Bus services with counter, e-ticket launched to mitigate traffic hell

The DMP commissioner says it is the first step to improving the capital’s traffic issues and will be introduced on all other routes as well

In a bid to ease the chaotic traffic of the capital, authorities have launched buses with ticket counters that will carry passengers to different locations in Dhaka from Gazipur via Abdullahpur.

With 610 vehicles operating under 21 different companies, the tickets to these pink buses are also available online.

Sheikh Md Sazzat Ali, commissioner of Dhaka Metropolitan Police, launched the fresh services at Uttara’s Azampur on Thursday.

He said it was the initial step to improving Dhaka’s "fragile" traffic system and that it would be introduced to all other routes gradually.

“Foreigners arriving at Dhaka airport immediately notice our chaotic traffic system. The buses jostle and drive into each other like cattle. People troll us about this,” the officer said.

“A woman can’t get on a bus with her child on our roads. They aren’t allowed to board. The drivers drop off passengers in [the middle of the] roads. Things can’t go on like this.”

“Only by changing our habits can we restore order to Dhaka’s transportation,” he said.

Sazzat requested bus owners to also present appointment letters to drivers and their assistants.

“Mention in the appointment letters that they will be fired if they don’t follow the rules. You [owners] must pay drivers and assistants their salaries and receive daily profits from your vehicles,” Sazzat added.

“The loss that you incur will be yours. In business you don’t want to suffer losses. But you have to accept both profit and losses when engaging in business.”

Saiful Alam, the general secretary of Dhaka Road Transport Owners’ Association, said as many as 100 ticket counters will be put up on different routes, most of which have already been built.

“We’re hoping to paint all the buses in 10-15 days. The counter system will bring discipline to the streets.”