A heart stopping problem
If Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh, is the heart of the country’s economic, social, and cultural activities, the traffic congestion in that city is the heart stopping problem for the entire country.
Dhaka is arguably the most densely populated urban area (amongst urban areas with population of 500,000 or more) and megacity (megacity defined as the urban area with population of more than 10,000,000) in the world (Cox 2012, Demographia 2014) with a population density of 44000/km2.
Dhaka cannot afford to allocate anywhere near the standard practice of 25% of land necessary for transportation infrastructure for a planned urban development. Traffic congestion in a city of more than 15 million people crammed in a small land area of 347 sq km (Cox 2012) and even scarce transportation space is a no brainer. Numerous studies have revealed the woes of Dhaka traffic congestion.
An article in CNN Travel website (Bennett 2012) calls Dhaka traffic the worst in the world. For Dhaka, the definition of rush hour has been turned upside down because people can actually rush a bit during the time of least traffic. During peak hours, traffic in Dhaka grinds to a virtual “stand still” for more than seven hours daily.
A 2012 research study (Mahmud et al 2012) provides an extensive list of causes and impacts of traffic congestion in Dhaka. The study also identifies a series of short, medium, and long term remedial measures to improve traffic conditions in Dhaka.
As shown in the Mahmud et al and many other literatures, the causes of traffic congestion in Dhaka are numerous including overpopulation, unauthorized and overwhelming number of rickshaws (a manually pedaled tri-cycle), illegal parking, encroachment of sidewalks by vendors and illegal takeover of public spaces, inadequate or faulty traffic signals, inadequate roadway space in both length and width, lack of enforcement and adherence to traffic rules, unplanned roadway excavation, too many modes of transportation with varying levels of automation, and most importantly, inaction of traffic management experts to help the situation.
These and many other problems can be broadly classified into transportation supply and demand management categories. Table 1 shows the most pressing supply and demand factors contributing in Dhaka’s traffic congestion.
Like many other cities in the developing world, Dhaka has not grown in a planned way. Even if some level of development guidelines were adopted, those weren’t fully implemented due to lack of enforcement. Had there been adequate planning and proper implementation, there would have been much greater share of land allocation for transportation network, there would have been more orderly operation of mixed mode transportation, and there would have been sufficient and synchronised traffic signals in operation reducing the need for traffic police on the streets.
Capacity of Dhaka’s scarce transportation network already cannot support the unbridled growth of private cars, disorderly mixed use development without proper traffic impact studies and lawlessness on the streets. Dhaka’s current mobility demand of 25 million trips a day (DTCA 2014) is only likely to get worse as the time goes and population of the city continues to climb. With Dhaka’s population projected to surge beyond 22 million by the year 2020, mobility in Dhaka is fast approaching to a complete halt unless a comprehensive mobility plan is adopted and implemented immediately.
Impacts of Dhaka’s traffic congestion is severe – to say the least – and long lasting. If Dhaka is the heart of Bangladesh’s economic activities, then the transportation networks within the city and connecting it to the rest of the country is the network of artery of that economy. Disruptive mobility severely disrupts the natural economic growth.
Economic impacts of disruptive mobility in Dhaka are manifold including loss of productivity and output, rise in physical and mental healthcare costs, degradation of quality of life, irreparable damage to the environment, and many more. Efficient mobility through the transportation network of Dhaka is critical for the economic development of the country. Bangladesh, as a rising economy, cannot afford to have this strangling mobility problem holding down the otherwise thriving economy.
An ailing heart can be resuscitated or replaced
With proper care and planned efforts a weak heart can be brought to health only before it stops working and completely shuts down the entire body and the brain. Efficient mobility of people and goods is the key to country’s economic vitality. As the traffic congestion reduces so increases the mobility.
There is no silver bullet for reducing traffic congestion. Both supply and demand have to be managed in a coordinated fashion. Many thinkers of Dhaka’s traffic congestion problem have come up with a number of good ideas to improve the situation.
A few are impractical but most are attainable with proper planning and careful execution. Table 2 lists ideas for traffic congestion relief categorised into supply and demand side approaches.
Transportation Demand Management (TDM) has been a key strategy for traffic congestion alleviation for quite some time in the developed world with mixed success. Irrespective of the past successes, TDM continues to be touted as one of the key congestion mitigation strategies as the world tries to reduce the carbon footprint of transportation.
Encouraging alternative transportation modes such as walking, biking, and public transit along with transit oriented development (TOD), containment of urban sprawl, imposing higher cost of driving through increased parking fees, gasoline taxes, and roadway tolls, and ridesharing/carsharing are key TDM strategies being promoted and implemented in various parts of the world.
