The Problem of Traffic Jam: An Anatomy of Causes

One of the major problems that Dhaka city dwellers are facing is, of course, traffic congestion. Traffic congestion hampers mobility of life itself. Due to traffic congestion, people have to waste part of their valuable working hours in the street, missing important appointments, and it's even getting too tough to take an emergency patient to hospital. It's hight time to give a serious look at the factors causing traffic congestion.

Population of Bangladesh is increasing and the rate of migration from villages to city is also getting higher. In 1995 Dhaka with a population of 8.5 million was the 23rd largest city in the world. Naturally its traffic has increased as much but the capacity of our roads are not enough to hold this increased size of traffic. So in a simple calculation, inadequate number and size of roads and ever increasing traffic level can be considered as the major reason for traffic congestion.

Besides, dearth of modern traffic control devices is one important factor causing traffic congestion. Our country is far from having the modern traffic control technology. In Dhaka city most of the traffic signals are faulty. And mixed traffic is another curse we are fighting with, rickshaw and other slow and old means of transportation are moving throughout the length and breath Dhaka city roads side by side with fast moving vehicles of different sizes. This must be considered as an important factor of traffic congestion.

People from all around and all walks of life tend to flock to Dhaka in search of bread and butter. Most of them do not have requisite professional skill and educational background to get a job. Finding no other alternatives they accept the easy means of occupation - rickshawpulling.

As per registration record of Dhaka City Corporation, 79,000 rickshaws ply in the city. However, unofficial sources claim that more than 250,000 rickshaws are plying in the city causing intense traffic problem.

Dhaka City Corporation issues registration certificate to rickshaw owners and driving licence to rickshawpullers. According to Motor Vehicle Ordinance 1983 Section-2 Clause-27 police cannot prosecute non-motorized transports stipulating only on the ground of non-mechanised vehicle. And it seems Dhaka City Corporation also is not in a position to limit the increasing number of rickshaws in the city.

In Dhaka city, within 2000-kilometre roads (Source: DUTP) more than half a million transports are plying all the time. Out of them 300,000 are motorized transports and the same number non-motorized. Among the non-motorized transports, at least 200,000 are rickshaws (Source: UN-ESCAP Draft Report, July 1997.)

Common rickshawpuller has very little idea about traffic rules and police cannot do much with the non-motorized transports. Thus only increasing mass transport facilities like buses and trains and decreasing the number of non-motorised and private vehicles would help to overcome the traffic congestion to a certain extent.

Inadequate number of bus and truck terminals is one of the major factors causing traffic problem. Buses stop anywhere to let the passengers alight and board, obstructing traffic and increasing chances of accident. Temporary shops on footpath are also making traffic problem severe. Moreover developers and builders are keeping their house building materials on the road reducing the existing road space. In an ideal situation, roads should cover about 25 per cent of the built-up area of a city, but, unfortunately, this city has got approximately 8 per cent road space.

Multistoried buildings and shopping complexes are being constructed here without having enough parking spaces and as a result vehicles are being parked on the road.

Without effective co-ordination roads are dug by different utility departments almost round the year reducing the road space and increasing the inconvenience of road users.

One does not understand why these known problems are allowed to continue or not effectively solved when it is becoming unbearable day by day. Let us start containing the problems, we can solve them at least considerably, if not fully. And that also give certain relief to the suffering public.

The writer is an AGP (provisional) Police HQ.