The Local Government Ministry reiterated that battery-powered and electric rickshaws will be banned from Dhaka’s main roads as the government prepares a new regulatory framework for these vehicles on Sunday.
State Minister Mir Shahe Alam said registered e-rickshaws carrying up to four passengers will be permitted only on designated internal roads within the areas under Dhaka North and South City corporations.
The proposed policy would divide Dhaka into eight zones, with four under Dhaka North City Corporation (DNCC) and four under Dhaka South City Corporation (DSCC).
Vehicles registered in one zone will not be allowed to operate in another. Each vehicle will also require distinct colour coding, technical certification and fitness tests before registration.
The government also plans to regulate garages and charging stations. E-rickshaws will have to use solar power to qualify for registration or renewal.
The state minister said the policy is in its final stage and will soon be submitted to the Law Ministry for review.
The announcement follows the BNP government’s recent efforts to formulate a broader policy for regulating battery-run rickshaws in city corporations, municipalities, upazilas and union parishads across the country.
The key question, however, is whether the government can enforce the measures, given that previous attempts have failed.
There is no authoritative count of battery-powered rickshaws in Bangladesh, as the vehicles remain largely outside the formal registration system.
Estimates vary sharply. The Bangladesh Power Development Board puts the number of battery-powered rickshaws and easy bikes nationwide at around 4.5-5 million, while the Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA) estimates the number at more than 6 million, including 1-1.2 million in Dhaka.
Other estimates put Dhaka’s fleet as high as 1.5-2 million.
The situation after August 5 changeover
For years, battery-powered rickshaws were kept off many of Dhaka’s major roads.
However, following the political change on August 5, 2024, traffic enforcement weakened and the vehicles reappeared on roads where they had previously been restricted.
Within a few months, battery-powered rickshaws became common throughout the city, including affluent areas such as Gulshan, Banani and Baridhara.
Abdul Jalil, president of the Gulshan-Banani-Badda Autorickshaw and Easy Bike Drivers’ Association, said around 3,000 battery-powered vehicles operated in the area before August 5, 2024.
By October 2025, he said the number had more than doubled to around 8,000, attributing the increase to inadequate monitoring. Efforts to reinstate restrictions have often faced strong resistance in Gulshan and Banani.
In April 2025, when DNCC, police and local groups attempted to restrict battery-powered rickshaws in Gulshan and Banani, drivers protested, blocked roads and clashed with other road users. The army was eventually called in to restore order.
The confrontation demonstrated that the issue extends beyond the presence of illegal vehicles.
Authorities now face a well-established informal transport system that supports thousands of drivers.
On Friday, residents of Gulshan, Banani, Baridhara and Niketan held a rally, calling for action against illegal auto-rickshaws, restrictions on their movement on main and high-risk roads, stronger traffic enforcement and safer public transport options.
A history of failed restrictions
Dhaka has seen repeated attempts to restrict battery-run rickshaws.
In May 2024, the government attempted to remove battery-powered three-wheelers from Dhaka.
However, following significant protests by drivers, authorities reversed the decision. Subsequent efforts to keep the vehicles off main roads also failed, and they soon reappeared.
In July 2014, the High Court ruled that battery-run and motorized rickshaws could not legally operate in the Dhaka and Chittagong city corporation areas because authorities had no legal basis to issue them licences.
In November 2024, the High Court again directed authorities to stop battery-run rickshaws from operating in Dhaka within three working days.
However, the Appellate Division subsequently imposed a one-month status quo on the order after the government challenged it.
Later, during the interim government, authorities made another attempt to push battery-powered rickshaws off Dhaka’s main roads.
In May 2025, DNCC announced that rickshaws would be restricted to internal and service roads as part of a citywide initiative with the Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP).
Authorities seized more than 100 battery-powered rickshaws in a single operation.
However, the action triggered protests, with drivers blocking roads in Mohammadpur, Dhanmondi and Jatrabari and holding a rally outside the National Press Club.
BUET solution status
Authorities previously engaged the Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET) to design a standard low-speed, three-wheeled e-rickshaw to replace unsafe, heavily modified battery-powered rickshaws.
The plan was to gradually introduce safer vehicles through technical certification, driver training, registration and identification.
Authorities discussed launching pilot programmes in areas such as Dhanmondi and Uttara, while Gulshan, Baridhara, Nikunja and Aftabnagar were considered for broader implementation.
They also proposed using QR codes and registration systems to identify approved vehicles.
However, the transition did not take place on the planned scale.
The informal fleet continued to operate, while new battery-powered rickshaws continued to enter the market.
Will the latest plan work?
The latest plan, however, acknowledges this reality.
Rather than attempting to remove battery-powered rickshaws from Dhaka entirely, the government now aims to control where they can operate, which vehicles can be registered, who can drive them and how they are charged.
The August 13 policy meeting specifically examined registration, licensing, fitness testing, charging stations and garage management.
The 2026 amendment to the Local Government (City Corporation) Act has also created scope for city corporations to register battery-operated rickshaws and license their drivers.
The proposed eight-zone system may facilitate enforcement compared with a citywide ban.
However, its success will depend on authorities developing an accurate database of vehicles and drivers, preventing unauthorized manufacturing, regulating charging stations and keeping unregistered vehicles off main roads.
The proposed framework has already drawn opposition from the Rickshaw, Battery Rickshaw-Van and Easy Bike Sangram Parishad.
The group says it supports bringing the sector under regulation but wants a unified system under BRTA covering registration, route permits, driver licences, training and fitness certification.
It opposes giving local government bodies control over licensing and warns that allowing designated manufacturers could create a syndicate controlling vehicle production, charging, licensing and operations.
The group has also called for the withdrawal of the proposed solar-only charging requirement, saying it could increase costs for low-income drivers.
Instead, it wants government-approved local manufacturers to produce standardized vehicles, along with dedicated charging facilities and service roads or lanes for slow-moving vehicles.