Choking in black smoke, bus owners don’t give a damn

Highlights:

• 27% of vehicles exceed economic life
• Most vehicles pose serious environmental and health hazards
• Unfit vehicles lead to fatal accidents
• Govt launches crackdown on 20 July

As Tahmina Haque, a 34-year-old homemaker, gently took her nine-year-old son, Luham Wasi, by the hand and walked towards the school gate in Dhaka's Moghbazar area on an August morning, a rickety bus lurched forward from the signal. Its exhaust pipe coughed out a thick cloud of black smoke that engulfed the mother and son.

Wasi let out a violent cough, his small hands covering his face, while Tahmina pulled him closer, trying to shield him from the acrid fumes. "It burns in the throat and stings the eyes," Tahmina later told TBS. "This is the air our children are breathing every day."

Dhaka's roads are no strangers to the menace of such unfit vehicles. Many of these buses date back two or even three decades, their bodies patched with rust, their engines coughing thick plumes of smoke, and their brakes unreliable. For commuters, these buses are a daily gamble – one that can lead to serious health issues or even fatal accidents.

The government, in a move hailed by environmentalists and concerned citizens, recently launched a drive against these unfit vehicles..

Unfit vehicles rule streets

A significant portion of the buses plying the streets have expired fitness certificates or none at all. Some have been officially declared unfit but continue to operate amid lax enforcement of the law.

Data from the Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA) shows the magnitude of the issue. Since the BRTA began operations in 1988, a total of 85,198 buses and minibuses, and 2,14,445 trucks, covered vans, and tankers have been registered.

As of 24 July 2025, 80,309 vehicles – 27% of all registered commercial vehicles – had exceeded their economic life. This includes 39,169 buses and minibuses and 41,140 goods-carrying vehicles.

In the first six months of this year, 2,943 people were killed in 3,039 road crashes. Last year, there were 5,480 deaths from 5,856 road accidents.

For many road users, unfit buses are a daily hazard. "All the accidents I have witnessed are because of unfit buses," said biker Tazwan Talha.

Car driver Nahidul Islam described the decrepit state of many vehicles. "Most don't have indicators, horns or headlights. Their braking systems are faulty. The owners don't care if a bus hits another vehicle or breaks parts – it's already old, and they won't replace anything. These are killing machines," he said.

Health and environmental toll

Environment, Forest and Climate Change Adviser Syeda Rizwana Hasan has said that old and polluting buses will be scrapped to reduce air pollution in the capital, stressing, "People in Dhaka cannot continue to suffer and die from air pollution. The interests of a few cannot outweigh the health of the entire population. Bus owners must take immediate action." 

According to health experts, outdated and poorly maintained buses in Dhaka pose serious environmental and health hazards, releasing toxic chemicals that significantly worsen the city's already severe air pollution.

Prolonged exposure to these pollutants can trigger respiratory illnesses such as asthma, bronchitis, and other lung diseases, particularly among vulnerable groups like children and the elderly, while also increasing the risk of heart attacks, strokes, and other cardiovascular problems.

Government crackdown

On 20 July, the interim government began a nationwide campaign to remove buses and minibuses older than 20 years, and trucks and covered vans older than 25 years. The BRTA launched mobile court operations in eight locations across Dhaka.

BRTA Chairman Abu Momtaz Saad Uddin Ahmed, while joining the operation at Farmgate, told reporters, "Buses that are over 20 years old and trucks over 25 years old create significant road chaos and contribute to the high rate of traffic accidents. This campaign targets those very vehicles."

This decision came after two missed deadlines, with the third one set for 19 July.

Muhammad Fouzul Kabir Khan, adviser for the road transport and bridges ministry, said owners had been given months to replace outdated vehicles but failed to do so.

"Our objective is not to evict all outdated vehicles, and we do not have space for so many. We want replacement of these vehicles... we will go slowly by removing the oldest vehicles first," he said.

Opposition from transport owners

The government initiative sparked fierce resistance from transport owners and workers. On 27 July, leaders from three major associations – the Bangladesh Road Transport Owners' Association, Bangladesh Bus-Truck Owners' Association, and Bangladesh Road Transport Workers' Federation – announced a 72-hour nationwide strike from 12 August unless their eight-point demand was met.

However, they withdrew the strike last night (10 August).

Their demands include halting the crackdown, extending the economic lifespan of commercial vehicles to 30 years, and reversing the recently doubled advance income tax on commercial vehicles. 

They also want outdated but fit-certified vehicles to remain operational in districts, as was previously allowed, and to increase the import age limit for reconditioned commercial vehicles from five to 12 years.

Other points cover the amendment of the law to ensure that accident-damaged vehicles are returned to owners within 72 hours, and providing separate lanes for three-wheelers and unauthorised light vehicles on highways.

Saiful Alam, secretary general of the owners' association, said, "The economic lifespan of commercial vehicles should be extended to 30 years. Previously, expired vehicles could still operate in districts with valid fitness certificates. This provision must be retained."

He insisted that bail for drivers, even those involved in accidents, was a constitutional right and criticised current legal provisions as overly punitive.

Kofil Uddin Ahmed, central president of the owners' association, said, "Vehicles over 20 years old are being sent to dumping grounds, which will remove about 80% of vehicles from the roads. If a vehicle has fitness clearance, it should be allowed to run. If it doesn't, suspend it temporarily. If an 83-year-old person can run the country as chief adviser, why give a death sentence to a 20-year-old vehicle?"

Campaign for road safety

Road safety campaigners reject these arguments outright. Saidur Rahman, executive director of the Road Safety Foundation, called Kofil Uddin's analogy "entirely absurd."

He pointed to an incident in Jhalokathi, where 13 people died when an expired bus's brakes failed, slamming into a toll plaza. "These are acts of murder. For these, the vehicle owner should face murder charges," Saidur said.

He noted that transport owners themselves had accepted the 20-year limit when applying for route permits. "Most accidents are caused by expired vehicles. No one has the right to run such vehicles and kill people."

Bus drivers themselves often shift the blame upwards. "We are just employees," said Ramzan Mia, who drives between Dhaka and Manikganj. "We don't maintain the buses. I don't even know how old mine is. My job is to drive; the owners are liable for maintenance."

The government says it wants to avoid public suffering, but will not abandon the campaign. "In reality, transport owners and workers are taking a stand against the initiative. We will hold talks to resolve issues, but expired vehicles cannot remain on the roads," said adviser Fouzul.

The BRTA emphasised that the campaign would continue beyond daylight hours and gradually target the oldest vehicles first. But with owners insisting that most of the fleet would be lost under the new rules, the threat of a transport strike looms over the capital and beyond.

The debate now pits public safety against economic and operational concerns. As Saidur of the Road Safety Foundation warns, keeping expired vehicles on the roads "is not a transport issue – it is a question of life and death."