Inside the interim govt’s plans to address Dhaka’s traffic woes

Around 8am on a weekday, the road from Kunipara to Farmgate had heavy traffic. The road was packed with hundreds of rickshaws, including many battery-powered auto-rickshaws. With their higher speeds, these auto-rickshaws wanted to overtake the pedal rickshaws. They honked frequently, producing a loud, jarring noise to prompt the slower pedal rickshaws to move out of the way.

Amid this rally of rickshaws were a few private cars, also trying to find a way through, honking persistently. But with rickshaws and auto-rickshaws scattered across the road, the cars had no room to move ahead. They crawled at a snail's pace.

As the vehicles passed Government Science College and approached the narrow alley leading to Holy Cross College, the congestion took a turn for the worse. It seemed as if every vehicle was trying to squeeze into that tiny alley. 

Some rickshaws spilled out onto the Farmgate main road, where buses and other heavy vehicles usually travel.

The result was a chaotic mix of all kinds of vehicles on the street, with almost no one sticking to a particular lane. Vehicles parked or slowed down in the middle of the road created a complete gridlock this early in the morning.

Shamim Haider, a traffic police officer, appeared visibly frustrated. "There's so much noise. It feels like every vehicle is honking at me. But if there's no space to move forward, what's the point of honking like that?" he remarked.

The honkers had their justifications. "If we don't honk, this jam will never clear up," said one biker.

A bus helper, Shipon, chipped in, "On every trip, we get stuck here for 10-15 minutes. And there are several such spots along our route. The passengers shout at us as if we're responsible for the jam!"

When asked who he thought was to blame, Shipon responded immediately, "Definitely the auto-rickshaws. If there weren't so many, the congestion on these main roads would be much lower."

In Gulistan, one of the busiest areas of the capital, the effect of auto-rickshaws on traffic was even more apparent. Mili, a passenger who had just stepped off a bus, shared her experience, "It only took us three hours to get from Khulna to Dholaipar. But the final stretch of around 4.5 kilometres took almost two hours."

According to a traffic police officer stationed near Kaptan Bazar, the severe congestion in Gulistan often causes vehicles using the Jatrabari-Gulistan flyover to spend hours descending.

"We're trying hard to control the traffic, but with so many illegal vehicles on the streets that cause congestion and sometimes accidents, there's only so much we can do," he admitted.

According to a BUET study, out of 18 types of vehicles in Dhaka, battery-powered rickshaws are the most hazardous. Also, at least 2,000 battery-powered rickshaws operate per square kilometre on Dhaka's roads. Since the fall of the Sheikh Hasina-led regime in August, the number of auto-rickshaws has increased by 400,000. Now, over 600,000 auto-rickshaws roam the main roads and alleyways across the city.

In conversations with several auto-rickshaw drivers, it became clear that while battery-powered rickshaws are more expensive than pedal rickshaws, drivers prefer them due to their speed and less physical effort.

It costs around Tk25,000 to make a pedal rickshaw, while building a battery-powered rickshaw costs between Tk50,000 and Tk60,000.

"We usually borrow money from Mohajons [loan sharks]. Battery-powered auto-rickshaws allow us to earn around Tk1,200-1,500 per day. So, it's easier to repay the loans by driving these," said Aziz Mia, an auto-rickshaw driver living in Dhaka's Modhubag area.

"Sometimes we face harsh treatment from the traffic police, but so far we've survived. I don't see any reason to stop driving these rickshaws," he added.

The previous Awami League government had decided to ban auto-rickshaws in May this year in an effort to restore order on the roads. This was followed by police operations aimed at halting the movement of auto-rickshaws in Dhaka. 

However, following road blocks and demonstrations by auto-rickshaw drivers, the government backtracked on the decision, with the then-prime minister Sheikh Hasina giving permission for auto-rickshaws to ply Dhaka's roads, "considering the plight of low-income people."

Meanwhile, under the guidance of two BUET experts, Dr Md Hadiuzzaman and Dr Moazzem Hossain, the interim government has launched a project to address traffic issues in collaboration with the traffic police, city corporations, and the Dhaka Transport Coordination Authority (DTCA). 

The BUET experts also met Dr Muhammad Yunus, the chief adviser of the interim government, a couple of times, and presented several recommendations, which form the foundation of the government's plan to alleviate congestion.

Their recommendations included removing illegal cycle and battery-powered rickshaws from main roads, reinstating traffic police activities to their pre-5 August state, and enforcing traffic laws more strictly to improve traffic flow.

They also proposed reducing signal times to two minutes at smaller intersections and five minutes at larger ones. They also recommend prohibiting parking, stopping, or passenger boarding within 50 metres of small intersections and 100 metres of larger ones. Passengers should only board or unboard at designated DTCA and city corporation-approved bus stops, and buses should not stop beside each other at these stops.

Furthermore, they suggested forming mobile teams for each of Dhaka's eight traffic divisions. These teams would consist of a trained traffic engineer, a traffic police officer, and officials from the DTCA and city corporations. Their role would be to address issues on the ground and implement practical solutions.

However, in a conversation with The Business Standard, Dr Hadiuzzaman, a professor of civil engineering, acknowledged that despite their recommendations, the traffic situation in Dhaka has not improved much over the past month and a half, as most of their suggestions have not yet been fully implemented.

"There have been some raids to evict illegal rickshaws in Dhaka, but these efforts have only managed to remove 5-10% of them. To restore the situation to what it was before 5 August, we would need to reduce the number of illegal rickshaws by at least 50%," he said. 

There have also been reports of traffic lights being installed which would not be AI-based, but semi-automatic, allowing for time adjustments by traffic police through remote control, with the option to adapt during peak hours.

BUET has proposed Tk10 lakh per signal for installation and Tk1.5 lakh for monthly maintenance. 

However, Dr Hadiuzzaman said that the traffic signals alone would not be enough to control the traffic congestion situation in Dhaka. He mentioned that while their initial recommendations were to bring Dhaka's traffic situation at least like that of pre-5 August, the chief adviser also sought their suggestions for what could be done for the long run. 

In response, according to the BUET professor, they told the chief adviser that with Dhaka's population of 2.5-3 crore, enforcement management could improve the city's traffic situation by roughly 10-20%. To achieve a more significant improvement, a mid-term intervention is also necessary. 

"Already, with an investment of Tk 2.5 lakh crore, there will be three metro lines in Dhaka in total by 2027. But to save Dhaka by bringing the traffic to a tolerant situation, 60-70% people of the city have to be brought under the purview of a good public transport system," said Dr Hadiuzzaman.

For this, the expert recommended that all public buses be procured by a government-listed company, allowing for better control over the fleet, including phasing out unfit buses. With an investment of Tk6,000 crore, Dhaka could have a modern, low-flow, double-decker, air-conditioned bus system like London's, with dedicated bus lanes and priority at traffic signals. 

This approach could also entice private car users to switch to public buses, offering them a faster, hassle-free commute and helping to reduce the volume of private cars on Dhaka's streets.

"Both I and Dr Moazzem believe this is the only solution for a city like Dhaka. And once our initial six recommendations are met, this too could be made possible within just six months if the government really wants it," Dr Hadiuzzaman concluded. 

Nazrul Islam, Dhaka South City Corporation Administrator and Bus Route Rationalisation Committee President announced on 11 November that all bus services in Dhaka will soon operate under a unified company, Dhaka Nagar Paribahan. He also informed that 80 bus companies have already applied to join, with applications open until 30 November