The government will decide to limit the number of vehicles a family, non-government or government organisation can use, and will impose taxes on each extra vehicle they want to use beyond the government’s approval.
The government has already drafted the Bangladesh Road Transport Act-2015 in this regard. The Act will replace the existing Motor Vehicle Act-1983.
This initiative was taken for the purpose of controlling the number of extra vehicles to ensure smooth traffic.
The Road Transport and Highways Division (RTHD) has already gotten the views of different ministries regarding the draft act.
The RTHD is now working with transport owners and workers to get their views.
“Before finalising the act, we will meet with other stakeholders, including representatives of civil society, journalists, engineers, businesspersons, and police,” said Obaidul Quader yesterday at a press conference at the Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA) office in the capital.
He said: “We found that a single family uses 12 private vehicles for its family members, which leads to traffic congestion. So the number should be controlled.”
When the draft act is finalised by the RTHD, it will be sent to the cabinet for approval.
According to the draft, a family will receive permission for only two cars. If they want to get more cars, the family will need permission for the extra vehicles and also pay compound Vat-tax for approval.
Other nations have regulations to control the number of cars on the roads. They fix the number of cars for families, companies and organisations. However, no such act exists yet for Bangladesh to support the government in its efforts to manage the number of vehicles on the roads.
Every day, the BRTA registers an average of 100 vehicles. Road capacity, however, doesn’t increase. As a result, traffic congestion increases and is now out of control. In the last five years, around 85,000 new cars were registered.
According to the draft, permission will be needed to manufacture cars, recondition them, as well as for repair and to showcase them in showrooms.
Bus helpers and supervisors must be appointed by transport companies, and these workers should also get permission from BRTA, which will also fix the age limit of the drivers.
BRTA secretary Sawkat Ali told the Dhaka Tribune: “The government has thought deeply about how it can establish discipline in the transport sector. In this regard, we have proposed the Road Transport Act that could help us to control traffic congestion.”
