the traffic network and installing a better functional signalling system and gradually move into long-term solutions of efficient Mass Rapid Transit with metro rail and elevated expressway, he said.

Any transport intervention has to go with the development of a multi-modal mass transit system, according to Prof Shamsul Hoque, director of Accident Research Institute at Buet.

At least 100 new vehicles start using Dhaka streets every day, which is around 26,400 a year, when the city only has six to seven percent of its land area in roads. The standard is about 25 percent, according to officials at Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA).

According to Dhaka City Corporation, the city has 2,290 kilometres of roads including thoroughfares, lanes and by-lanes and only 220 kilometres of major roads.

"The road network in the capital is so inadequate that mere management will not bring immediate relief," said Prof Alamgir Mojibul Hoque. He said the government should approach the issue with integrated measures in mind.

Abul Hossain... rider of big dreams with questionable connections

A top official of Dhaka Transport Coordination Board (DTCB) in the first week of September said the government would introduce a special service for school children with 100 BRTC and private buses by late October. It has not happened to this today.

The communications ministry obtained the go-ahead of the cabinet committee on economic affairs on October 20 and embarked up on a $2 billion (Tk 15,000 crore) project on November 18 to build a 32.5-kilometre elevated expressway on public private partnership (PPP).

Authorities on November 19 floated invitation for expression of interest for investors' pre-qualification to fund and construct Dhaka Elevated Expressway. Invitation closes on January 20, 2010.

Rajuk launched an eviction drive on October 11 against 198 buildings that rented out designated car parks which forced shoppers to park vehicles on the roads. Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) identified those buildings.

During its four drives in Dhanmondi, Kalabagan and Mirpur areas, Rajuk knocked down around 200 illegal commercial structures on car parks at around 25 establishments.

But each and every evicted occupant returned just within a week taking advantage of the absence of rigorous penalty, rendering the government effort a futile exercise.

Interestingly, DMP decided to go tough and fine private car owners with Tk 1,000 from December 24 for unauthorised parking on streets.

Issuance of driving licences to ineligible people significantly contributes to the disaster in traffic scenario, observe transport experts.

The city dwellers remain fated to the distress and economic loss of immobility with half a dozen agencies responsible for traffic management and their inability to rectify the situation.

DTCB, DMP, DCC, Rajuk and BRTA are responsible for traffic management in the capital. There is also a Traffic Management Committee for Dhaka based at the communications ministry.

The DTCB has so far not been able to do its assigned job of coordination due to organisational inadequacies and lack of authority.

For example, the government has embarked on projects like Jatrabari Flyover, Elevated Expressway and a number of railway overpasses in an uncoordinated manner with nobody to oversee, observed Prof Mojibul Hoque.

"I am often at a loss as to who is actually in charge of taking care of Dhaka's traffic system," said Prof Jamilur Reza Chowdhury who was the leader of the technical advisory committee for STP. The government has to pay attention to implementation of the policy recommendations in the twenty-year Strategic Transport Plan (STP 2004-2024).

As per BRTA registration records, the total number of motorised vehicles in the city until March 2008 was 1.05 million--crammed into city streets making Dhaka one of the worst congested cities in the world.