From time to time various strategies, as listed on the demand side in table 2, to manage travel demand in Dhaka have been tried with limited success not worth mentioning. These strategies included relocation of government offices in other cities only to see them come back, banning rickshaws on major city thoroughfares resulting in mobility inefficiency for a large segment of the population and creating higher congestion on other streets, late opening/closing of shopping centers and staggered weekly days of operation for shopping centers having negligible impact on traffic, etc.
Car free day idea is likely to generate huge resistance, hence government won’t be interested. Even if it is implemented it will only mask the traffic congestion problem for some days and might create higher traffic demand following days. Proper enforcement of traffic laws is a given. Without enforcement no policy can be successful.
On the demand side, Bangladesh government needs to implement a sustained long-term strategy to control population growth in Dhaka and for shared mobility. All past attempts by the Bangladesh government to reduce traffic demand in Dhaka were primarily unsuccessful because those were very reactive approaches and not as part of a comprehensive mobility plan.
Success of TDM strategies largely depends on human behaviour changes. Desired behavioural changes in terms of transportation choices people make can be achieved through sustained implementation of policies that can influence such changes. Policies need to support long-term mobility goals through most efficient management of existing infrastructure in addition to building new infrastructures as necessary, supporting a low carbon transportation system.
Only building expensive new infrastructure cannot solve traffic congestion problem (Mann 2014) unless people are motivated by clearly demonstrated economic benefits in order to adopt TDM strategies in their transportation choices. When a country gains economic prosperity its demand for mobility and transportation grows.
A good example is China. Demand for automobile in China has grown manifold over the last few decades with the increased buying capacity of prosperous Chinese middle class. Chinese cities are now faced with unprecedented traffic congestion and air pollution generated from the vehicular tailpipe emission.
Even though China has the land and money to build new transportation infrastructure, they are fully aware that this problem cannot be solved only through building new infrastructure. China is now aggressively promoting TDM strategies in combination with the development of new transportation infrastructure to satisfy the mobility needs of the future.
Most of the supply side ideas in table 2 can be achieved through better management of existing infrastructure. Building more arterial and connecting roads are almost impossible in Dhaka due to very dense developments that must be demolished in order to build new roads.
A comprehensive and coordinated long-term mobility plan for Dhaka must address both supply and demand side issues supported by appropriate policies. Below are a set of supply and demand side ideas that can be implemented to help bring order to the chaotic traffic in Dhaka providing the foundation for long-term mobility planning and policy implementation.
Supply side considerations
Dhaka is heavily developed and the population density is exasperated by the conversion of one/two story single unit houses into high-rise apartment complexes. There is no land space left to expand existing or build new transportation infrastructure except for building multi-layer expensive vertical infrastructure.
Even though the allocation of land for transportation within the existing built-out city is not feasible, it is conceivable to support higher proportion of the traffic throughput on the existing network if the capacity is fully utilised through better management and organisation of traffic. Money spent in establishing order in traffic would likely have higher return on investment (ROI) than expensive new infrastructure.
Major thoroughfares in Dhaka are reasonably wide, but not utilised efficiently. For efficient utilisation and better management of given roadway space following supply side strategies should be considered. These strategies are not expected to solve Dhaka’s congestion problem completely, but would be a good set of first steps to bring order in the traffic chaos that exists today, a necessary prerequisite for future mobility planning.
Separation of modes: The single most detrimental cause for Dhaka’s traffic congestion is the mixed mode traffic vying for space on the roadways. To some, rickshaw is the menace, and to others it is the private car that is the culprit. The fact is that both these and other modes that need roadway space are not going to go away; in fact, they are all needed and can co-exist through better management.
While the demand for cars and rickshaws must be identified and managed, it is not necessary to put them at odds with each other. What is needed is to ensure that various modes can operate smoothly without disrupting each other.
That goal can be achieved by segregating each travel direction of all major streets into dedicated pathways for modes categorised into three – non-motorised rickshaws and bicycles, low occupancy motorised vehicles, and high occupancy buses.
When buses, cars, and rickshaws are allowed to travel conflict free in their dedicated space they all have the potential to travel at their natural speed and not get bogged down by jam created by other modes resulting in better flow. Even if one mode slows down it won’t affect the other modes.
In a mode segregated roadway, buses may travel on inner lane with at-ground or elevated pullouts/ramps for stops. Inner lane operation and isolated stops will prevent buses from making illegal stops.
Low occupancy vehicles should travel in the middle lane(s) with dedicated access/egress and turns allowed only at designated locations. This will allow cars to travel at their natural flow and prevent them from making illegal stops and street parking.
Rickshaw is part of Bangladesh culture and identity and should be preserved as long as possible. Rickshaw has its own industry that provides employment for millions of people and provides transportation for millions more.
Unless a viable transportation mode for the masses is introduced as replacement and employment for the displaced workforce can be found, rickshaw should not be removed. In order to better manage rickshaw traffic the left-most part of the pavement should be dedicated for them.
