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The government has taken a series of measures to overhaul the capital’s public transport and traffic management system, including introducing electronic toll collection (ETC) at expressway and flyover toll plazas within four months and relocating the Fulbaria bus terminal to Keraniganj.
The decisions were taken at a meeting chaired by Prime Minister Tarique Rahman at his office in Tejgaon on Saturday (29 August).
The meeting discussed in detail the capital’s traffic congestion, pressure on major roads and flyovers, public transport management, the rearrangement of bus terminals, parking facilities and the modernisation of the traffic management system.
The government has decided to introduce ETC at toll plazas on expressways and flyovers. The technology-based system is expected to speed up toll collection, reduce queues at toll plazas and make traffic movement smoother.
An app will also be launched alongside the ETC system. The prime minister has instructed the relevant authorities to complete the process within four months.
The government has ordered a review of an earlier report prepared by Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET) on persistent traffic congestion around the Jatrabari-Gulistan Flyover.
BUET has been asked to review the existing report and submit a fresh report with recommendations within 15 days. The initiative will be implemented in coordination with the city corporation and traffic police.
To bring greater discipline to the public transport system, the government has decided to relocate the Fulbaria Bus Terminal to Keraniganj.
The Local Government Ministry will take steps to acquire the required land and construct a permanent terminal there.
As construction of the permanent terminal will take time, a temporary bus terminal will be built within four months on 15 acres of land in the Jhilmil project area.
Once operational, the temporary terminal is expected to reduce the pressure of buses and inter-district vehicles in central Dhaka.
The rear section of the Gabtoli Bus Terminal will be expanded to increase its vehicle-handling capacity.
The relevant agencies, including the Roads Division and traffic police, have been instructed to work together to implement the expansion quickly.
The government has also decided to relocate the kitchen market at Karwan Bazar to Gabtoli as part of efforts to ease traffic congestion in the capital.
The relevant authorities have been instructed to take the necessary steps to implement the decision.
The meeting also discussed increasing parking facilities to ease congestion around the Bangladesh Secretariat.
The authorities have been asked to examine whether parking can be arranged at the Osmani Memorial Auditorium and to identify alternative parking sites if necessary.
The government has decided to formulate a separate policy to regulate and manage autorickshaw operations in Dhaka.
The aim is to bring greater discipline to the movement of autorickshaws across the capital.
The prime minister also directed the authorities to take necessary action against unauthorised double-decker sleeper buses operating in the city.
The meeting stressed the need for stronger coordination among the relevant agencies and timely implementation of the decisions to address Dhaka’s chronic traffic congestion.
Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmed, Road Transport and Bridges Minister Sheikh Robiul Alam, Local Government State Minister Mir Shahe Alam, Pabna-5 MP Shamsur Rahman Shimul Biswas, Dhaka South City Corporation Administrator Abdus Salam, the Cabinet secretary, the prime minister’s principal secretary and other senior officials concerned attended the meeting.