Profit maximisation behind mad races of buses; people’s lives at risk on city roads
It was an early January afternoon. A bus was trundling towards Mirpur-10 from Pallabi, picking up anyone who would raise their hands from the side of the road.
The bus of a rival operator swiftly overtook it, made a sharp left and stopped abruptly, cutting off the first bus.
The driver of the first bus started to honk and eventually tried forcing his way past the bus in front. There were a few scrapes but he could not get past.
As both vehicles started moving forward, the drivers desperately tried to overtake each other, scraping the sides of the buses several times as the people on board prayed for dear life.
But this is not extraordinary by any means. People see and endure such recklessness and total disregard for safety every day.
Most city dwellers probably cannot even remember the last time they saw a city bus in pristine condition. Many are devoid of tail lights, blinkers, and sometimes mirrors and headlights. They pick up and drop off commuters in the middle of the road.
Thanks to a nexus of transport companies, bus owners, drivers, and traffic law enforcers, crores of taka change hands every month to make sure unfit buses stay on the roads and to maintain the status quo in the sector. Traffic law enforcers turn a blind eye to these corrupt practices even as road safety has become a major issue in recent times.
The drivers ignore traffic rules as they drive the unfit vehicles, picking up as many commuters as they can to maximise profits. Many of those behind the wheel do not even have a driver's licence.
Meanwhile, safety and rule of law take the back seat. At least 7,809 people were killed and 9,039 others were injured in 5,629 crashes last year, according to Bangladesh Jatri Kalyan Samity.
About 54 percent of the crashes involved buses being driven dangerously, said Mozammel Hoque Chowdhury, secretary general of the association which came up with the numbers by keeping track of media reports.
He said 5.33 percent of the crashes take place in the capital due to rash driving.
On January 20, 14-year-old Rakibul Hasan was crushed to death between two buses of Ajmery Glory Paribahan. A driver's assistant with no licence was behind the wheel of one of the buses while the driver of the other bus was a drug addict, said Rab officers after arresting them six days later.
Every month, each transport company pays Tk 1.5 lakh-2.5 lakh to traffic police and other corrupt officials who look the other way as these vehicles ply the roads. Besides, the bus owners must spend between Tk 600 and Tk 1,000 every day for miscellaneous costs on the roads and at office, contributions to different workers and owners' associations and political groups, terminal fees, and community police fees.
Around 5,500 buses of 110 companies operate in the capital and its adjacent areas, according to leaders of Dhaka Road Transport Owners' Association.
Even by conservative estimation, the transport companies pay a total of Tk 1.8 crore in bribes every month.
"Our company has around 30 buses. We give Tk 1.5 lakh to the sergeants stationed on the Mirpur-12 to Motijheel route," said the manager of a bus company.
The spokesperson of another company, which has around 60 buses that operate between Mirpur 11 and Sadarghat, said his company pays around Tk 2.5 lakh to the traffic police.
Every company has at least one employee designated to take the bribe money to the traffic police booths on the road within the first two weeks of every month, said the managing director of a company.
"Small companies have one employee while the big ones have up to three such employees," he said.
Besides, the bus owners pay between Tk 300 and Tk 400 every day to the bus company. This money is the source of the amount given to police. There are allegations that influential leaders of political parties and transport associations also get a share from the amount.
Owners of each bus also pay Tk 100 every day to different associations, terminals and the community police.
A former assistant commissioner (traffic) of Dhaka Metropolitan Police admitted that the bus companies bribe police because most buses do not have valid documents and many drivers do not have valid driving licences.
Contacted, Munibur Rahman, additional commissioner (traffic) of DMP said he heard about the nexus around a year ago when he joined the department, but he never found any evidence.
"If we find any unholy nexus and find police members involved in such illegal activities, we will bring them to book," he told The Daily Star.
He added that the mindset of bus owners, drivers and helpers must change.
Asked why bus drivers race each other on the street, Jiban, driver of a city service bus that operates on Pallabi-Azimpur route, said, "If I fail to give a handsome amount to the bus owner at the end of the day, he will replace me with another driver and I will be jobless. We try our best to pick up as many passengers as we can, even if that requires violating traffic rules."
Abul Kalam, who owns three buses of Safety Paribahan Company, said, "If I see owners of other buses get more money than me, then I will look for another driver."
Since buses of seven to eight companies operate on the same route, the competition to pick up more passengers is inevitable, he said, adding that the system should change.
Besides, some drivers and their helpers are paid based on the number of trips they make in a day while the others rent the buses for Tk 2,250-Tk 2,500 for a day. Both arrangements make the drivers more desperate to make as many trips as possible.
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