Two lanes in each direction for non-motorised traffic will help rickshaws and bicycles travel separate from buses and autos. A dedicated fourth lane in between bus and car lanes when space permits, or the bus/car lane should be designated for emergency vehicles such as ambulances, fire engines, and to clear stranded vehicles blocking roadway due to accidents or malfunction. Also the sidewalks must be adequate, properly designed, and encroachment free to ensure smooth pedestrian traffic.
Efficient and desirable high occupancy transportation: A double-decker or articulated bus can carry many more travellers than the cars occupying the same roadway space. From purely a transportation space utilisation perspective, cars are the most inefficient because they occupy more space per traveller than any other modes (Litman 2013).
The picture below demonstrates roadway space necessary for 72 people travelling by bicycles vs cars vs a bus. This picture was commissioned by the planning department of the city of Munster, Germany. Most often than not, cars are not fully occupied. On the other hand, a bus (regular, double-decker, or articulated) can carry large number of travellers resulting in far more efficient use of the transportation space.
A public bus system can be much cheaper solution than subway/metro if operated efficiently, maintaining a desired level of service and with easy access/egress through conflict free stops. An example of highly successful public bus system is the Curitiba Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) system in Curitiba, Brazil (Goodman et al. 2007).
An automated fare collection system can generate pilferage-free revenue that might be enough to pay for the operating cost. Even though car traffic has grown exponentially in Dhaka in recent years a large portion (more than 40%) of the mobility needs of Dhaka is met by the existing bus system (Mahmud et al. 2012).
A more efficient bus service operating in a dedicated lane will likely increase the share of this mode as a result of some rickshaw passengers switching over to the bus mode, resulting in higher revenue for the bus operators in a system that already generates a healthy profit.
Higher revenue creates the potential for increased competition among bus operators, which is likely to further increase the level of service. A more efficient and comfortable bus system might also attract some car travellers back to public transit. A dedicated bus lane can later be converted into a metro rail track. A public transit system operating on a dedicated lane without all the amenities of a true BRT can be coined as “Bus-only Lane Transit” or, in short, BLT.
Better traffic flow on local streets: Unlike megacities in developed world traffic congestion in Dhaka starts from the local streets. Due to increased car ownership, narrow local streets that were not designed for mixed mode bi-directional traffic often gets clogged from car traffic.
Traffic flow on local streets can be smoothed by implementing one-way traffic with some connector streets providing bi-directional flow between one-way streets. One-way streets will increase the capacity and flow on local streets by allocating the full pavement width to traffic in the same direction.
Where street width permits, one-way streets may provide separate lanes for motorised and non-motorised vehicles. For connectivity to major thoroughfares two parallel one-way streets can be used – one for access and the other for egress.
These one-way connectors to major roadways should be designed to allow for motorised and non-motorised vehicles getting on/off the thoroughfares conflict free. Also, large buses and trucks may be restricted on certain local streets.
Demand side considerations
Demand for mobility will continue to grow as the population of Dhaka grows and economic activities continue to thrive. Smart management of existing infrastructure and travel demand, and building new facilities only when absolutely necessary should be the approach.
In order to better manage demand for mobility, approaches should be developed based on a few principles. These principles include most efficient use of available transportation space, dissemination of traveller information to help travellers make the right travel choice, and transformation towards environmentally sustainable transportation. Based on these principles, following mobility demand management measures should be considered for adoption.
Encourage biking and walking: All sidewalks and crosswalks (at grade, elevated, and underground) must be encroachment free and safe. This is easier said than done. It requires strong political will and strict enforcement. Until a safe walking environment is provided, foot traffic is likely to spill over to the pavement disrupting vehicular traffic and creating traffic congestion.
Bicycle traffic should be combined with rickshaws in the dedicated non-motorised outer lane. It is possible that bicycle, walking, and rickshaw modes combined can support 45% - 50% of mobility needs of Dhaka dwellers given that rickshaws alone currently supports 38% of mobility needs (Mahmud et al. 2012) and bicycling is gaining popularity among young travelers.
Meeting close to 50% transportation demand with zero pollution modes would be exemplary. In order to achieve that goal an allocation of about 40% of the travel-way width that includes the sidewalk for these non-motorised modes would be justified.
Encourage high occupancy in private cars: Presently, 8% of mobility needs in Dhaka are met by private cars and another 11% by taxis and three-wheelers, popularly known as CNGs. The name CNG is derived from the abbreviation of its operating fuel, Compressed Natural Gas (CNG). Combined together, these low occupancy modes support less than 20% of mobility needs, but they occupy more than 30% of travel-way width.
Allocation of no more than 30% width or a single lane for these modes would provide them more than their fair share. In parallel, government should promote and help people share rides. If the allocated road space feels inadequate to car travellers it might motivate them to consider ride-sharing or car-sharing.
