Road condition a concern as transport companies gear up for Eid rush
Transport service providers are preparing for the upcoming Eid holiday by increasing their services and trips and adding reserved buses to cater to the expected surge in passenger demand. But, operators are concerned about road conditions.
Transport companies are expecting the highest demand for bus tickets for 18-21 April.
Mosharraf Hossain, general manager of Hanif Paribahan, told The Business Standard that they will increase their buses and trips to meet the rising passenger demand during Eid-ul-Fitr. Hanif Paribahan normally operates around 800 buses on different routes across the country, and they will add another 150 buses to their fleet this time.
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Similarly, Greenline Paribahan has 60 reserved buses that will be added to their existing service during Eid.
The Bangladesh Road Transport Corporation (BRTC) is also starting a special Eid service with over 900 buses from Friday.
However, transport insiders think that just increasing the number of buses will not eliminate public sufferings.
"To ensure a smooth journey, the roads must be kept passable, and vehicles must not stop in the middle of the roads. Besides, law enforcers must remain vigilant round the clock," said Hanif Paribahan GM Mosharraf.
Mozammel Haque Chowdhury, secretary general of the Bangladesh Jatri Kalyan Samity, pointed out that the country has 80,000 long-haul buses. If they can make two trips daily, the passenger transportation capacity will stand at around 4,00,000 a day. From 19 April, however, 6,00,000 to 1 million people are expected to travel by road on public transport per day.
"Although companies are increasing their trips, law enforcers must be stricter to ensure unobstructed movement on the road; otherwise, the buses will fail to provide enough trips, and no benefits will be realised," Mozammel told TBS.
However, authorities concerned have assured the public that they will do everything possible to lessen traffic congestion on the road during Eid journeys.
Meanwhile, all the advance railway tickets for 17-21 April have been sold out, with just tickets for standing passengers remaining, which can be bought on the day of the journey. To cater to the extra pressure on the occasion of Eid, railways will operate ten pairs of special trains. Around 25% of total seats in the Shovon class (non-air-conditioned) will be sold to standing passengers.
