Public Transport System in Dhaka City

Presentation on public transport system in Dhaka

1. Public
Transportation
System in
Dhaka City
PREPARED BY
MD. RIFAT HOSSAIN BHUIYAN

2. Contents
1.Introduction
2.Existing Traffic Condition
3.Recommendations
4.Ongoing Initiatives
5.Future Initiatives
6.Challenges
7.Conclusion

3. Introduction
ThetransportsectorofBangladeshisladenedwithproblemsandmismanagements.Dhakabeing
thelargestcityofBangladeshaccommodates17Millionpeoplewithapopulationdensityof29
thousandpeopleperkilometersquare.Inordertomobilizethisamountofpeoplefromtheir
homestoworkplaces,anefficientandadoptivetransportationplanninginneeded.However,the
existingtransportationsystemofDhakacityissimplynotcompetentenoughtohandlesuchlevel
ofdemand.Problemssuchaslimitedroadarea,roadsurfacecondition,poortrafficmanagement,
highconcentrationofnon-motorvehicles,inadequateparking,mixedtrafficapproachetc.have
resultedtodeclineinlevelofservice,accessibility,comfortandefficiencyofthepublictransport
systemofDhakacity.

4. Existing Condition

5. Existing Condition

6. Existing Condition
Inthispresentation,theexistingconditionofthepublictransportationsystemofDhakacitywillbe
discussedintwosegments:
1.ConditionofPublicTransportationIndustry
2.ConditionofRoadTransportInfrastructure

7. Condition of Public Transportation
Industry
1.Use of Defective and Unfit Vehicles
2.RecklessDriving
3.Non-compliance to Traffic Laws
4.RoadTrafficAccidents (RTA)
5.LimitedBusRoutes
6.Unorganized Fare Collection System

8. 1. Use of Defective and Unfit
Vehicles
Presenceoflargenumberofdefectiveand
unfitvehiclesonthestreetisanalarming
issuefortheroadusers.Thepublicbuses
commonlyhavewornouttires,loosewheel
nuts,overloadedaxle,faultybreak,faulty
indicatorandheadlight,absenceofhorn,
refurbishedengineetc.AccordingtoBRTA
(2021),totalof4,79,320vehicleswithout
fitnesscertificatesarerunningonthe
streetsofDhaka.
Photo: The Daily Star, Jan 26, 2021

9. 2. Reckless Driving
DrivinginstreetsofDhakaisareal-lifevideo
game(Shiraji,2006).Thevehiclesshow
non-lanebehavioronstreet.Tendencyof
roadrageandovertakingamongthedrivers
isverycommon.Driversofcitybusesnegate
therightofwayofpedestriansandcyclists.
Duetofailureofproperlawenforcement,
speedingonaslowmovinglaneordriving
slowonafastmovinglaneisfrequent.
Photo: Daily Bangladesh, Jan 28, 2020

10. 3. Non-compliance to Traffic Laws
ThetrafficpoliceratioinDhakacitycomparedtopopulationisveryinadequate.Asaresult,there
isalwaysacapacityrelatedsetbackfacedbythetrafficlawenforcingagencies.Duringpeak
hours,intersectionsbecomeovercrowdedandtrafficcontrolbecomesverychallenging.Manybus
driversignoremanualtrafficsignals,manytrytoboardpassengerswhilewaitingonthe
intersection.Thisiswhy,duringintersectionsignals,largenumberofpassengersoccupytheroad
creatingamorechaoticsituation.

11. 4. Road Traffic Accidents (RTA)
Impropergeometric design, reckless driving, mixed mode condition are the main reasons behind
road accidents in Dhaka city.
Photo: Mix Mode Condition
Photo: Improper Sight Distance

12. 5. Limited Bus Routes
Dhakacityhasonlythreemajorbus
routecorridorswhichoriginatefrom
UttaraandMirpurandterminateat
CBD(Motijheel,Gulistan).Thebus
operationisconfinedwithin200
km.roadnetworkand141
routes.(Hossain,2018)DMTRC
(DhakaMetropolitanRegional
TransportCommittee)isresponsible
forplanningnewroutesand
providingroutepermitstobus
operators.
(Niger, 2013)

13. 6. Unorganized Fare Collection
Thefarecollectionsystemfollowedbymostofthe
busoperatorinDhakaisonboardfarecollection.
Somebusoperatorscollectfareoff-boardwiththe
helpofticketcounterswhichresidesimplyon
pedestriansidewalks.Theticketservicepassengers
generallybuyticketwithoutknowingaboutthe
vehiclearrivaltimeandsimplywaitinqueuetoget
onanarrivingbus.Whateverbetheprocessoffare
collection(onboardoroff-board)thepassengers
generallygothroughalotofhassle.Thiskindof
unorganizedfarecollectionsystemresultsinhigh
dwellingtimeofvehicleonstationsandincrease
boardingandalightingtime.
Photo: Daily Observer, 2020

14. Condition of Road Transport
Infrastructure
1.Mixed Flow Operation
2.Inadequate Road Area
3.AbsenceofCyclelaneandPedestrianWalkway
4.Lack of Parking Facility
5.AbsenceofModalIntegration
6.Waterlogging

15. 1. Mixed Flow Operation
MotorizedVehiclesarerapidlygrowingin
Dhakacity.Everyday300newvehiclesare
beingregistered.Newlyregisteredvehicles
aremostlymotorbike,caretc.Non-motor
vehiclesarealsoallowedonthemaincity
streetsofDhakaaswell.Alltogether,there
isacomplexmixtureofmotorizedandnon-
motorizedvehicles.AccordingtoBRTA,7
lakhsrickshawsareoperationinDhaka.
Whendifferenttypesofvehiclesaresharing
samelane,overallspeedofthetraffic
decreasesignificantly.