In some parts of the world higher occupancy in private cars are incentivised through special carpool lanes, tax deductions, and other monetary incentives. Such incentives are likely to be abused in Bangladesh due to lack of enforcement and corruption and will not produce desired results. Instead, car owners should be encouraged to share available seats in their cars with fellow travellers in order to reduce congestion on the dedicated car lane.
Facilitate effective traveller information: Information of the prevailing travel conditions can help travellers make the right choice and help reduce congestion. Knowledge of current traffic bottlenecks and status of public transit service can help travellers decide whether to take an alternate driving route, use public transit, or bike/walk.
Information systems can help travellers form ride-sharing pools with other travellers having similar trip patterns. Government can either develop these information resources or encourage private sector to develop them through grants, competitions, soft-term bank loans, etc. Effective traveller information can help reduce congestion.
Develop policy for environmentally sustainable transportation: An environmentally sustainable mobility policy should prioritise efficient use of non-motorised and public transportation modes and gradual shift towards pollution free motorised vehicles.
Dedicated pathway for non-motorised and mass transit is essential for them to share larger percentage of mobility demand in Dhaka. As the demand for mass transit grows, electric powered light rail system should be introduced to replace buses in major corridors of travel.
Gasoline and CNG powered private cars should be discouraged through introduction of high import and congestion taxes for those vehicles. Government may also introduce a VKT (Vehicle Kilometer Travelled) tax to discourage driving. In order to promote electric and alternative (carbon free) fuel vehicles, government may consider tax benefits for production, sale, and purchase of these vehicles, especially when a zero emission vehicle replaces a fossil fuel based one.
High level policy considerations
Though Dhaka seems to be in a complete traffic chaos already, we may not have seen the worst of it. As the mobility demand on the scarce city road network continues to grow with the growth in population and economic activities, traffic is expected to become more chaotic. There is still time to plan and prepare for the future transportation demand and mobility before it gets completely out of control. That plan has to be comprehensive, coordinated, and sustainable.
A forward looking mobility plan must take into account everything that have impact on and are impacted by transportation, making it comprehensive. It must identify the players and the processes for execution of the plan, both from capital development and long-term operation perspectives. Implementation and operation should be based on sustainability. It is not enough to simply provide transportation and mobility if it cannot be sustained.
Addressing mobility issues begins at the top of the government where the legislature must set the policy and a clear direction, first. Government of Bangladesh has taken the first step by creating the Dhaka Transport Co-ordination Authority (DTCA) through a legislative act, Dhaka Transport Coordination Authority Act, 2001 following a recommendation that came out of the World Bank funded Dhaka Urban Transport Project (DUTP).
DTCA is created with the right vision, but it is dependent on many other government agencies for the implementation of its mission (DTCA 2014). In order for DTCA to be effective in its mission, it needs to have an independent governing body that can focus on DTCA activities. DTCA must also have the right and adequate staff resources for planning, promoting, funding, coordinating, and managing the execution of mobility related projects.
Because Bangladesh has a centralised government that sits in Dhaka where all government and most economic activities take place it is inconceivable how the pressure of population and mobility demand on Dhaka can be eased without creating strong urban centres around the country where people can participate and enjoy similar economic and social activities that Dhaka offers.
Strong local and regional governments with jurisdiction to set, collect, and spend tax revenues, develop and execute regional land use and transportation plans, and create business and job opportunities can help redistribute urban population resulting in eased population pressure on Dhaka.
Conclusions
Dhaka’s traffic woe is the result of lack of proper land use and transportation planning and has been exasperated by lack of traffic management and law enforcement. Though Dhaka’s traffic situation is desperately anarchic, some level of order can be restored with innovative traffic management approach.
Also, unplanned organic growth of Dhaka didn’t leave much room for new transportation infrastructures. In addition to the current development plan for the new Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) lines, planners and policy makers can implement a few immediate traffic management approaches in order to bring some order in the disorderly traffic in Dhaka.
Traffic problem in Dhaka is unique because of the unparalleled mixed mode (motorised and non-motorised) mobility demand created by the most densely populated urban area in the world. There isn’t any solution example for a problem of this proportion that Dhaka could readily adopt. Dhaka has to come up with its own solution.
Long-term policy strategies for management of population growth in Dhaka and empowering DTCA would help to alleviate traffic congestion in Dhaka. Mode separated thoroughfare along with one-way streets can be first implemented as a test case along one corridor. A test bed will help learn and refine the design and implementation.
Dhaka must try a comparatively inexpensive and sustainable mobility solution that proportionately emphasizes both motorised and non-motorised transportation according to their mode share. Expensive transportation solutions can come later as the economy grows with a sustainable mobility in place.
Nisar Ahmed is program coordinator at Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC), USA. This paper was prepared for 1st IRF Asia Regional Congress held in Bali, Indonesia.
