With the franchisee bus routes in Dhaka slowly taking a shape, bus owners have also started tagging conditions in exchange for their cooperation.
The Bus Route Rationalisation (BRR) Committee, at a meeting in Dhaka on Tuesday last, has decided to implement a 12.5-kilometre route from Ghatarchar to Motijheel on a pilot basis from the first day of April next. The pilot or trial run of the franchised route will help understand the pros and cons of the new system. It is a company-managed city bus service system where all buses and minibuses, owned by some companies of many owners, will operate under a single company. Some 165 buses and minibuses of five companies are now running on the proposed route. By bringing them under a single company and sharing revenue or profit accordingly, discipline is expected to prevail and commuters will get some relief.
The representatives of bus owners, however, placed a demand for providing them with low-cost loans. According to a media report, they wanted a loan of Tk 0.3-0.4 million per vehicle at 4.5 per cent interest arguing that it was required to modernise the buses currently running on the route.
Though this may be a condition of the bus owners to make the trial run of the franchised bus route a success, it is not necessarily an irrational demand. The public buses not only give an indecent look but they are also mostly unfit. It is a nightmare to commute daily on these buses. Thus, replacing the buses with decent and passenger-friendly vehicles is an order of the day. It will take sometime to have a radical change in those vehicles.
Moreover, there is no such decision yet. Thus refurbishment of the existing buses for the proposed pilot run is necessary. In this connection, the bus owners may get a low-cost loan. It will require less than Tk 70.0 million to allocate loans to owners of 165 buses and minibuses currently operating on the route. The authorities can arrange with two to three banks or financial institutions. Even the central bank can introduce a refinancing scheme to ease the pressure on banks or financial institutions. Thus a new model of financing may be developed for the country's public transport.
Close monitoring is needed to ensure the optimal use of the loan. The BRR committee may form a sub-committee or team to look after the thing. It may also tag a set of conditions and guidelines to get and utilise the loans. For instance, owners may be asked to provide bus drivers and helpers with better wages and regular maintenance of vehicles. Finally, the overall experience will help modify the mode of financing for public transport in the near future.