Women in the capital are yet to reap the benefits of the BRTC's woman-only bus service as the facility had failed to meet expectations over the years.
Although the service was introduced to put an end to the hardship that female commuters face every day in the city, most commuters have alleged that the number of buses on the roads had been negligible and the timings and bus stops of the service remained unclear.
Sources inside BRTC said the Bangladesh Road Transport Corporation (BRTC) authority had slashed the number of special buses on different routes stating huge losses. Two years ago, eight woman-only buses were introduced on three routes, however, the number has now been reduced to five.
“I usually travel by bus. But, I have never been heard or seen the special women bus service,” said Chaiti Islam, a resident of Azimpur who works for a private bank in Motijheel.
“If the BRTC wants to introduce such services in the capital, it should increase the number of buses and routes,” she added.
Despite directives from Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and Communications Minister Obaidul Quader to increase the number of buses under the scheme, the state-run BRTC has, for unknown reasons, done the opposite.
Sources also added that the Rampura-Badda-Khilgaon-Motijheel route was allocated four buses, but now there are three. The Tongi-Motijheel route had two buses, which has been cut down to one. The Mirpur 12-Motijheel route had two buses, but only one bus is currently plying on the route. Most of these buses had been providing single trips per day.
“I usually travel in the service. Sometimes, I have to wait for hours for the buses to arrive. Even when it does, it becomes very hard for one to board one due to the huge rush of passengers,” Halima Akhter, resident of Mirpur, told the Dhaka Tribune.
“I would like to urge the authorities concerned to increase the number of women bus as the current service exist by name only,” she said.
Meanwhile, many other commuters told the Dhaka Tribune that most choose not to use these special service buses due to its poor conditions.
Many have alleged that most buses had no reservations for the elderly, ill and handicapped and air ventilation within the buses are very poor.
An BRTC official, seeking anonymity, said the reduction of busses from the service occurred as authorities tried to fill up shortages in staff buses for its own employees.
He said many BRTC buses have been damaged during political violence in different times, which he also termed as a prime reason behind the reduction of daily trips per day.
When contacted, BRTC General Manager (Operation) Md Rafiqul Islam Talukder, denied the allegation and claimed that the service had been introduced in most routes within the capital and adjoining areas.
“A total of 15 buses are plying in different routes- Motijheel-Kallayanpur-Mirpur, Motijheel-Khilgaon Taltala, Gazipur-Dhaka, Narayanganj-Demra-Dhaka,” he said.
He further claimed: “There is no bus shortage in any route; rather sometimes we are not get passengers in few routes.”
