The Daily Star
The government’s plan to relocate Dhaka’s four inter-district bus terminals — Sayedabad, Mohakhali, Gabtoli and Fulbaria — to the city’s outskirts may increase public hardship and safety risks instead of easing traffic congestion, according to the Institute for Planning and Development (IPD).
In a statement issued yesterday, IPD said relocating the terminals to Kanchpur, Hemayetpur, Tongi, and Keraniganj without proper planning and adequate public transport connectivity would neither provide a sustainable solution to traffic congestion nor improve urban mobility.
Instead, it could create significant inconvenience and additional financial burdens for commuters, it added.
Relocating the existing four terminals is neither realistic nor sustainable from a planning perspective and does not adequately consider the needs of commuters, it said.
Under the government’s recent decision, the Fulbaria-Gulistan Terminal will be shifted to Keraniganj, the Mohakhali Terminal will be moved temporarily to Purbachal and later near Tongi, the Gabtoli Terminal will be relocated to Hemayetpur, and the Sayedabad-Jatrabari Terminal will be shifted to Kanchpur.
IPD said Dhaka’s traffic congestion should not be attributed solely to the existing bus terminals. Instead, authorities should address broader transport-related problems, including passengers boarding and alighting on main roads, illegal parking, and extortion around terminal areas.
“If the terminals are moved 15 to 20 kilometres away from the city centre without addressing these issues first, travel costs, safety concerns, pressure on connecting roads and overall public suffering will increase significantly,” said Professor Adil Mohammed Khan, executive director of IPD, in the statement.
The organisation identified several concerns regarding the proposed relocation, including a lack of feeder services and last-mile connectivity, higher travel costs and longer commuting times, increased congestion at city entry points, additional pressure on Dhaka’s public transport system, and greater safety risks for women, children, elderly passengers, and other vulnerable groups.
IPD urged the government to reconsider the relocation plan and instead focus on improving management and operational efficiency at the existing terminals while strengthening Dhaka’s overall transport network.
Source: https://www.thedailystar.net/news/bangladesh/transport/news/relocating-bus-terminals-may-backfire-4204811?shem=dsdf,sharefoc,agadiscoversdl,,sh/x/discover/m1/4
