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In today's world, the success of a city depends on its economy, which, in turn, is dependent on the infrastructure, among other things. The importance of the infrastructure can be particularly felt by the citizens of Dhaka in its traffic system, as its congestion reminds us of how important it is to have a good transport system. One can reach Bangkok from Dhaka in two and half hours (by plane, of course), but sometimes it is not possible to reach Motijheel from airport by that time. Hours after hours one has to remain stuck on traffic jam. There was a time when commuters used to see traffic congestion only on the main city streets, but now it starts right from one's own neighbourhoods. Traffic jam has turned daily trips into nightmares.
All the mega cities in the world suffer from traffic jam at certain hours of the day, especially during office-hour called rush-hour. But what we have in Dhaka is not traffic jam, it is total traffic chaos and mismanagement.
The causes of traffic congestion in Dhaka city are multifarious:
BEHAVIOUR PATTERN: Unpleasant as it may sound, it is not only in Dhaka the whole country is full of indisciplined drivers and pedestrians who have no respect for traffic rules and regulations. Everywhere in the modern world traffic is managed by the auto signalling light and one can hardly see a policeman. Whereas, in Bangladesh, at every intersection along with auto signalling light there are at least four policemen, including one sergeant, standing at the corner but still they are helpless to manage this mad traffic. It seems everybody is in a hurry; nobody will follow the lane or speed limit or let others pass. Drivers are continuously honking their horn, overtaking from the wrong side and driving their vehicles in such a manner that anybody new in town (foreigners) might think that the city is under attack and everybody wants to get out at the first opportunity. Pedestrians show less interest to use footpath, foot-over-bridge or under-pass. Public transport drivers stop the vehicles on the middle of the road for letting passengers in and out.
The problem lies in our behaviour pattern, many break the law knowingly and many don't even realise that they are doing something terribly wrong. This is a social problem and needs to be addressed accordingly. It should be a long-term project and not just an eye-wash during the Traffic Week.
LAND TRANSPORT POLICY: There are around two million registered vehicles in Bangladesh and Dhaka has around nine hundred thousand of them. Non-motorised and motorised vehicles are running side by side in Dhaka and also in other cities as well.
Since we never had a detail land transport policy, in the name of importing public transport, business owners have taken the advantage and imported different types of vehicles as public transport. We have seen very odd-looking vehicles like battery-operated rickshaws, colourful rickshaws, vans, human puller carts, baby taxis, mini buses, buses, trucks, human haulers and what not, in addition to the latest model Mercedes cars desperately fighting to move on the road. Since the speed capacities of these vehicles are different, one is slowing down the other and thus creating a haphazard situation.
We have to decide first, how we would like to see Dhaka and our other cities in the next 10, 15, 20 or 30 years' time. Economic activities, growth, etc., depend on our decision. If we want a well-planned Dhaka and Bangladesh, then we need a total overhauling of our land transport policy. Our public transport system is not adequate and properly routed. The government should encourage the private sector by giving tax incentives and other benefits so that they also come forward and introduce modern public transport system, which should be well routed so that from every corner of Dhaka, one can have access to A/C and non-A/C buses.
RAIL CROSSINGS: There are several rail crossings in Dhaka city and we were told that everyday about 70 to 80 trains move to, and from, Dhaka. Now, this is something to which we must give a serious thought. It takes five to seven minutes, on an average, to get the clearance for each crossing, depending on the location. Since, there are not too many roads in Dhaka, if a vehicle stops in crossing for five minutes it creates a long cue and thus affects other roads as well. If we add up, it comes around five to six hours of stoppage on a single crossing every day. This is not acceptable and it is one of the major reasons of traffic jam.
