Capital Dhaka’s chaotic traffic system will deteriorate further with the number of private cars plying the streets on the rise in larger numbers every day.
Private cars are on the rise due to lack of taxis and other public transportation coupled with increase in people's income and cheaper gas.
Experts have advised an increased tightening of bank loans to control private transports, cutting off gas supplies and raising prices.
According to BRTA, the number of government registered vehicles in the country is about 45 lakh. Of this, 35 lakh are private vehicles. There are 3 million motorcycles. There are more than 3 lakh 70 thousand private cars. The rest are public transports and others.
The number of vehicles listed in the capital Dhaka is more than 15 lakh 76 thousand. There are more than 1 million private vehicles. Registration of private vehicles in the coronavirus situation has not stopped. As of June this year, more than 170,000 vehicles have been registered across the country.
These statistics show that the number of private vehicles in the country is growing faster than public transport. Although the government has taken various initiatives to discourage private cars and increase public transport, its implementation is very low. In this context, reliance on private transport is increasing. A few years ago, private vehicles were banned on the road in front of the parliament every Friday to discourage private cars, but two weeks later, the initiative was gone.
According to BRTA, 34.70 lakh private vehicles including private cars, motorcycles, microbuses and jeeps are operating among the registered vehicles across the country. Apart from this, the total public transport including auto-rickshaws, buses, minibuses, auto-tempos and taxis is only 5.5 lakh.
According to the Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA), the number of vehicles registered in the country in 2010 was 14 lakh 98 thousand 244. It has more than tripled in the last 10 years. As of June this year, the number of registered transports across the country is 44 lakh 71 thousand 625.
In 2010, the number of buses and minibuses was 27,778. In 10 years, this number is a little more than 80 thousand across the country. As of June this year, more than 1,500 buses and 285 minibuses were registered. In 2010, the number of registered microbuses in the country was 66,373, at present it is 1,05,896.
The number of motorcycles registered in the country in 2010 was 7 lakh 59 thousand 257, at present there are 29 lakh 91 thousand 612 registered motorcycles. The number of registered motorcycles in the last six months is more than 1 lakh 38 thousand.
The number of private cars registered in the country in 2010 was 219,830. At present there are 3 lakh 70 thousand 519 private cars. 5009 private cars have been registered till June this year. According to BRTA sources, the number of vehicles registered across the country in the last six months was 1 lakh 70 thousand 15.
According to BRTA sources, the number of vehicles registered in the capital is 15 lakh 76 thousand 309. The highest number of these registered vehicles are motorcycles. The total number of motorcycles running in the capital Dhaka is 7 lakh 46 thousand 345.
Urban and transport experts said that Dhaka has a maximum of 7 per cent of the 25 percent roads for a planned city. These roads can carry 2.5 to 3 lakh vehicles. But private cars are about 3 lakh. About 7.5 lakh are motorcycles. Rickshaws are more than 1 million.
Experts said that in the developed cities of the world, there is now a competition to reduce the number of private vehicles. The most convenient and high quality public transport is being introduced there. As a result, the people of those cities do not feel the need to use private cars.
They said most of the people in the neighboring Kolkata depend on trains. General train service including metro is always available there. Besides, there is no shortage of public transport including buses. As a result, the demand for private vehicles is decreasing day by day.
Md Sirajul Islam, Chief City Planner of Dhaka South City Corporation (DSCC) told Bangladesh Post that at first it needs sufficient roads and a planned city to tackle private vehicles in Dhaka. Otherwise it will be quite tough to operate the traffic system efficiently.
He said, “we make proper plans, but most of the time they are not properly implemented. So, all plans should be implemented properly for a planned city and sustainable traffic system.”