Dhaka residents have gotten so used to wasting hours in traffic jams that many have forgotten how compact the city is, so a quickly completed journey can come as a surprise.
It does not have to be this way. Dhaka can learn from cities such as Bangkok, which has dramatically reduced congestion in the last fifteen years.
Investment in public transport to tempt car owners away from their vehicles is key to solving congestion. While the planned elevated rail project will help increase capacity, more can be accomplished in a shorter time by reforming the city’s bus and taxi networks.
Clean, safe, quick and accessible public transport will pay for itself by reducing costs and attracting business, not to mention helping to reduce pollution and improve quality of life.
Only 5% of Dhaka’s population owns a car, but over half of its scarce road space is occupied by private cars, to the detriment of all. The government can therefore afford to be assertive in addressing this problem by cutting subsidies on the price of gas for private car owners. Some will complain no doubt, but all car owners bear high duties already to buy their vehicles, so can afford a hundred taka more on the price of gas.
The money saved can be directed to investment in public transport and build a virtuous cycle. The government could add to this pot by agreeing to "hypothecate" revenues from car owners, by ring fencing a proportion for investment in improving public transport.
