Vehicles Operating in Capital: Govt to take stock of them
The government is planning to find out how many vehicles operate in the capital as well as the capacity of its streets.
As part of the plan, the Accident Research Institute (ARI) of Buet and Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) will conduct a survey at different points of the city, aiming to find a solution for the perennial congestion.
The move follows a decision made by a home minister-led taskforce, formed to oversee implementation of 111 recommendations given by a high-powered committee to reduce road crashes and bring discipline on the roads.
Officials of the ARI and DMP held a meeting, and the ARI is now working on the technical and financial proposal for the survey. The proposal will be submitted in two weeks, ARI Director Prof Md Hadiuzzaman told The Daily Star on Wednesday.
Traffic congestion in Dhaka eats up 3.2 million work hours every day and the average speed of vehicles during rush hours was 7kmph, according to a 2017 World Bank report.
Experts say the situation deteriorated further in the last three years.
Different government bodies, including the city corporations and police, had taken different initiatives in the past and failed to find a solution to traffic jams.
In March 2019, a committee, led by transport sector leader Shajahan Khan, made 111 recommendations for reducing crashes and bringing discipline in the sector.
Later, the government formed a taskforce headed by the home minister to implement the recommendations.
The taskforce, in its second meeting held on December 23 last year, asked the DMP and ARI to give recommendations after assessing the capacity of Dhaka city's roads and how many vehicles should be operated here.
ARI and DMP officials have decided to conduct the survey at 31 points in the city on 18 types of vehicles.
WHY IS THE SURVEY IMPORTANT?
There are some 3,000 km of roads, including 200 km of arterial ones, in the capital. But there is no information on the capacity of the roads nor the number of vehicles operated here, Hadiuzzaman said.
A large number of vehicles hit the roads for the first time in Dhaka every day, he said, adding that "We are sure that the number of vehicles in Dhaka city is well over the capacity of its roads. That is what has been causing the traffic jams."
A total of 51,508 vehicles got registered in Dhaka city in the first five months of this year, meaning the daily average of new cars was 341, according to Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA) documents.
Hadiuzzaman said, "Our authorities are more interested in constructing new roads and infrastructures. They never think about demand management. That's why congestion persists.
"For demand management, you need a clear idea of the capacity of the roads," he added.
Citing examples of different countries, he said the authorities at major cities assess the capacity of their roads on a regular basis and give permission to new vehicles in line with their assessment.
He said traffic composition in Dhaka city is very complex due to the presence of motorised and non-motorised vehicles. This would make any assessment of the operational capacity of Dhaka roads very difficult.
The officials would refer to the information on cities with similar composition of traffic, pattern of land usage by the roads, and other issues.
"The authorities should make data-driven decisions," he added.
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