Public enthusiasm for a trip through the Padma Bridge has ebbed two months after its opening, but the ban on motorcycles is unlikely to go anytime soon, according to Road Transport and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader, reports bdnews24.com.
In a discussion with the Bangladesh Secretariat Reporters’ Forum on Wednesday, Quader said: “We’d not placed any prohibition on motorcycles on the bridge at the start, but an issue involving the vehicle made it unsuitable.”
Quader blamed the ban on reckless driving by bikers. Motorcyclists thronged the bridge in droves after Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina opened the bridge to the public on Jun 26. That night, two riders died in a crash prompting the Bridges Division to ban motorcycles from the bridge the next day.
Everyone must “accept this reality” and “a new scenario may emerge” after the inauguration of the Kalna Bridge, the first Nielsen-Lohse arch bridge funded by Japan in Bangladesh, according to Quader.
“We will think everything over.”
Quader also spoke about metro rail fares and was positive that people would find it “quite acceptable”.
Once passengers travel on the metro rail -- each station only three minutes apart, they will easily accept the fares, he said.
The long-awaited metro rail service will set off in December. The fare for each km is set at Tk 5 with a minimum fare of Tk 20, while a ride through the whole route will cost Tk 100.