In an effort to beat the interminable traffic congestion in Dhaka city, experts said: “A mass public transportation system must be first introduced in Dhaka before pulling out rickshaws from the road.
In Dhaka, the popularity of rickshaws far exceeds that of all other modes of transport. Rickshaws mostly run on lanes and narrow roads.
As the size of the middle-class population has expanded, so has the number of passengers using rickshaws. As a result, rickshaws have emerged as one of the most common and popular modes of transport for the people of Dhaka.
To discuss the issues surrounding the pros and cons of rickshaws in Dhaka, a roundtable discussion titled "Dhaka city public transport and rickshaw: Reality, problems, and way forward” was held at the National Press Club yesterday.
Experts and stakeholders urged the authorities concerned not to eliminate rickshaws from the Dhaka streets. The discussion was organized by Bangladesh Institute of Labour Studies (BILS).
Adil Mohammed Khan, general secretary of Bangladesh Institute of Planners (BIP), said: "Rickshaws are the most important mode of transportation, as there are not enough mass public transport options in the capital.
"Make more public transport options easily available, and then stop the rickshaws. Otherwise, the middle class population will have to buy private cars, which will further increase traffic jams," he added.
Speakers at a roundtable discussion titled 'Dhaka city public transport and rickshaw: Reality, problems, and way forward' at the National Press Club on Tuesday, November 26, 2019 | Mehedi Hasan/Dhaka Tribune
Dhaka University’s Prof MM Akas, of the Department of Economics, said: "Rickshaw pullers mainly came from the rural areas, where there is a lack of job opportunities. Disallowing rickshaws suddenly will leave all of them unemployed, thus we have to first come up with a solution before putting this procedure in place.
"Though, separate lanes for rickshaws are needed on roads. In addition, rickshaws should be allowed to ply on VIP roads. However, the number of rickshaws has to be fixed as well,” he added.
Khandaker A Salam, consultant of BILS, presented the keynote at the roundtable.
Salam said: "Almost 2200000 rickshaw pullers’ livelihoods, and those of their families, depend on the 1100000 rickshaws running on the streets of Dhaka in two different shifts (morning and day).
“Rickshaws are one of the main sources of employment in Bangladesh. Every year a massive number of people join the labour market, but there are not enough jobs for all of them. The situation is worse for those who are illiterate or do not have basic educational qualifications for better paying jobs. For these people, rickshaws provide one of the most readily available employment options. In total, rickshaw pullers send Tk 35 to 45 thousand crores annually to their villages" he added.
"Rickshaw is not the major cause of traffic jams in Dhaka; it is one out of 16 reasons. Narrow streets, private cars, and poor traffic control system are mainly responsible for creating traffic jams. Vendors on the footpath are also responsible for creating traffic jams as they prevent pedestrians from using the footpaths, who consequently have to walk on the roads," he said.
Habibur Rahman Siraj, chairman of BILS, presided over the roundtable. He said: "Even the roads where rickshaws are not allowed have the same type of traffic jams. This shows that rickshaws do not create traffic jams, and should be allowed on the roads of Dhaka city.”