This problem can be easily overcome by creating over- and under-pass on each rail crossing in the city, so that vehicles can move without stopping. Already some initiatives have been taken in this direction in some areas. PARKING SPACE: Some of the commercial buildings have limited parking space but many do not have any. Since we do not have many commercial parking lots in the city, people are compelled to park their cars on the streets which takes much space of the road. Many intercity bus and trucks are parked on a regular basis on Mohakhali, Sayedabad, Gabtoli, Tejgaon, Malibagh and other areas, causing huge traffic jam. Trucks load and unload commodity items, construction materials and other goods in the middle of a road, giving a damn to traffic laws and rules.
If we can introduce dependable public transport system, the pressure of private cars and other vehicles will be less on the road. Of course, many will still prefer to take car to their office and for that government or private business houses can build commercial multi-storeyed parking lots in different areas like Motijheel, Karawanbazar, Gulshan, etc.
OVER-POPULATION: Dhaka has a population of 16 million people, and the road network is not adequate. For a standard city, minimum road requirement is 25 per cent whereas Dhaka has only 7.5 per cent road of its total area. A significant portion of road is occupied by the hawkers, shopkeepers, construction materials of real estate developers, etc., which is causing obstruction on free movement of vehicles. To make things worse Dhaka Electric supply Authority (DESA), Water Supply and Sewerage Authority (WASA) and other utility facilitators excavate the roads randomly without any integrated and central plan. Dhaka is overpopulated and definitely it is not designed to accommodate 16 million people. Every day more and more people are coming to Dhaka for business, job-seeking, health care, education etc. This huge population acts as a catalyst to traffic congestion.
Now, we cannot build new roads overnight. Building roads and developing infrastructures are the responsibility of the government and it should be a continuous process. For a short-term solution, whatever roads we have, whether it is a main road or inner road of residential or commercial area, we must make maximum use of those. There should be an integrated and coordinated plan among all the utility facilitators, so that digging roads does not continue throughout the year.
Since Dhaka is offering better business, good education and better health care facilities than other parts of the country, people prefer to live here and we cannot ask or force them to go away. Dhaka is surrounded by small townships like Savar, Gazipur, Bhairab, Ghorashal, Mymensing, Tangail, Narayanganj. Munshigang, etc. All we need to do is the improvement of connectivity of our highways, railways, waterways so that people can commute from adjoining small townships to Dhaka, let us say, within one to two hours' time. We need to improve our railways and introduce commuter trains with modern coach on regular intervals from these townships. Materialising this project will not only change the scenario of Dhaka but also of the entire country. Because of high living costs in Dhaka, many people will prefer to live in those townships and commute every day for work. Once more and more people start living on those townships, the private sector will sense their need and will come up with good housing, better education, health care and other facilities.
ROAD BLOCKADE: Political parties, workers, students, journalists or for that matter, everyone of us considers roads, to settle all our disputes. Road blockade is a regular phenomenon in the city. In protest against any government decision, workers, students, journalists and, of course, the political parties will block the road whenever they feel like, to press home their demands. They do not even consider the problems it is creating for the commuters and the country. Dhaka's traffic jams eat up about Tk 550 billion every year, said experts of the sector.
This culture of road blockade needs to change; we cannot afford this. We must look for an alternative way to protest. This is not only creating a traffic jam but also sending a negative signal to potential investors (foreign and local), thus slowing down our economic activities and growth.
CHANGING MINDEST AND FOLLOWING TRAFFIC RULES: We are all equally responsible, in some way or the other, for this chaotic traffic jam in Dhaka and other cities. It is also understandable that it cannot be solved within a short time. Flyovers, elevated express highway, metro rail initiatives have been adopted, some of these are already at different stages of implementation. But unless and until we change our perception and develop a mind to abide traffic rules, whatever strategy we take, that will not work properly.
The fact remains, amid the chaotic situation of its capital Dhaka, Bangladesh is now emerging as a middle-income country. The economy has been experiencing steady growth over the last decade and prospects are bright, so Dhaka needs to get ready for that as the capital of a middle-income nation. And to do so, we need to open our mind, develop our consciousness, change our perception, and most importantly, we all need to work together to make Dhaka and our country, a better place to live in.