The government has decided to require front number plates on motorcycles to help detect traffic violations. The decision was taken at a follow-up meeting on pollution control chaired by the prime minister on 18 July. The aim is to enable artificial intelligence (AI)-powered cameras installed on Dhaka’s roads to read motorcycle registration numbers more easily and take action against lawbreakers. The Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) and the Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA) have been tasked with implementing the decision.
The BRTA has issued a notice making front number plates mandatory for motorcycles, setting 15 November as the deadline for compliance.
The notice specifies different dimensions for scooters and other motorcycles. For scooters, the plate must be 200 millimetres long and 100 millimetres wide. For other motorcycles, it must measure 285 millimetres by 50 millimetres.
According to the BRTA’s instructions, both types of plates must be made of stainless steel or aluminium. The background must be white, with letters and numbers in black Bengali script. The characters must be at least 20 millimetres high. No designs or additional decorations are permitted.
Motorcycle owners and experts point out that although the stated aim is to detect offences using AI cameras, such cameras are absent from most parts of Dhaka, let alone areas outside the capital and smaller towns, where large numbers of motorcycles are used. What, then, is the point of installing front number plates on these motorcycles?
How effective will the measure be?
Experts say there is no guarantee that a vehicle will always be detected by cameras simply because it has number plates at both the front and rear. For example, dense fog may prevent cameras from reading a plate. A sudden power cut could make it impossible to read one in the dark. Rain or mud could also obscure the plate.
As a result, adding another number plate would increase costs for vehicle owners, while government spending on AI-camera monitoring and related procurement could also rise.
Vehicle owners already pay for a radio-frequency identification (RFID) tag alongside their digital number plates. An RFID tag is an electronic device that identifies a vehicle using radio waves. When the system was introduced, the BRTA said it would allow vehicles to be identified under any circumstances.
It was also expected to prevent the use of counterfeit number plates and duplicate registration numbers, help recover stolen or hijacked vehicles by tracking their locations, identify vehicles used in criminal activities, and make law-enforcement surveillance easier.
The BRTA also said RFID technology could help reduce revenue evasion by allowing vehicle registration and related information to be verified. It was intended to bring vehicle monitoring and law enforcement under a digital system, with automatic toll collection also envisaged for the future. However, the BRTA has not fully delivered on these promised benefits.
Digital number plates and RFID tags were introduced for motor vehicles in 2012. Before that, vehicle owners could have number plates made wherever they chose. The BRTA later introduced standardised plates and RFID tags, collecting fees for both when vehicles were registered. If a plate or RFID tag is broken or destroyed, owners must apply to the BRTA and pay the full price for a replacement.
Shamsul Haque, a professor in the Department of Civil Engineering at Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET) and a transport expert, told Prothom Alo that the government must first find out why RFID tags had failed to deliver.
“RFID tags are used to identify all kinds of things across the world. The AI-camera initiative is heading towards becoming a procurement project. Government spending will increase, while vehicle owners will bear the additional cost,” he said.
The financial burden could grow
According to BRTA data, around 6.85 million vehicles were registered in Bangladesh as of August. Of these, approximately 5.1 million were motorcycles. More than 2.4 million vehicles were registered in Dhaka, including around 1.35 million motorcycles.
Motorcycles currently have a number plate at the rear, for which owners pay a prescribed fee at registration. Many other types of vehicles have two plates, one at the front and one at the rear.
According to the BRTA, motorcycle owners are charged Tk 2,260 for a number plate. Payment is compulsory at registration, and the same amount must be paid for a replacement if the plate is broken or damaged.
Under the BRTA’s current instructions, motorcycle owners must install the front plate themselves, using the prescribed dimensions; they do not need to obtain it from the authority. However, BRTA sources say this arrangement may not be sustainable in the long run. The authority may eventually have to supply and install the plates itself to ensure uniformity.
If the BRTA charges the same amount for a front plate as it currently does for a rear plate, the additional cost for owners of around 5.1 million motorcycles would exceed Tk 11.52 billion. The total could rise further if motorcycles need modifications or new mounting arrangements to accommodate the plates.
BRTA officials also anticipate practical complications. Owners of older motorcycles may be able to install front plates without much difficulty, they say. But around 800 new motorcycles are registered nationwide every day. Under the law, rear number plates and RFID tags must be installed by the BRTA. It remains unclear whether owners will be allowed to install the front plates themselves.
Many motorcycle owners have expressed anger over the decision. Some have mocked it through memes and satirical posts on Facebook. Several riders have posted videos showing that their motorcycles have no space for a front number plate. In protest, they have tied plates to strings, hung them around their necks and ridden their motorcycles.
Shahdab Ahmed, who rides a Royal Enfield motorcycle in Dhaka, told Prothom Alo that many people in the capital use modern, stylish motorcycles. The existing digital number plate looks reasonably good, he said, but front plates of varying quality could spoil their appearance.
“What is the point of installing front number plates in rural areas where there are no AI cameras? If someone does not install one, it could give the police an opportunity to harass them,” he said.
How the decision was developed
Sources at the Road Transport and Highways Division said the BRTA formed a seven-member committee on 13 August, following a meeting at the prime minister’s office. The committee was asked to examine the dimensions and placement of front number plates and assess whether AI cameras could read them accurately, before submitting its recommendations.
The committee sought opinions from eight importers, sellers and organisations. On 19 August, sample plates were installed on motorcycles along Lake Road near the National Parliament building and tested using AI cameras. A second trial was conducted on 5 September, involving 10 motorcycle models at the same location.
The second trial examined more than whether the cameras could read the registration numbers. It also considered motorcycle safety, freedom of steering movement, the visibility of headlights and indicators, vehicle control, and the risk of injury in an accident caused by the plates.
The committee also reviewed the positioning and height of AI cameras, their resolution, and compatibility with technologies that may be used in the future, including electronic toll collection, drones and GPS.
Until now, motorcycles’ lack of front number plates was consistent with the law. Rule 36(10) of the Road Transport Rules, 2022, exempts motorcycles and vehicles adapted for people with disabilities from displaying registration numbers at the front. Following the committee’s report, the Road Transport and Highways Division amended the rules.