GPS buses, smart signals, new bypasses: Govt’s plan to tackle Dhaka’s traffic chaos

The government has announced a set of short- and medium-term measures aimed at easing Dhaka’s chronic traffic congestion, with key proposals including the relocation of inter-district bus terminals outside the city and introduction of a GPS-based system to monitor city buses.

Officials from Dhaka North and South city corporations have assured Prime Minister Tarique Rahman that the measures could be implemented by 7 April.

Transport experts, however, cautioned that executing the plans will be far from straightforward. Previous initiatives by successive governments repeatedly faltered, often due to political obstacles and entrenched vested interests.

Transport expert and former executive director of the Dhaka Transport Coordination Authority Dr SM Saleh Uddin highlighted the challenges ahead, particularly from the bus owners’ association.

“The decisions that the government has taken today were part of the strategic transport plan framed in 2005, and the bus route rationalisation process began in 2018. In the intervening years, transport demand has evolved. To execute the plan, we need the right people in the right positions, taking previous plans into account,” he said.

He also advised that battery-run rickshaws, a major contributor to congestion, should be gradually phased out from city streets.

Former President of the Bangladesh Institute of Planners, Dr Adil Mohammed Khan, added, “City authorities have failed in planning, coordination, and enforcement to resolve the traffic problem. Previous governments lacked political will. There was a syndicate among transport owners and workers, and political beneficiaries from footpath hawkers.”

He warned that the success of the new plan depends on political support: “If ruling party leaders do not back illegal hawkers and the transport syndicate, the government can implement its decisions. If they bow to these interest groups, nothing will change. If the government succeeds, it will be a remarkable achievement.”

The government’s decisions were formalised at a special meeting chaired by the Prime Minister at the Cabinet Division in the Bangladesh Secretariat on Tuesday. During the session, the Prime Minister issued directives to modernise traffic management and bring Dhaka’s road systems up to date.

Among the measures are the phased automation of 120 traffic signals, relocation of bus terminals and ticket counters outside the city, removal of hawkers from footpaths and roadways, and installation of lifts and escalators at pedestrian overpasses.

The plan also includes the construction of new bypass roads around Dhaka, overpasses and underpasses within the city, automated signal systems at railway crossings, and GPS tracking for city buses.

Shamsur Rahman Shimul Biswas, a lawmaker and labour leader, has been tasked with coordinating with transport owners and workers to ensure smooth implementation.

The meeting was attended by Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmed, Minister for Road Transport, Bridges, Railways and Shipping Shaikh Rabiul Alam, State Minister for Railways Habibur Rashid Habib, Dhaka North City Corporation administrator Safiqul Islam Milton, Dhaka South City Corporation administrator Abdus Salam, RAJUK Chairman Reazul Islam, Inspector General of Police Md Ali Hossain Fakir, and other senior officials.

Meanwhile, Dhaka North City Corporation has invited residents via Facebook to nominate locations where hawker evictions are most urgently needed.