Dhaka's night roads are being occupied by buses, revealing a discrepancy between the parking spaces shown during the permission process and the actual situation on the streets.
While the Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA) claims to adhere to guidelines requiring the demonstration of parking space availability, bus owners continue to park their vehicles on the roads at night.
It has been alleged that high vehicle numbers force some bus owners to resort to street parking, often in exchange for substantial sums of money paid to the local public representatives and the law enfocement agencies.
Public transport experts argue that unless political influence is curbed and proper accountability is ensured, mere policies on paper will not effectively regulate the roads.
According to the 2019 draft parking policy of the Dhaka Transport Coordinating Authority (DTCA), commercial vehicles such as buses, trucks, covered vans, water tankers, and lorries should exclusively pay parking fees on designated roads authorized by local authorities during night-time.
Additionally, confirmation of parking space is required before registering public transport vehicles.
However, there are allegations that some companies obtain bus approvals from the BRTA by showing a nominal number of seats, disregarding the actual parking space requirements.
BRTA Chairman Noor Mohammad Majumder clarified that parking spaces are checked during vehicle registration, but the authorization of the spaces shown is not always verified.
As a result, bus owners rent garages and submit documents to obtain permits, but later choose to park their vehicles on the streets.
At night, the roads in areas like Akash, Victoria Classic Paribahan, Mirpur, and Duaripara, among others, are crowded with parked buses from various routes.
Buses from companies such as Bikash, Thikana, Mirpur Super Link, and Safety can be seen parked in Azimpur after 10pm.
Sahedul Islam, the supervisor of Mirpur Super Link bus, mentioned that their buses lack specific parking spaces, leading them to park on the roadside in the Azimpur area or in Mirpur.
He acknowledged that demands for payment from the police and local public representatives often accompany such parking arrangements.
Moreover, long-distance buses frequently occupy main roads in locations including Gabtali, Shyamoli, Kalyanpur, Kamalapur, and Mohakhali, making it challenging to distinguish between the road and the bus terminals.
Bikash Paribahan Chairman Md Harun-or-Rashid explained that although they have designated parking areas, insufficient capacity forces some buses to be parked on the road at night.
Similarly, Khokon Mia, managing director of Bihongo Paribahan, clarified that only some buses transporting passengers at night are parked on the road, especially when the roads are less congested.
Khandkar Enayet Ullah, the secretary-general of the Bangladesh Road Transport Owners Association, acknowledged the need to address illegal bus parking and emphasized ongoing reforms within the transport sector.
He expressed confidence that gradual improvements will eventually benefit city residents.
Experts stress the importance of curbing political influence in the approval process and establishing proper accountability to effectively resolve the problem.
Dr Mizanur Rahman, a public transport expert and professor at Bangladesh University of Engineering (Buet), highlighted incidents where political influence and recommendations play a role in bus approvals.
He emphasized that without addressing these issues, the policies on paper will be ineffective in restoring order to the roads.
Although a ban on road parking after 12am was announced by the mayor of Dhaka South City Corporation (DSCC), Sheikh Fazle Noor Taposh, it has yet to be implemented.
Zainul Abedin, the deputy commissioner of Dhaka Metropolitan Police Traffic Ramna Division, explained that institutions like BRTC and DTCA consider parking space and other requirements when approving buses. “The traffic police's role is to maintain order on the roads, and they are fulfilling that responsibility.”
Regarding bus parking on the road, he explained that in some cases, bus owners obtain verbal permission, but it is not the norm.
Councillor AS Ferdous Alam, representing Ward No 18, which includes the Azimpur bus station and the science laboratory area of Mirpur Road under the DSCC, acknowledged that some buses remain parked due to the presence of the bus station.
However, he claimed to be unaware of buses parked along the entire road. He urged the relevant authorities to take action against those occupying the road and parking buses in such a manner.
