Prominent citizens weigh in on Uber in Bangladesh

Commuters in Dhaka however seem happy at the prospect of finding a cost effective alternative to the traditional public transport services. They do hope that the legal impasse will be resolved soon as most countries in the world prior to Uber's entry had no legal governance for this kind of service and had to draw up a new legal guideline for services offered through companies of the shared economy. Prominent educationist Prof Muhammed Zafar Iqbal weighed in on the issue: “When I was travelling abroad I used Uber a lot because of its convenience and glad to see it come to Bangladesh. “They should however sort out the legal barriers with discussions with the authorities concerned.” Transportation and Safety Expert, Prof Md Shamsul Hoque of Buet explained Uber's global popularity and why it is good for Dhaka commuters. “Because Uber provides better service than public transportation they were able to achieve global popularity within such a short time. “People in Dhaka suffer due to a lack of public transport as taxis and auto-rickshaws are limited. For example I have to bargain with the auto-rickshaw drivers and they a lot of them do not want to travel short distances which becomes an insufferable hassle. “Whereas Uber works as a middleman to find a ride near you which eliminates all the hassle of bargaining and going from one driver to another asking if they will go. “Transport authority should try and resolve the legal problems soon as this service is greatly beneficial to the public.” Pointing out Bangladesh's need to keep pace with the digital era, Architect Iqbal Habib spoke of the self-contradictory position the government has taken as Digital Bangladesh is a national objective but it is reluctant to allow the digitisation of its public transportation. He said: “Bangladesh government is looking to fully digitise itself by 2021 and should welcome e-hailing services like Uber. “They should amend the rules and regulations quickly to accommodate the entry of the digital era into the public transportation sector.” Although Uber has been declared illegal by the BRTA, the app is fully operational. The Dhaka Tribune tried to hail an Uber on Wednesday, the day after it was launched but was unable to find a ride nearby the whole day. A commuter, Opel Ahmed was disappointed by the time Uber quoted just to reach his house, around 30-40 minutes which he said is the same amount of time it takes for him to use an auto-rickshaw and get to work.