Death traps on roads

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Most of over 5,500 buses and minibuses running on city routes frequently violate traffic rules, contributing to traffic congestion and making it hazardous for passengers, pedestrians and other transport.

These public vehicles stop almost anywhere to pick up or drop passengers, even while crossing a traffic signal or in the middle of a crossroads. A moment of chaos is immediately created as other vehicles behind impatiently honk to cross the signal before the red lights are on.

This is an everyday scene in all the main bus stoppages including Mirpur-1 and 10, Farmgate, Karwan Bazar and Gulistan.

Moreover, operators of these buses ‘invent’ new stoppages and thus add to traffic congestion. For instance, buses and minibuses frequently stop at a crossing between Karwan Bazar and Hotel Sonargaon.

Taxicabs and three-wheelers are also often seen looking for passengers on busy VIP roads which slows down vehicular movement.

An unhealthy race between two or more buses is also very common. The drivers at this time drive so recklessly that the buses slide against each other and often ram vehicles ahead.

The speed limit for vehicles other than motorcycles is 40 km/h in the city, but hardly any drivers follow the rule. The traffic police department also has no apparent mechanism to enforce the speed limit.

“If I don’t ensure maximum number of passengers in a trip, how will I earn my targeted income? I must make over Tk 1,800 a day, or I will have to pay the bus owner from my pocket,” says a bus driver.

“Things will automatically improve if we are not asked to achieve a minimum daily target and are paid on salary basis,” he observes.

“A salary structure is already in effect for some operators such as Bikalpa Paribahan that runs between Pallabi and Motijheel and United Paribahan that runs on Pallabi- Sadarghat route.”

Bikalpa Paribahan pays a driver Tk 150 for every return trip while United Tk 100. These bus services collect passengers only from specified stoppages without stopping elsewhere.

Drivers don’t know rules
Police and Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA) officials say most of the drivers don’t know the necessary traffic rules. “They even don’t know the meaning of most of the traffic signs,” says a police official.

Police say 54 cases were filed with different stations in connection with road accidents in Dhaka metropolis in February. The office of Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) commissioner yesterday said they have so far received statements of 45 cases, which show 29 people were killed, 14 received serious injuries and two other sustained minor wounds.

Police officials however admit that the recorded number is much less than the actual accidents as in most cases, except severe, the victims and bus operators settle the matter themselves.

Unfit buses unchallenged
Badly damaged bodies of many city service buses and taxicabs demonstrate how frequent the vehicles knock each other. Pieces of shattered glass are often found littering the road, exemplifying how frequent accidents are taking place.

A large number of city service buses are unfit, but many of those are running with fitness certificates bribing a section of corrupt BRTA officials. Most of these vehicles even don’t have essential indicators and horn in order, but police say those have fitness certificates from BRTA.

These unfit vehicles are running under the nose of traffic cops, but it seems they are tired of taking action.

Asked whether traffic sergeants’ ill practice of making quick bucks is reduced, a bus owner wishing anonymity said now they first seize blue books or driving licence and then ask the driver to contact him “later”.

Police say they have beefed up their vigilance, but the situation has not improved due to lack of awareness among drivers and pedestrians.

City traffic police chief Jasim Uddin said the number of cases being filed now is more than any other times in the past. They have even filed 2,000 cases on a single day, which is a record, but violations continue, he added.

He claimed filing of such a number of cases suggests police are actively doing their job.

BRTA Chairman Sunil Kanti Bose said the drivers and bus owners reserve 30 percent of their day’s income for fines every day. So they target 30 percent extra income just to pay for violating rules.

He said the government has taken an initiative to enact the Motor Vehicle Ordinance, 2007 increasing the existing minimum fine of Tk 50 to Tk 500 and the highest fine to Tk 10,000 from Tk 5,000.

“Now cases are being filed for traffic rule violations, but it is not acting as a deterrent to the violations as the fine is minimal,” Sunil told The Daily Star.

Police and BRTA officials say reckless driving by truck drivers at night, lack of valid licence, overloading, and poor knowledge of traffic rules are contributing to both road accidents and traffic congestion.

They also suggest that the government set up modern equipment to instantly check fitness to bring the violators to book.

The BRTA statistics until 2006 says 3,669 buses run on 96 routes in the city, while 1,097 other buses on 26 suburban routes. Besides, 1,591 human haulers are also operating on 47 routes in the metropolis.

A latest World Bank study under Air Quality Monitoring Project says Dhaka has a bus, minibus and human hauler fleet of 5,527, which runs in a network of 200km.

With 103 bus-minibus and 38 human hauler routes, the service in this small network is very intensive, the report says. Bus being the only mode of mass transit available in Dhaka carries about 1.9 million passengers every day.

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