Govt hesitating for long 'in fear of impact' on present operators

The government has long been hesitating to introduce electric bus services in the capital, 'apprehending its impact' on the existing bus operators, which have hardly cooperated to bring discipline in the public transportation system, insiders said.

They also said the Road Transport and Highways Division (RTHD) already sent a letter to the Economic Relations Division (ERD), expressing its worries over operating the electric bus services and highlighting various issues.

The letter noted that the business model, stated by the World Bank (WB), does not match with the present road condition. The RTHD was also worried about increase in the government's contribution to the electric bus operation.

The WB funds US$ 500 million to roll in 400 electric buses in the city, to be operated under a state-run company, with the long-term target to displace diesel-operated buses.

The WB-backed Public Transport Fund (PTF), a part of the Bangladesh Clean Air Project (BCAP) Phase-1, is supposed to upgrade infrastructure like electric bus depots, charging systems, and Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS) to manage routes and services.

A portion of the WB fund is intended to stabilise operations and protect the operators from financial uncertainty, which the government will have to bear later as viability gap funding.

Official sources said the government's contribution under the BCAP project will increase, if the electric bus operation model is launched based on the WB's model. In reality, the average bus speed in Dhaka is 5-9 kmph, which is far below the WB model.

The RTHD officials in a meeting also discussed about the proposed bus fare planned for the electric bus operation on various routes. They opined that Tk 4.5 per km fare is almost double than the present rate, which would not be accepted by commuters.

However, insiders said the WB model is designed with an expectation of improvement in the public transports, and there is no link with the present situation.

Besides, the issues like capacity building and infrastructure development are addressed in the project to bring changes and achieve its targets.

Sector analysts said as the city's public transport systems are politically controlled to a great extent, the government's worries reflect its inability once again in bringing discipline in the systems.

"Operating bus services is not a business, but the government officials do not want to accept it. That's why they always create dillydallies in the process and do not want to contribute to the sector to reduce loss," said one of them.

The RTHD officials, however, denied the allegations. They said the government wants to remain alert. It does not want repetition of the projects, like BRT, which could not be completed finally due to issues like poor feasibility study, faulty design, etc.

An official said the RTHD officials in a meeting discussed all the issues, to be faced during the implementation stage of the electric bus project.

They decided to place these issues to the WB through the ERD for proper solution. There is no intention to support the existing bus operators, he added.

The RTHD earlier took a move to introduce bus route franchise system in the city under its strategic transport plan.

smunima@yahoo.com