‘Improvement of Dhaka’s chaotic traffic possible’

Strict enforcement of traffic rules and behavioural change of pedestrians and transport workers as well as proper planning and political commitment are essential to have a disciplined traffic system in this chaotic city of Dhaka, said experts.

They said though it looks a herculean task to restore discipline in the city streets, it is possible to do so through a vigorous media campaign and enforcing traffic rules alongside gearing up the decentralisation process.

Many countries in the world have turned their unlivable cities livable through innovative ideas and forcing people to abide by rules, the experts said.

Professor Moazzem Hossain of Civil Engineering department at Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET) said eight components -- policy, planning, design, construction, maintenance, operation, enforcement and finally monitoring -- will have to be ensured to bring discipline in the traffic system.

Moazzem, also Director of BUET Accident Research Institute (ARI), said it needs to monitor whether the seven other components are functioning properly.

Without adequate manpower, management, leadership, engineering, funding and planning, it is not possible to bring discipline in the streets changing the whole system, he said, adding: "It needs to implement all the eight components and for this, it requires organisational setup, manpower, political commitment and funding support."

Besides, a footway network system will have to be developed alongside automating the traffic signal network, the road safety expert said.

Professor Moazzem underscored the need for bringing a radical change in the bus operation module.

"Buses are plying the city streets under around 250 companies which are absurd. Globally, buses run under a single state-owned agency," he said, adding that if all the buses run under a single company in the capital, the situation may improve.

Ashish Kumar Dey, general secretary of National Committee to Protect Shipping, Roads and Railways (NCPSRR), said many, including bikers, auto-rickshaw and tempo drivers, young political party activists and a major portion of pedestrians, do not follow traffic rules properly.

"It's a major obstacle to controlling the overall traffic management and reducing road crashes," he said.

A continued awareness campaign and strict enforcement of traffic rules can bring discipline in the streets, Ashis said.

Alongside strict enforcement of law and taking action against errant transport workers and pedestrians, a worker-friendly road transport policy will have to be ensured to bring down the number of road accidents and end anarchy in the sector, he added.

The NCPSRR leader said transport workers' lifestyle should be enhanced.

"If their wages and other facilities are not increased, a sense of dissatisfaction and hopelessness prevails among them and many drivers become desperate to earn more, leading to repeated road accidents," he said.

He also alleged that some influential labour leaders and political party leaders protect many drivers and helpers when they are sued by law enforcers, terming it another reason behind drivers being desperate on roads.

Shahidul Islam, general secretary of Dhaka Taxi-Taxi Car-Auto-rickshaw Drivers' Union, said drivers are yet to receive any training and motivation from any quarter.

"It would have surely helped reduce road crashes, had drivers been trained and motivated."

A CNG-run auto-rickshaw driver has to give its owner Tk 1,600-1,700 as a daily deposit against the government-fixed Tk 600 while bus drivers run their vehicles on a target basis, he said, adding this makes the drivers reluctant to obey the traffic rules as they have to increase the number of trips to earn more.

"If the government ensures that owners are not charging more, the tendency of violating traffic rules among drivers will come down sharply," he said.

Shahidul also said although there is a prime minister's directive not to run buses on contractual basis, it is yet to be implemented.

Meanwhile, the Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) observed a month-long traffic safety awareness campaign in September following widespread student protests triggered by the death of two college students on a city street in August.

During the campaign that ended on 30 September, around 172,000 cases were filed and around Tk 140 million were realised as fine for traffic rules violation.

On the last day of the campaign, DMP commissioner Asaduzzaman Mia said despite the sincerity of traffic police to bring discipline in the streets, their attempts are not yielding results due to people's tendency to violate traffic rules.

"Though it's not possible to change habits and behaviour in just one month, we're hopeful that people will gradually abide by traffic rules," he said.

"It cannot be expected that hundreds of years of practice or irregularity will change overnight. But we hope everyone will be respectful to the law," he said, urging the city dwellers to cooperate with the police to enforce traffic rules.