Bus operators shun Purbachal depot as parked coaches continue to crowd Mohakhali roads

A new four-hectare depot outside Dhaka was supposed to clear idle buses from the roads around Mohakhali.

One and a half months after the relocation drive began, the buses are largely still where they were.

At midnight, in broad daylight and almost any time in between, rows of coaches continue to occupy roads around Mohakhali Bus Terminal, Tejgaon, and Tejgaon Link Road.

Meanwhile, about 18 kilometres away in Purbachal, the temporary depot built to take them off Dhaka’s streets remains almost empty.

The site was once part of Alampura village. It is now better known as the new bus depot in Purbachal Sector 3.

The surroundings are still a mix of countryside and new city: cattle graze on one side while construction machinery works on the sprawling depot on the other. Nearby, traffic rushes along the 300 Feet Expressway.

The government began moving idle buses from Mohakhali to the depot on Jul 15.

But when bdnews24.com visited on Aug 24, only around 14 buses were parked there.

That stands in sharp contrast to Mohakhali, where operators compete for parking space and drivers routinely try to avoid police action for leaving buses on the roads.

Officials say the Purbachal facility could eventually take around 500 buses.

The problem is that operators and drivers are in no hurry to go.

They cite the 18 kilometres journey, additional fuel costs, unfinished facilities and a lack of mechanics and spare parts.

Police and transport leaders say that should change soon. They expect the remaining work to be completed shortly and say buses will begin being sent there compulsorily within about a week.

Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) moved on Tuesday to transfer buses from Mohakhali to the Purbachal depot.

Its Additional Commissioner (Traffic) Anisur Rahman said their drive aimed to restore discipline in the terminal area and ensure the uninterrupted movement of passengers. 

“Necessary facilities have been ensured at the temporary depot in Purbachal. We seek the cooperation of all bus owners and drivers.”

He added, "The buses waiting for long periods and operating as gap fillers in the terminal area are being shifted to the Purbachal bus depot in phases. 

“A designated number of vehicles have already been moved. The remaining vehicles will also be relocated gradually."

Few Mymensingh Buses Make the Move

Mohakhali mainly serves routes to the greater Mymensingh region, but hardly any buses from those routes were seen at the new depot.

There were four buses belonging to Ahnaf Paribahan, three from Bilas Paribahan, and several from United, Shyamoli Bangla, New Pinky and SR Plus.

Apart from the Shyamoli Bangla coach, most operated on northern or Sylhet routes.

Food and accommodation still incomplete

A large temporary tent at the depot contains around 20 camp beds, with several drivers asleep on them when bdnews24.com visited.

Fans have been installed inside. Police provided the tent.

Bathrooms, restaurants, and bus-washing facilities are also being added, although the work is not yet complete.

For some drivers, even the unfinished depot is an improvement.

Ahnaf Paribahan driver Jahangir Alam Shuvo arrived early in the morning after bringing passengers from Panchagarh and Nilphamari to Mohakhali.

He drove to Purbachal, parked his bus and went to sleep.

“My home is in Tangail. After three or four days of continuous duty, I can go home,” he said.

“I have nowhere to stay in Dhaka, so this is very convenient for us. Staying here costs nothing. There are bathrooms and a hotel — everything is available.”

So why are others staying away?

“Coming here and going back burns almost Tk 1,000 worth of fuel, and it also wastes time,” Shuvo said.

“That is why mainly the buses operating night-to-night are coming here. The others don’t want to.”

Nearby, Bilas Paribahan helper Sujan, identified with a single name, had music blaring inside his bus as he cleaned it.

After washing the coach, he picked up a towel and lungi and headed for a bath before lunch and a nap.

At Gabtoli or Mohakhali, he said, leaving a bus unattended could mean losing belongings, or even the vehicle itself.

“Here, the system is good. The police are here. I can take a bath and then lie down on a bed and sleep.”

For a bus helper, he said, sleeping in a soft bed beneath a fan was a “big deal”.

Otherwise, in the humid heat, he might have to sleep inside the bus or open the luggage compartment and lie there.

“No owner is going to let a helper run the bus air-conditioning just to sleep.”

But driver Ibrahim pointed to another practical problem.

“A lot of people don’t want to come here because there are no mechanics,” he said.

“After completing a trip, everyone wants to have the bus checked. There is always some small repair needed.

“You can’t get that done here. At Mohakhali or Gabtoli, you just call a mechanic and he turns up. Spare parts are available too.”

A Small Business Begins to Grow

The depot is also beginning to attract businesses serving drivers and helpers.

Rubel Mia opened a tea stall beside the drivers’ tent about a week earlier.

Around 10am, he was preparing singaras while also getting lunch ready.

Business had yet to take off.

Next door, another restaurant had rice, bhorta and vegetables laid out after breakfast.

Manager Rifat was more optimistic.

“Come back at lunchtime and you’ll see,” he said, pointing to beef being prepared.

“People will come from Dhaka to eat. At night I’ll light the whole place up.”

Both businesses said bus workers were their main target customers.

For now, construction workers and contractors’ employees also eat there, although many labourers bring food from home.

Why Are the Buses Not Moving?

Mohakhali Bus Terminal falls under the Gulshan Traffic Division of Dhaka Metropolitan Police.

Deputy Commissioner Anwar Sayeed told bdnews24.com on Monday that the basic infrastructure at Purbachal was largely ready, but accommodation was not yet complete.

“We have provided a temporary tent,” he said.

“There is a meeting today. Hopefully, more buses will start being sent there from tomorrow, Tuesday. But the whole thing will not happen in a day. We will try to send more buses there gradually.”

An operator who runs two Soukhin Paribahan buses on the Mymensingh route said long gaps between trips also reduced the need to use Purbachal.

He said some buses ran for 21 days and could then remain off-route for nearly a month because the company had far more buses under its banner than needed.

During such long breaks, owners generally did not keep their vehicles in Dhaka, he said.

Instead, they parked them in Mymensingh, Tongi, Gazipur or private garages and open spaces elsewhere.

That was why many of those buses were not going to Purbachal.

Saiful Alam, general secretary of the Dhaka Road Transport Owners’ Association, said RAJUK had yet to finish herringbone paving work at the depot.

Heavy rain had previously left some parked buses partially submerged, he said, while accommodation and food facilities were still incomplete.

Once the work is finished, transport owners will ask police to enforce the arrangement and will also put organisational pressure on operators, he said.

“Only buses that are actively operating will come to Mohakhali. Mohakhali will only be for picking up and dropping off passengers.”

Saiful expects the arrangement to be fully enforced within about a week.

“It looks a little relaxed now because the work there has not been completed,” he said.

“Within a week, we hope to send all the buses there. Then we will tell police that anyone who refuses to comply should be taken straight to the impound yard.”

‘Like Hibernation’

RAJUK Chief Engineer for Implementation Aminur Rahman, however, said most of the work was already complete.

“We have provided a basic tent and bathrooms so bus workers can rest there,” he said.

“We have also arranged a hotel for food. Breakfast is available for within Tk 60 and lunch for Tk 100.”

Aminur stressed that the Purbachal site was a temporary depot intended for buses facing long gaps before their next trips.

“There is no space to keep them at Mohakhali, so they are being sent there,” he said.

“They will stay there almost like they are in hibernation.”

Otherwise, he said, those buses end up parked on roads around Mohakhali at night.

“We have 10 acres (4 hectares) there. Our target is to accommodate 500 to 600 buses so they do not add pressure to Dhaka city.”