Meetings go on, nothing changes

No worker shall drive a transport vehicle unless they hold an appointment letter.

This was clearly mentioned in Motor Vehicle Ordinance-1983, the law that regulated the transport sector until Road Transport Act-2018 came into effect in November 2019. The new law also states that none can be recruited as a driver unless the transport owner gives them an appointment letter.

That provision has hardly been followed.

A high-powered taskforce, formed to tackle road crashes and bring discipline to the sector, in its second meeting on December 23, 2020 decided that transport workers have to be given appointment letters.

On its third meeting on June 20, the taskforce, led by Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal, took the same decision as the earlier one was not executed.

Seven months have gone by since. The taskforce is set to sit again today and discuss the same issues, as its decision still remains unimplemented.

Not only the appointment letter issue, almost all of the nine decisions taken on the third meeting have not been implemented, at a time when the country is witnessing a sharp rise in road crashes.

The number of accidents and fatalities rose by 30 percent last year, compared to 2020, according to a police report.

Yousub Ali Mollah, an additional secretary of Road Transport and Highways Division (RTHD) who signed the notice for convening the meeting, said the taskforce will discuss "progress of implementation" of previous decisions.

Replying to a question, he yesterday told The Daily Star, "There has been some progress, but it is not possible to give details without going through the papers."

The government formed the taskforce in October 2019 to implement an 111-point recommendation, placed by a committee led by former shipping minister Shajahan Khan, to curb accidents and bring discipline on roads.

NO APPOINTMENT LETTERS

Instead of giving appointment letters and setting a salary structure, transport owners appoint drivers on a daily basis, paying them based on the number of trips.

As a result, drivers, especially ones in the capital, engage in unhealthy competition among themselves to get more passengers to get more fare. This is considered as one of the major reasons behind road crashes.

For example, a bus of Meghla Paribahan hit and killed two pedestrians in Gulistan on January 8. During Rab's interrogation, bus driver Rakib Sharif (25) confessed that he was appointed on a daily basis, which is why he used to drive recklessly to complete as many trips as possible.

Workers often say financial needs, lack of recognition and dignity, and uncertainty over their jobs make them reckless, which ultimately increases the risk of accidents.

Osman Ali, general secretary of Bangladesh Road Transport Workers Federation, said almost all the authorities' decisions remain unimplemented.

"'What is the meaning of holding such meetings?' I'll ask this in tomorrow's meeting," he told this correspondent yesterday.

WHAT ABOUT OTHER DECISIONS?

Just like in previous meetings, the third one saw the taskforce decide to ban operation of battery-run auto-rickshaws on roads and highways. But that too remains unimplemented.

It had also asked Local Government Division (LDG) to prepare recommendations to control illegal easy-bikes and send them to RTHD. Although LGD has formed a committee in this regard, it did not send recommendations yet, an RTHD official said.

In the second meeting, authorities had decided to carry out surveys to determine how many vehicles the city's roads can handle. But the survey has not started even after 13 months.

The taskforce also planned to take effective measures to tackle reckless motorcyclists and bring all bikes under registration. But the situation has not changed, as a police report shows that bikes were involved in 1,358 accidents last year, which is 41.46 percent higher than in 2020.

The taskforce also decided to appoint a focal person from four ministries concerned to oversee the implementation. This is the only decision that was fully implemented.