Commuters bear brunt of fare mismanagement as unfit buses hit roads with pink coats: Jatri Kalyan Samity
Despite the scale of this issue, regulatory authorities, including the BRTA, have not intervened, says the passenger welfare platform
Violations of fare regulations and mismanagement continue to cause commuter suffering, while the sudden repainting of unfit buses and their operations on roads are only having a negative impact, the Bangladesh Jatri Kalyan Samiti said today (17 February).
It said that despite the scale of this issue, regulatory authorities, including the Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA), have not intervened.
Highlighting the repainting buses pink issue at a press conference, the samity's Secretary General Md Mozammel Haque Chowdhury said the interim government took this step to beautify the city, reduce pollution, and restore order on the roads by removing 20-year-old buses from Dhaka.
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"However, in reality, the commuter crisis has only worsened."
Md Mozammel said, "This directive was misused, with old, unfit buses, which had been operating for 20 to 40 years, being repainted pink overnight instead of introducing the promised modern buses."
He further pointed out that BRTA approval was not sought before changing the colours of 2,610 buses, and neither the BRTA nor the traffic division had a list of these buses.
Instead of allowing old, unfit buses to continue operating, he demanded the removal of these buses and the introduction of 5,000 modern buses in Dhaka and Chattogram, through a public-private partnership under a route rationalisation system based on corridors, replacing the transport owners' associations with a single company model.
Mozammel Haque mentioned that, during a press conference on 4 February, leaders of the Dhaka Road Transport Owners Association announced that 21 transport companies in the capital would begin counter-based operations starting 6 February.
"Despite the requirement for Dhaka Metro RTC approval for the introduction of any advanced public transport service, this was not followed in this case."
Mozammel further demanded the resignation of the Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA) chairman, also holding the body responsible for the severe commuter distress caused by the reckless actions of CNG-run auto-rickshaw drivers who blocked roads across the city on Sunday.
He said that the BRTA cancelled the notification for filing cases against overcharging CNG auto drivers and handed helpless passengers over to the anarchy of CNG-run auto-rickshaw drivers.
He called for the abolition of the institution.
On 19 December, during a meeting of four government advisers, the police, the BRTA, and other key stakeholders, Muhammad Fouzul Kabir Khan, the adviser to the Ministry of Road Transport and Bridges, instructed that 20-year-old buses in Dhaka should be removed by May.
As part of the preparations, it was directed that starting from 25 February, all routes in Dhaka would be eliminated and nine new routes would feature improved buses in nine different colours.
