Company-based bus services have been launched on seven routes in Dhaka under the city’s bus route rationalisation programme, with 861 buses planned to operate under seven transport companies. The initiative was inaugurated at Manik Mia Avenue at noon on Sunday.
Shamsur Rahman Shimul Biswas, MP for Pabna-5 and chief coordinator of the Transport Owners-Workers Unity Council, inaugurated the programme.
According to the Dhaka Transport Coordination Authority (DTCA), the routes are: Shibbari in Gazipur to Azimpur; Tongi to Azimpur; Mirpur Zoo to Chunkutia in Keraniganj; Ghatarchar in Mohammadpur to Demra Staff Quarter; Ghatarchar to Chittagong Road-Kanchpur; Ghatarchar to Dhour in Abdullahpur; and the Mirpur-1 to Kakoli-Banani circular route.
VIP City Paribahan will operate 253 buses on the Shibbari-Azimpur route. Dhaka Dhaka City Paribahan will run 20 buses on the Tongi-Azimpur route, while Chiriakhana City Paribahan will operate 133 buses between Mirpur Zoo and Chunkutia.
Ramzan Ali City Paribahan has plans to operate 80 buses on the Ghatarchar-Demra route. Three Star City Paribahan will run 120 buses between Ghatarchar and Kanchpur, while P. P. B. City Paribahan will operate 225 buses on the Ghatarchar-Dhour route. Trust Transport Service will run 30 buses on the Mirpur-1-Kakoli circular route.
The combined length of the seven routes is about 200 kilometres. Both air-conditioned and non-air-conditioned buses will operate on the routes.
The Dhaka Road Transport Owners Association has set regulations for buses operating under the rationalisation system. Buses must be kept clean and roadworthy, while digital boards at the front and rear must display the route number, origin and destination, and vehicle serial number.
Buses must also carry a list of stops along their routes. Drivers and staff are required to wear clean uniforms and behave courteously with passengers. Passenger boarding and alighting will be allowed only at designated stops.
Bus operators will not be permitted to wait beyond scheduled times at stops to collect additional passengers. Buses must not obstruct other vehicles or engage in irregular overtaking.
“Young and working-age people are an asset to the country. Discipline must be established in every sector to utilise this population,” Shamsur Rahman Shimul Biswas said at the inauguration.
“Previous efforts to restore discipline in the transport sector were delayed because of various obstacles and the patronage of influential groups. The initiative for change has accelerated after the Prime Minister took a firm position,” he said.
The initiative launched on seven routes would not remain limited to an inauguration, he said, adding that the system would be introduced gradually on Dhaka’s 32 routes, with buses on each route having separate colours and orderly operations.
Muhammad Masiur Rahman, executive director (secretary) of the DTCA, chaired the event. Dhaka Metropolitan Police Commissioner Mosleh Uddin Ahmed attended as a special guest.
Other guests included Bangladesh Road Transport Authority Chairman Muhammad Habibur Rahman, Dhaka Road Transport Owners Association President M. A. Baten, and Bangladesh Road Transport Workers Federation General Secretary Mokhlesur Rahman.