First piloting of Ghatarchar-Kanchpur route to be completed in 2021: Taposh

Dhaka South City Corporation (DSCC) Mayor Barrister Sheikh Fazle Noor Taposh on Tuesday said he hoped that the first piloting of the proposed bus route from Ghatarchar to Kanchpur will be completed within this year.

"We’re optimistic that if we can proceed at this (current) pace, we’ll be able to complete the first piloting within this year,” he said at the 16th meeting of the committee on bus route rationalisation to restore discipline of mass transport and reduce traffic congestion held at the South Nagar Bhaban on Tuesday.

Taposh said they are hopeful that they would be able to integrate the remaining routes with this pilot route through completion of the first piloting.

The DSCC Mayor, also chairman of the Bus Route Rationalisation Committee, said, "We’re on the right track. Our journey is not smooth. The journey is very narrow, there are many problems. But we’re slowly moving forward.”

The Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA) was tasked with fixing the bus fare of the piloting route from Ghatarchar to Kanchpur, and they have done so, said Taposh.

He said, “The fare has been fixed at Tk 2.2 per km. Now it will require the consent and approval of the ministry. The process will hopefully be finished quickly.”

Replying to a question, he said that they are optimistic about completing the procedural work by April as it needs more time to formally start operation. He said he sought an allocation of Tk 100 crore from Bangladesh Bank on easy terms and interest, which will be given to bus owners so that they can carry out their activities.

The letters have already been sent. The Governor of Bangladesh Bank has given verbal consent. “We’re hopeful that the government will do that as soon as possible,” he added.

Taposh said it may take some time to complete the bus repair activities which will depend on the bus owners and how quickly the money is disbursed by Bangladesh Bank.

“But we’re still hopeful that we can move forward by April,” he said, adding that they have already determined spots for bus bays and passenger sheds, on the route. ”We will able to complete the tender procedure within one month to go for construction of those bus bays,” he said.

Replying to a question, the DSCC mayor said that currently, buses of two companies are plying on this proposed piloting route.

“A total of 155 buses are plying on this route. We’ll go for a joint venture agreement between the two companies,” he added.

Among others, The meeting was attended by Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) Commissioner Md Shafiqul Islam, Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA) Chairman Noor Mohammad Majumder, Bangladesh Road Transport Corporation Chairman Md Tajul Islam, Bangladesh Road Transport Owners Association Secretary-General Khandaker Enayet Ullah, Dhaka Transport Coordination Authority Executive Director Rakibur Rahman and DSCC officials.