[sustran] Campaigners Achieve a Victory in Effort to Save Dhaka's Rickshaws

[info at worldcarfree.net]

For Immediate Release: March 2, 2005

CAMPAIGNERS ACHIEVE A VICTORY
IN EFFORT TO SAVE DHAKA'S RICKSHAWS

DHAKA, Bangladesh, March 2 – World Carfree Network and its member 
organization Work for a Better Bangladesh declared an important 
victory today in their campaign to save the cycle rickshaws in this 
capital city of ten million people. The World Bank has officially 
ended its long-time support for prohibitions of cycle rickshaws on 
Dhaka’s main roads, and local authorities seem to have heeded the 
message and postponed further rickshaw bans. 
     New Elephant Road was slated to become rickshaw-free in 
February, but this did not occur and no alternative date has been 
announced. In addition, rickshaws are again plying Eskaton Road (from 
Maghbazar to Bangla Motor) despite having been banned, without prior 
announcement, on January 23 during the Muslim holiday of Kurbani Eid.
     As part of the World Bank-funded Dhaka Urban Transport Project, 
the World Bank had been pushing local authorities to implement a 
street-by-street ban of rickshaws and other non-motorized vehicles on 
the city’s major arteries, primarily to improve the flow of motor 
vehicle traffic. 
[See map and further information at www.worldcarfree.net/dhaka/.]
     The World Bank first clarified its position towards the rickshaw 
ban in a February 2 letter sent by the bank’s country director 
Christine Wallich to the Dhaka Transport Coordination Board:
     “Any future support from the World Bank would be possible only 
if it can be demonstrated that aggregate positive impacts of NMT-free 
[non-motorized-transportation-free] conversion on transport users and 
transport providers outweigh the aggregate negative impact,” Wallich 
wrote. “The bank would not support the continued conversions that do 
not conform to the above principles, and any support would be 
contingent on the government carrying out mitigation measures to 
reduce the negative impacts, and alleviate public concern.”
     Further, Wallich urged that several measures “be completed as 
soon as possible to mitigate the impact on affected transport users 
and providers.” These included a program to retain rickshaw drivers 
for other trades, improvements of bus service and infrastructure, and 
the designation of a network of streets for “non-motorized vehicles 
only.”
     Automobiles represent only 9 percent of Dhaka’s traffic stream, 
used by a wealthy minority. The majority of the population rely on 
the city’s 300,000 to 500,000 cycle rickshaws for their mobility or 
their livelihood. Most dependent on cycle rickshaws are women, school 
children and low-income garment workers.  Walking serves as the 
city’s principle mode of transportation, and rickshaws follow in 
second place as the vehicle of choice. 
     The Prague-based World Carfree Network initiated the 
international campaign to save Dhaka’s rickshaws on December 1 last 
year at the request of its Dhaka-based member organization Work for a 
Better Bangladesh. An important artery, Mirpur Road, had just been 
closed to rickshaws two weeks before, on December 17. The network’s 
supporters sent hundreds of letters and e-mails to World Bank 
officials, urging the bank to end its support for rickshaw bans.
     The New York-based Institute for Transportation and Development 
Policy joined the campaign by filing a formal complaint, urging the 
World Bank to comply with its own transportation policy, “Cities on 
the Move” (2001). The institute’s staff held several meetings with 
senior World Bank officials in Washington, DC during the second week 
of January. In addition, they communicated with Wallich, advising her 
that Dhaka Urban Transport Project had breached the bank’s own urban 
transport policies.
     Organizations including World Carfree Network and Work for a 
Better Bangladesh are now pushing for the reversal of previous 
rickshaw bans in the city, and the implementation of more sustainable 
policies such as busways, parking regulation, and slow-moving-vehicle 
lanes. 
     “We congratulate the World Bank for their change in policy in 
Dhaka,” said Randall Ghent of World Carfree Network. “Still, the bank 
and its partners should seek positive solutions and not just 
‘mitigate’ the damage caused by bad policies. Local and national 
officials must now play their part to ensure that the majority 
benefit from Dhaka’s transportation policy.”
     “To achieve a decent quality of life in a dense, poor and 
populous city such as Dhaka, transportation must be space-efficient, 
quiet, non-polluting and pleasant to be around,” said Amit Ranjan Dey 
of Work for a Better Bangladesh. “Current conditions leave a lot to 
be desired, but the answer is not to subsidize wealthy car owners 
while punishing the rickshaw-dependent majority.”
     While continuing to watch developments in Dhaka closely, World 
Carfree Network and Work for a Better Bangladesh offer to assist 
those fighting rickshaw bans elsewhere in the world.

- # -

Contacts:

Randall Ghent, Co-Director, International Coordination Centre, World 
Carfree Network: 
tel: +(420) 274-810-849;  mobile: +(420) 608-676-035; e-mail: 
info at worldcarfree.net

Debra Efroymson, Advisor, Work for a Better Bangladesh (WBB Trust):
tel: +(880) 2-966-9781 or +(880) 2-862-9273; e-mail: 
wbb at pradeshta.net;  www.wbbtrust.org

A PDF file of this release is available at 
www.worldcarfree.net/dhaka/.

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WORLD CARFREE NETWORK
Kratka 26, 100 00 Prague 10, Czech Republic
tel: +(420) 274-810-849 - fax: +(420) 274-772-017
<info at worldcarfree.net>  - <http://www.worldcarfree.net>
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