20 AC buses to hit port city roads soon
Ten buses have already been prepared for commercial service scheduled to start operations by June
A total of 20 air-conditioned (AC) buses will soon ply across Chattogram's Route 14, stretching from the Kaptai Road Intersection to the Patenga Beach.
Ten buses have already been prepared for commercial service scheduled to start operations by June, Syed Ainul Huda, deputy director of Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA) Chattogram Division, told The Business Standard.
Fares for this service will range from a minimum of Tk20 to a maximum of Tk100, with special discounts for students.
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Shanti Paribahan Limited, a local transport company, has taken the initiative to operate twenty 38-seater AC buses under the banner of 'Chattala Chaka'.
The BRTA official said the 'Chattala Chaka' bus service was approved after a meeting on 11 February this year.
"We always encourage public transport owners to launch counter-based bus services to develop the quality of passenger service to a large extent," he added.
The chassis of the buses were from the Indian company Tata Motors and the bodies were manufactured in the country.
Zainul Abedin Tito, deputy commissioner (DC) of the Chattogram Metropolitan Police (CMP) traffic north division, said this service will be launched in the port city following the model of Dhaka.
"It may take some time to get 100% of the benefits from this initiative. But passengers will get relatively better services," he added.
Pointing out that counter-based bus services will reduce the number of unlicensed and unfit buses on roads, the DC said, "If company-based counter service is introduced, the indiscipline of bus parking can be controlled and traffic congestion can be eased. The conditions of the service must be strictly followed."
Welcoming the launch of the AC bus service, President of Consumers Association of Bangladesh (CAB) SM Nazir Hossain said, "The new AC bus service will encourage commuters to choose public transport which will help reduce traffic congestion."
He, however, suggested that the number of buses must be increased to get commercial benefits from the service.
So, he urged transport owners to come forward to launch more counter-based transport services with new and comfortable buses.
Mohammad Shahjahan, managing director of Shanti Express (Pvt) Limited, told The Business Standard, "We have been permitted to launch 20 AC buses initially. We have 10 buses ready to ply on the city roads soon.
"As an AC bus service, we will have fewer counters in the beginning. The counters will be divided into yellow and red categories according to passenger pressure."
Regarding the fare, he said, "Considering passengers of all income groups, we have decided to fix the minimum fare of Tk20 and the maximum of Tk100. The fare chart will be sent to the BRTA for approval soon. It will be fixed in coordination with non-AC buses and other air-conditioned buses plying in the capital.
"Our buses are not allowed to take passengers beyond the number of seats in each bus [38]."
According to Shahjahan, a total of 300 buses, 250 non-counter and 50 counter-based buses ply on this route where 1.5 lakh commuters travel daily.
Earlier in 2016, a company named Premier Transport Service (Pvt.) Limited took the initiative to start an AC bus service on the route with six buses, but it could not meet with fruition.
Later in 2022, an organisation named Chattola Service Private Limited took the initiative to launch 150 taxi cabs in the city.
Mohammad Anwar Hussain, managing director of the company, told The Business Standard, "We obtained permission from the ministry, district administration and the CMP. But the BRTA has kept us waiting for issuing the route permit for the last year showing the excuse of rules of operating taxi cabs."
According to the BRTA, there are 17 routes for buses, 18 for human haulers and 20 for auto-tempo in the city.
More than 1,200 buses ply on 17 routes while more than 2,000 human haulers and auto-tempo ply on the port city roads.
The authorities, however, do not have any statistics on how many commuters use public transport in Chattogram.
