Home ›› 17 Aug 2021 ›› Front
Increasing traffic congestion has turned daily trips into nightmares for the commuters in Dhaka, the capital and one of the oldest cities of Bangladesh.
As usual, suffering of the city commuters knew no bounds on Monday due the huge traffic jam as a large number of public transports, private vehicles, rickshaws, auto-rickshaws and trucks together created havoc on the major city roads.
While visiting the capital’s different points including Gabtali, Mirpur, Pallabi, Bijoy Sarani, Farmgate, Karwan Bazar, Bangla Motor, Mohakhali, Asadgate and Tejgaon, it was found that the number of both public and private vehicles as well as passengers increased further on the 6th day of business as usual after the withdrawal of “lockdown” or “restrictions”.
A huge number of people were seen waiting for the public transports to reach their respective destinations. Besides, commuters, especially women, suffered more as public transport owners are now running only 50 per cent of their vehicles on the roads as per the government decision.
Md Anwar, a bus helper of Alif transport said, “Our company has more than four hundred buses on four routes in the capital. But, now we are operating half of them which are not sufficient for the passengers.”
“The presence of people on the streets is increasing day by day with the resumption of all the business which mainly causes huge traffic congestion in the city today,” he added.
Nazrina Akhter, a private service holder said, “I am waiting at Farmgate bus stand for more than half an hour to go Mirpur but I am unable to get into any bus because a huge passengers’ rush occurs when any bus comes at the bus stoppage.”
“As only male are able to get into the buses, now I have decided to reach my destination on foot,” she added.
Masud Parvez, another male commuter said, “As half of the public transports are operating on the roads, it can increase the risk of virus transmission. Both commuters and the transport workers are now at the risk of Covid-19 infection because of the government’s decision.”
While talking to The Business Post, many passengers have urged the government to give priority to the opinion suggested by the public health experts on the operation of public transport during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Increasing traffic congestion does impose costs not only on travelers but also on the whole economic activities and finally affects national income. It has been difficult to develop and apply empirical measures of the extent of those economic costs.
By the government’s own estimate, Dhaka’s traffic jams eat up 3.2 million working hours each day and drain billions of dollars from the city’s economy annually.
According to a World Bank report, “In the last 10 years, the average driving speed has dropped from 21 kilometers per hour to 6 kilometers an hour. If business as usual continues, it risks dropping to four kilometers per hour by 2035, slower than the average walking speed.”
Another study conducted by Accident Research Institute (ARI) of Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET) said, “Traffic congestion in Dhaka eats up around 5 million working hours every day.”
The study also said that the congestion causes an annual loss of between Tk 20,000 crore and Tk 55,000 crore.
Earlier, the government had allowed shops, shopping malls and markets to keep open from 10:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m, daily from August 11.
Besides, restaurants are also allowed to stay open with half of their respective capacities from 8:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m.
Earlier on August 9, Bangladesh Road Transport Owners’ Association urged the government to withdraw the decision of operating half of public transport on the roads from August 11.
Later, the government announced that it would resume all public transport services from August 19.
Besides, all touristic spots, community centres, resorts and recreation facilities would also be reopened on the same day with 50 per cent of their capacity.
The government had earlier also allowed all the export-oriented factories to resume their operations from August 1.
