With a view to relieving female commuters of the unwanted experience they come across every now and then, a private commercial bus service named Dolonchapa will start operations on two routes in Dhaka from Sunday.
Road Transport and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader inaugurated the service at a ceremony at Bangabandhu International Conference Centre in Dhaka on Saturday.
The minister lauded the effort of addressing problems faced by women in the public transport sector.
“The moment Rangs informed me of their idea I took no time to say, ‘Just do it’. A total of 60 buses will be launched in phases,” he said.
Rangs Group Chairman Abdur Rouf Chowdhury said: “As more women are joining the workforce, it is imperative that we provide necessary infrastructure and support to ease their journey.”
Rangs Group Director, also the Managing Director of Rangs Motors, and the person behind the initiative, Sohana Rouf Chowdhury, hoped that stakeholders will learn from their experience and take similar initiatives.
The bus will run from Uttara’s Abdullahpur to Motijheel via Kuril, Bashundhara gate, Notun Bazar, Badda, Rampura, Kakrail, Paltan, and Gulistan.
Initially, two buses will run between Mirpur circle and Azimpur, Mirpur 12, and Motijheel, while more buses will be added to the fleet in upcoming months.
Dolonchapa bus service, a joint venture of Rangs Group and Volvo Eicher Commercial Vehicles, has been especially designed to protect women from sexual harassment while taking public transportation.
The company, which received permission from the government to run a total of 30 buses on these two routes, now plans to launch 10 more buses within the next two months.
Each of the buses has 34 seats, with two seats dedicated to passengers with disabilities. The buses will be equipped with CCTV cameras.
