Call for commuter service to solve city’s traffic woe

The government should introduce mass commuter services in the capital to ease the nagging traffic congestion, a roundtable was told on Wednesday.
Speakers at the discussion observed that the bus rapid transit or BRT, an integrated system for at quicker urban mobility based on buses or specialised vehicles on roads and dedicated lanes, is the only solution for easing traffic jam in an unplanned mega city like Dhaka.
The roundtable was organised by Save Environment Movement in association with the Department of Urban and Regional Planning, BUET, and Work for Better Bangladesh Trust, a non-government organisation working on environmental issues, at the National Press Club.
Citing a 2009 survey of JICA on transport system of Dhaka city, WBB Trust project officer Maruf Rahman in his keynote paper said buses proved to be 150 per cent more efficient than private cars in terms of number of trips they provide to people in general.
On the other hand, replacing smaller motor vehicles with larger vehicles could be a greener option, as more motor engines means more air and sound pollution and more accidents on the roads, he added.
According to the survey, public transport users have to waste 68 per cent of their total commuting time in unnecessary wait at the bus stoppages.
Maruf Rahman stressed that public transport services need to be strictly regulated by the authorities, besides increasing the number of vehicles for relieving the city dwellers from unnecessary wastage of time.
Presided over by Save Environment Movement chairman Abu Naser Khan, the discussion was participated, among others, by urban and regional planning specialist Prof ASM Mahbubun Nabi and Sarwar Jahan, chairman of the department of urban and regional planning, BUET.
Mahbubun Nabi recommended that the authorities could easily limit the mobility of private cars by initiating strict parking rules including high parking charges for them.
Abu Naser Khan said devoting lanes to public buses and increasing the number of vehicles would only worsen the traffic situation if the mobility of private cars on the roadways could not be limited.
He also emphasised the need for proper coordination of the transport system in the city.

Courtesy of NewAge