RECENTLY, several print media in Dhaka reported that the government would import air-conditioned, large, double-decker buses from India to ease the communication problem of the general public. This is really good news for our citizens. Thousands of passengers avail the bus service every day. People with limited income are benefited from this service as there is no other low cost public transport service which is easily available. But the number of buses is so few that every bus stop has hundreds of passengers waiting for a long time. The children and women suffer most in such situations. They cannot jostle with the inappropriately behaved male passengers, and hence frequently fail to get on buses.  To rescue thousands of suffering children and women passengers, BRTC should deploy more buses.
Furthermore, in Dhaka, very few bus services travel from Jatrabari to Uttara via Saedabad, Mugda, Sabujbag, Bashabo, Khilgoan, Malibag, Rampura, Badda, Nutanbazar, Noadda, Joarshara, and Airport. Some buses also travel from Signboard to Tongi via these areas. As there are no buses provided by BRTC on this route, the people’s sufferings multiply. This problem further worsens since most buses are filled up by passengers at starting points, that is, at Jatrabari and Saedabad, hence not allowing passengers at other stops any seats.
If BRTC introduces a bus service from Sabujbag to Airport then the passengers at other stations could also get a chance to avail bus services. Most of the passengers on the Uttara bound buses have to get down at the airport stop. If the proposed root is introduced, the passengers who intend to go Uttara will get down from the bus and avail Uttara bound bus from the Airport stoppage. I would like to urge the BRTC authority to add some buses which will start with an interval of five minutes on the said route for the convenience of the suffering city dwellers.
Mohammad Ashraf Hossain
Central Bashabo, Dhaka