[sustran] Re: government is planning to restrict the movement of privatecars in Dhaka to reduce nagging traffic jam.

[Jonathan Richmond]

I also read the story in today's newspaper. Please note, however, that any 
attempt to restrict car movement in Dhaka's central city will require a 
consensus throughout government and complex legal and administrative 
procedures.

Regarding the buses, I have been developing BRT and general bus 
reorganization programmes here to try to radically improve service 
levels. However, now that consultants have been selected for a major 
BRT implementation study, the government has decided not to extend my 
contract -- hence my recent note to some of you to ask if any of you have 
ideas for my next assignment!

General bus purchases are necessary because Dhaka's bus fleet is in almost 
unbelievably poor condition. In fact, nowhere in the world have I seen 
buses that are quite so dilapidated. The buses are driven dangerously and 
there is very little maintenance. So getting something new is a start. 
However, work needs to be done to find ways to encourage the industry to 
maintain its fleet in better condition. There are financial and 
organizational constraints to accomplishing this, and they need to be 
overcome.

Best regards,

                           --Jonathan


On Tue, 21 Dec 2010, Lee Schipper wrote:

> Good news indeed but just buses without dedicated lanes? Who can move under those conditions?
>
> Lee Schipper
> Global Met Studies  UC Berkeley
> Precourt En Eff Center Stanford
>
>
>
> On Dec 21, 2010, at 17:37, "Syed Saiful Alam" <shovan1209 at yahoo.com> wrote:
>
>>
>> Dear all Good news for all our activist that  The government of Bangladesh is planning to restrict the movement of private cars in Dhaka to reduce nagging traffic jam.
>> "Private cars with less than four or five passengers will not be allowed to ply the city streets," finance minister Abul Maal Abdul Muhith told reporters at the secretariat on Tuesday.
>>
>> "We'll have to make public transport system more efficient for the people," he said.
>>
>> He said they had approved a proposal to buy 255 buses to make the public transport system more effective. "Public transport should be meant for public but now a few people are creating anarchy in the field."
>>
>> The minister said: "Traffic jam is the biggest allegation against the government.
>>
>> The cabinet committee on purchase has approved the proposal to buy 255 Korean buses for BRTC under EDCF loan of Tk 2.12 billion.
>>
>> Thanks
>> Syed Saiful alam
>> shovan1209 at yahoo.com
>> +8801552442814
>> Are private cars the ideal transport? www.dhaka-rickshaw.blogspot.com
>>
>>
>>
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-----
Jonathan Richmond
Public Transport Advisor
Dhaka Transport Coordination Board
Ministry of Communications
Government of Bangladesh
Nagar Bhaban, 13-14th Floor
Dhaka-1000
Bangladesh

Phone: +880 (0)1714 179013
Fax:   +880 (0)2 956-8892

e-mail: richmond at alum.mit.edu
http://the-tech.mit.edu/~richmond/