16. 2. Inadequate Road Area
Dhakacityhasonly7-10%roadareawhichisinadequatefortheexistingvehicledemand.Fora
sustainabletransportationsystem,itisveryimportanttohave25%roadareainacity.Thealready
thinroadslosetheireffectivenesswhensignificantpartoftheroadiskeptblockedbyillegally
parkedcars.Presenceofdumpingsite,dustbin,heapofconstructionmaterialalsodiminishes
roadarea.Fortheabovereasonscarriagewayoftheroaddecreasescausinginterruptionon
trafficflowanddelaystraveltime.

17. 3. Absence of Cycle Lane and
Pedestrian Walkway
Dhakacitybeingoneofthemegacitiesin
theworlddoesnothaveanydedicatedcycle
lane.Asaresult,peoplearediscouragedto
rideenvironmentfriendlynon-motorvehicles
andthosewhostillusethemaresusceptible
toaccidents,fatalitiesandinjuries.The
similarsituationisprevailingonpedestrian
walkway.Mostpartofthewalkwaysare
occupiedbystreetvendors,construction
materialsetc.
Photo: The Daily Star, September,2015

18. 4.LackofParkingFacility
Studiesshowthat,inDhakamorethan60%oftheroadremainoccupiedbyillegallyparkedcars
andpedestrians.ToaddresstheoveralltrafficproblemofDhaka,itisveryimportanttoconsider
parkingproblemwithimportance.MostoftheCBDareasdon’thavedevelopedparkingfacilities.
Parkingfacilitiesshouldbecreatedafteraproperlanduseplanningsothatlocationssuchas
businessdistrictshaveadequateparkingspacestomeetthedemand.

19. 5. Absence of Modal Integration
Itisnotpossibleforonesingletransportationmodetobesuccessfulwithoutreceivingsupport
fromothermodes.So,whenwearetalkingaboutimprovementofpublictransportationsystemof
Dhaka,itisimportantthatmodalintegrationisalsotakenintoaccount.Therearealotofurban
sprawlsaroundDhakacitywhicharenotwithintheserviceofPublicTransportationsystem.By
multimodalintegration,wecaneasilybringthoseareasundertheumbrellaofPublic
transportationwithoutmuchinfrastructuraldevelopments.Besides,Dhakacityissurroundedby
fourmajorriversandmanycanalswhichcanactastransitroutes.Throughintegrationof
paratransit,waterwaysandpublictransportthearrayofpublictransportationservicecanbe
increasebymanyfold.

20. 6. Waterlogging
Waterlogging is a very uniqueproblem faced
by the transportation system of Dhaka.
Mainly due to clogging of drains by improper
dumping of waste is the main reason behind
waterlogging on city streets. Besides,
improper cross-slope design and difficulty in
predicting rainfall amount while drainage
facility design are also responsible behind
this problem.
Photo: The Daily Star, July 20, 2020

21. Recommendation
1.Emphasizing on increasing fleet size of public transport.
2.Ensuringpropermanagement
3.Comprehensivefarestructure attained by implementing data driven cost models
4.Makingpublictransportssafe,reliable,accessible,modernandcomfortable.
5.Ensuring modal integrationbetweenwaterway, railway and land transport.
6.Building up the political goodwill
7.Revisionofroutestructures,vehicle schedules on bi-yearly basis.
8.Provision of lane for NMVT and proper walkway for pedestrians.
9.Encouraging people on walking and cycling by making infrastructural developments.

22. Ongoing Initiatives

23. Ongoing Initiatives
1.Improvement of pedestrian walkway
2.Highoccupancyarticulated and double
decker bus service
3.Commutertrainserviceconnecting
Dhakaandotherdistricts.
4.Construction of MRT and BRT.
5.Introduction of Water Bus/Taxi.

24. Components of BRT Project
1.Construction of 20.5 Km Road (1+1 BRT lane. 2+2 Mixed lane, NMT lane)
2.4.5 KM elevated section, 6 Flyover, 12 lane TongiBridge
3.114 link roads ,high-capacity drainage system and 10 kitchen markets
4.25 Station, 2 Terminal , 1 Depot
5.Rolling stock, ITS and Control center
Source:AsianDevelopment Bank (ADB)

25. Typical BRT
Cross Section
(At Grade)
Source: Dhaka Transport Coordination Authority -DTCA

26. Typical BRT
Cross Section
(Elevated)
Source: Dhaka Transport Coordination Authority -DTCA

27. BRTService Planning
Source: Dhaka Transport Coordination Authority -DTCA

28. Components of MRT Project
Source: Dhaka Transport Coordination Authority -DTCA

29. MRT
Implementation
Plan 2025
Source: Dhaka Transport Coordination Authority -DTCA

30. MRT
Implementation
Plan 2035
Source: Dhaka Transport Coordination Authority -DTCA

31. Future Plan
Circular
Waterway
Project

32. Challenges
1.Allocationoffund
2.Co-ordination between different government and non-government agencies
3.Landuseplanning
4.Engineering challenges
5.Integrated approachagainst traditional fragmented approach
6.Economical viability

33. Conclusion
PublictransportationsystemofDhakacitymaintainedatraditionalapproachforalongtime.Asa
result,thesystemcouldnotdevelopkeepingpacewithmoderntechnology.However,several
mediumtermandlong-termplanshavebeentakeninhandbyGoBtoimprovetheexisting
system.Throughtheprocessofproperplanningfollowedbystrongoperationandevaluationofthe
transportationsystem,Dhakacanalsobecomeanexemplarypublictransportationsystemtothe
entireworld,

34. ““Adding lanes to solve traffic
congestion is like loosening your
belt to solve obesity.” ”
-GLEN HIEMSTRA (AUTHOR AND KEYNOTE SPEAKER)