Dhaka likely to have first colour-coded bus service

Dhaka city is likely to have the first colour-coded bus service on Mohammadpur-Motijheel route, as all the existing bus operators agreed to merge into one company, sources said.

The operators concerned have agreed to run green buses under one company on this route after a series of meetings between them and the authorities in the last couples of months, they added.

This route was finalised for the new transportation system considering that it is comparatively manageable and less troublesome among all other routes, the sources said.

"Presently, more or less four big companies run buses on this route. So, it would be possible to merge their operations into a single company," said an official involved in the process.

Bus owners and workers have also given their consent in this regard, he said.

According to the decision, green buses will be running from Ghatarchar to Motijheel via Mohammadpur. To go to Motijheel from Mohammadpur, buses will use two different routes -- one is via Asad Gate and the other is via Satmasjid road.

To bring discipline in the city's transportation system, the government has decided to bring down the number of bus routes -- more than 350 bus routes at present -- to 22 routes and a total of six colour-coded bus companies will run buses on these routes.

The colours are orange, blue, maroon, pink, violet, and green.

A high-profile committee headed by Mayor of Dhaka South City Corporation (DSCC) has been working to find out ways and means to form the companies and finalise all modalities in this regard.

Also, the Dhaka Transport Coordination Authority (DTCA) continued their efforts to convince the stakeholders, including representatives of bus owners and workers, to implement the government decisions.

The Bus route Franchise (BRF) is one of the recommendations under the 20-year transport plan named 'Strategic Transport Plan (STP)' which, however, remained shelved due to non-cooperation from bus owners and workers.

Late mayor Annisul Huq initiated the move and made the bus owners and workers agree to launch the BRF, under which only six companies will operate buses. However, this initiative lost steam after his sudden death in November 2017.

After almost a year, the government assigned DSCC Mayor to carry out the move and formed the 10-member committee comprising representatives from the Prime Minister's Office and bus owners and workers.

Though the committee sits almost regularly, it is yet to give concrete plan to execute the decision.

The committee declared to launch all colour-coded buses in the city within two years, saying this time is necessary for the development of required infrastructure.

Official sources said launching all new bus services at a time would be challenging and time-consuming. So, a decision has been taken to launch green bus company as a pilot project. Still, lots of works are to be done to finally launch the service.

"We have to select stations and develop passenger sheds along with bus bays, find a place for bus parking, and paint the buses in different colours before the launching of the first such bus service," said one official.

He also said they are now working to figure out the actual number of buses plying on various routes and the number of owners.

When asked about launching of new buses, the official said existing buses which are five years of manufacturing age would be allowed under the company.

The city's bus services are run under several syndicates with political backings. A committee under the Bangladesh Road Transport Authority gives route permits to run buses on different routes.

But none of these routes are finalised as per demands of passengers. As a result, more than 50 companies are found running buses in one route.

According to the record of Bangladesh Road Transport Authority, around 8900 buses have been registered to run on over 350 routes, permitted by the Regional Transport Authority.

But bus owners and workers sources said there are hardly 4500 buses in operation.

On Mohammadpur-Motijheel route, around 450 buses are officially registered.

Though it is said that four big companies are operating these buses on the routes, sources said, the number of owners under the companies is much higher. There are more than two owners of one bus.

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