Bangla at the bus stations in America

“It was in 2018 when I went to participate in an event of the Federation of Bangladeshi Associations in North America (FOBANA). I saw a couple of Bangladeshi families trying to to buy tickets for the street car at the Centennial Olympic Park station in Atlanta. They couldn't figure out how to do so and so were turning away. I then came forward and helped them to buy the tickets. An idea struck me at the moment,” Bangladeshi expatriate Shafiul Azam was talking to Prothom Alo from Kansas.

Shafiul Azam is the man behind the initiative to include Bangla as one of languages in Interactive Smart Kiosks installed on 46 streets in Kansas city, USA.

Many Bangladeshis face language and communication difficulties when buying tickets or commuting to places in the US. Thinking of removing the difficulties, Shafiul initiated the idea.

Shafiul, one of the five project managers of Kansas Bus Rapid Transit (BRT), did not have to face much hurdles to convince the authorities. Also, he was confident enough as his initiative was driven by his love for the country and own language as a Bangladeshi.

He successfully convinced the authorities as there are more than 6,000 Bangladeshis leave in Kansas. The initiative will be of great use for them.

Shafiul Azam, originally from Mymensingh in Bangladesh, took the initiative that resulted in displaying Bangla as a language choice on the display of kiosks besides other languages like Spanish, French, Chinese, Japanese, Arabic and so on.

Shafiul was a student of Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET). He went to University of Kansas for post graduation in 2014. He researched on how to launch an easy but safe transportation system by using modern technology.

He got the opportunity to work for the Kansas City Area Transportation Authority in 2016. He later joined as the the project manager in Bus Rapid Transit. Interactive Smart Kiosk is one of the major projects of it.

All the necessary information such as travel venues, conferences or sightseeing, and types of transport tickets, will be displayed in Bangla in the kiosks. Any Bangali user can avail the service without any help.

Bangla is the eighth language in terms of use in the world.

Shafiul is working on launching Bangla as one of languages in all the kiosks across the United States.

* This piece, originally published in Prothom Alo print edition, has been rewritten in English by Farjana Liakat