Commuters of Dhaka city are facing the brunt of Ramadan traffic as most streets and major intersections remain vehicle-choked from 9:00am till 1:00pm and again from 3:30pm till 6:30pm on weekdays.
Even without Ramadan, the vulnerability of Dhaka's traffic system becomes all too apparent soon after an hour-long downpour causing the rainwater to stagnate on some important roads, or on occasions of visiting foreign dignitaries when some roads are closed to public use, or when there is a major public programme or event in one part of the city. Due to the lack of multiple alternative routes, most vehicles opt for the very few routes open to them causing lengthy tailbacks.
As a result, most commuters who use public transport complain of being stuck in traffic for one to two hours. The longer the distance, the greater the risk of facing congestion and therefore being delayed.
A study launched on May 20, 2018 by Accident Research Institute of Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology revealed that there is annually around five million work hours wasted amounting to a total loss of Tk 370 billion due to traffic congestion in Dhaka.
Another World Bank study has revealed that Dhaka's average traffic speed dropped to 7 km/hour from 21km/hour over the past decade.
A third study by the Copenhagen Consensus Centre also found that the current average speed of 6.4 km/hour for any vehicle in Dhaka can fall to 4.7 Km/hour by 2035 if the number of vehicles continues to increase at its current pace.
Concerned government departments have initiated a number of projects to address the situation. The latest among thgese is the recently announced bus bay project by the Dhaka South City Corporation (DSCC) under which 30 bus bays equipped with modern facilities will be constructed for the convenience of commuters across the Dhaka South areas.
The authorities are hopeful that the Tk 82.6 million-worth project will help prevent road accidents and also reduce traffic congestion caused by buses that stop abruptly on the middle of the roads to take or drop off passengers.
The first bus bay in Azimpur is scheduled for completion in July of this year. Also, under the Revised Strategic Transport Plan (RSTP) for 20 years (2015-2035), the government has taken other ambitious projects including the Metro Rail Transport (MRT), Bus Rapid Transit (BRT), Elevated Expressway and more to tackle traffic congestion.
Construction work of the Dhaka Mass Rapid Transit Development Project, the official name of the metro rail scheme, is going on in full swing at the moment. Half of the $ 2.5 billion 20 kilometres-long MRT-6 project that stretches from Uttara to Motijheel via Agargaon is scheduled to be complete by end 2019. The remaining portion is expected to be complete by 2020. The MRT line 6 will be able to transport 60,000 passengers per hour through 16 elevated stations.
Also, the first phase of construction of BRT 3 is scheduled to link Gazipur with Dhaka's Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport. Line 3 is one of the six dedicated fast bus lanes which the authorities hope would remarkably improve the city's transportation infrastructure by being able to transport an estimated 20,000 passengers each way, every hour. The total cost of the entire BRT project is around Tk 20.34 billion.
Simultaneously, construction of the Dhaka Elevated Expressway is also going on under the Dhaka North City Corporation (DNCC). The Tk 89.40 billion project under public-private partnership (PPP) will run for 19.73-kilometres from Shahjalal International Airport to Kutubkhali via Mohakhali, Moghbazar, Kamalapur and Jatrabari to connect the Dhaka-Chattogram highway.
While these are some of the big projects, there are some medium sized ones in the pipeline as well including the DNCC's U-loop programme. Under this, 22 pairs of U-loops will be constructed from Joydevpur intersection up to Saatrasta of Dhaka to create a signal-free route. The U-loops are believed to be especially helpful in easing congestions at notorious spots like Airport road, Khilkhet, Banani intersection, Mohakhali intersection and more.
There is also the ongoing ring roads project by the Dhaka Transport Coordination Authority (DTCA). The project entails construction of a 73 kilometre long inner ring road from Teramukh to Eastern Bypass, a 108 km middle ring road from Outpura to Western Bypass and a 129 km outer ring road from Hemayetpur to Gazipur. The total cost for development of the three ring roads along with eight radial roads is estimated to be around Tk 353 billion.
The DTCA is also working on the 17-kilometre long pilot bus corridor that will run from Airport to Saidabad. Under this project, 105 new buses of existing operators will be allowed to run on dedicated median lanes. With 105 buses making 448 daily round trips in 16 hours, around 59.7 million passengers will be carried annually leading to an estimated profit of $ 2.3 million. The total pilot project may cost around $53.15 million.
The RSTP has other projects as well which are still under planning stages including the circular railway, the circular waterway, subway and more.
Urban and road transport experts have observed a number of factors while reflecting on the completion of these projects. The foremost factor is the necessity for coordination among various government authorities working on the projects. For example, it was noted this month that the construction of the elevated expressway is likely to clash with the construction of an underground metro line (MRT 5) on Mirpur Road. DTCA officials said that this has occurred as the construction of the expressway project was not included in the RSTP passed by the Cabinet in 2017.
In the RSTP, some projects, for example, the ring roads, are dependent on other projects. The delay or inactivity in one project can cause serious complications for other projects.
Traffic congestion in the capital has been holding back the economy for nearly two decades. In order to ensure that the aforementioned projects are successfully completed, the authorities should focus on inter-agency coordination as a top priority to speed up progress of work at the desirable level.
