Only one, out of the eight interested companies, has got permission from the communications ministry to run taxicab in the capital.
The ministry on Sunday gave the permission to the Toma Construction Limited to put in service 250 taxicabs on the Dhaka city roads in the next four months.The Bangladesh Road Transport Authority director (engineering), Mohammad Saiful Hoque, told New Age on the day that they had given permission to the company as it fulfilled all the conditions set by the Taxicab Service Guidelines of 2010.
‘We will gradually give permission to other companies for plying taxicabs in the capital,’ he said.
On May 23 this year, the Bangladesh Road Transport Authority invited applications from companies interested to launch 6,740 air-conditioned and non-air-conditioned taxicabs on the city roads.
Eight companies — National Car Limited, Sarika Traders, Expressway Company, Meghna Cements Mills, Toma Construction and Company, Ryan Consumers and Transport, Sigma Tel and Glorious Abashon Company — offered to launch taxicabs.
But only Toma Construction was able to fulfil all conditions of the taxicab guidelines — having a paid-up capital of Tk 2.5 crore, own parking space with workshop for maintenance, radio communication network, vehicle tracking system and training facilities for drivers.
In May, the government relaxed clause in the guidelines as none of the three bidding companies could fulfil the condition in 2012.
In 2002, the government allowed several companies to run 11,260 cabs in the city, of which only 2,000 to 2,500 are currently running in the city.
-With New Age input
