Bus Rapid Transit: Dhaka to Gazipur in 20 minutes

The buses will run on a dedicated lane on the existing six-lane highway under the BRT project where there will be no traffic jam; the buses will ply one by one. BRT transport system have already been famous in other cities including Chicago and New Delhi. The BRT project is divided in two parts: one from Gazipur’s Shibbari to Dhaka’s Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport, and the other from the airport to Keraniganj. The prime minister will inaugurate only the construction work of the first phase today. The plan for the Airport - Keraniganj route is still incomplete. According to the BRT Phase 1 design, the 20.5km Shibbari-Airport route will have 25 stoppages, six flyovers, an eight lane bridge over the Turag river at Tongi and a 4.5km elevated road from Tongi to Uttara. Around 25,000 people are expected to commute on the BRT on both sides every hour in 100 articulated buses. Stations will see a bus arrive every three minutes. Passengers will be required to use a smart card to use the service and will be covered by a mandatory insurance policy. BRT buses will be equipped to allow level boarding, making it easier for older people, children and disabled passengers to get on and off the buses. Passengers will only be able to get on or off the buses at BRT stations. The project was approved on November 20, 2012 with a December 2016 deadline. However it has missed two deadlines due to negligence. Even the project authority’s own February 2015 deadline to finish the detailed design dragged on to May this year. The new deadline for the BRT is December 2018. Dhaka Transport Coordination Authority Executive Director Kaikobad Hossain said: “It’s true that BRT project is moving slowly. But it will run fast now. We have solved the problems. Detailed design is complete and land acquisition is underway.” The total cost of the project is estimated to be around Tk2,040 crore. Donors will give Tk1,650.7 crore, Asian Development Bank Tk1,280 crore, French Development Agency Tk360 crore and Global Environmental Facility Tk36 crore. The rest will be provided by the government.