SUTI Mobility Assessment Report - Dhaka
SUTI Mobility Assessment Report - Dhaka
SUTI Mobility Assessment Report - Dhaka
on
Sustainable Urban Transport Index (SUTI)
for Dhaka, Bangladesh
Prepared By:
NOOR-E-ALAM
Superintending Engineer
Roads and Highways Department
Dhaka, Bangladesh
October 2018
Sustainable Urban Transportation Index (SUTI) for Dhaka, Bangladesh
Table of Contents
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Sustainable Urban Transportation Index (SUTI) for Dhaka, Bangladesh
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Sustainable Urban Transportation Index (SUTI) for Dhaka, Bangladesh
List of Figures
Figure 1.2-1 Dhaka metropolitan area ....................................................................................... 2
Figure 2.1-1 Recent redeveloped footpath at Gulshan area ....................................................... 4
Figure 2.1-2 Water taxi at Hatirjheel ......................................................................................... 5
Figure 2.3-1 Registered vehicles in Dhaka ................................................................................ 7
Figure 2.3-2 Modal share of passenger trips in DMA area........................................................ 8
Figure 2.4-1 Percentage of market share for different private passenger motor vehicle services
.................................................................................................................................................. 11
Figure 2.6-1 Locations of proposed multimodal stations in DMA area .................................. 14
Figure 2.8-1 Existing and proposed transportations projects for Dhaka city .......................... 16
Figure 2.8-2 Ongoing construction work of Dhaka BRT ........................................................ 17
Figure 2.8-3 Car free day celebration 2017 ............................................................................. 18
Figure 2.8-4 Electric pedestrian escalator in Banani, Dhaka ................................................... 18
Figure 4.3-1 Public transport accessibility map of Dhaka ....................................................... 31
Figure 4.5-1 Total number of fatalities in recent years within Dhaka Metropolitan Area ...... 35
Figure 4.9-1 CAMS stations all over the country .................................................................... 42
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Sustainable Urban Transportation Index (SUTI) for Dhaka, Bangladesh
List of Tables
Table 2-1 Environment standard for Bangladesh ...................................................................... 9
Table 2-2 Amount of monetary loss due to congestion ........................................................... 10
Table 3-1 Different indicator of SUTI ..................................................................................... 21
Table 4-1 Scoring analysis for indicator 1 ............................................................................... 26
Table 4-2 Final result for indicator 1 ....................................................................................... 27
Table 4-3 Modal share of active and public transport ............................................................. 28
Table 4-4 Final result for indicator 2 ....................................................................................... 29
Table 4-5 Accessibility data of Dhaka city .............................................................................. 30
Table 4-6 Final data for indicator 3 ......................................................................................... 31
Table 4-7 Calculation of 8 aspects representing transport quality and reliability ................... 33
Table 4-8 Final result of indicator 4 ........................................................................................ 33
Table 4-9 Accidents and casualties in Dhaka Metropolitan Area (2013-2017)....................... 34
Table 4-10 Year wise value for traffic fatalities in DMA ........................................................ 35
Table 4-11 Findings regarding the fifth SUTI indicator .......................................................... 36
Table 4-12 Bus fare level in DMA area ................................................................................... 37
Table 4-13 Data for average wage and transport cost.............................................................. 38
Table 4-14 Final result of indicator 6 ...................................................................................... 38
Table 4-15 Data of operating revenues and costs .................................................................... 39
Table 4-16 Final result for indicator 7 ..................................................................................... 39
Table 4-17 Total data of overall transport and public transport facilities................................ 41
Table 4-18 Final result of investment ...................................................................................... 41
Table 4-19 Month wise data of CAMS-1,2 and 3 .................................................................... 43
Table 4-20 Findings regarding the 9th indicator of SUTI ....................................................... 43
Table 4-21 Converted data of sold gasoline and diesel per year into CO2 .............................. 44
Table 4-22 Final result for indicator 10 ................................................................................... 45
Disclaimer:
This report has been issued without formal editing.
The designation employed and the presentation of the material in the report do not imply the
expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the Secretariat of the United Nations
concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area or of its authorities, or
concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries. The views expressed, analysis,
conclusions and recommendations are those of the author(s), and should not necessarily be
considered as reflecting the views or carrying the endorsement of the United Nations. Mention
of firm names and commercial products does not imply the endorsement of the United Nations.
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Executive summery
Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh, is one of the most populous emerging megacities in the
world. Dhaka has a population of almost 14.4 million with a density of 47537.3 per km2 (2011).
Due to this huge population pressure, Dhaka suffers from various problems like lack of
accommodation and other basic facilities, pollution and most importantly lack of efficient
transportation system. To assess this existing transportation system of Dhaka city an index
developed by UNESCAP named as “Sustainable Urban Transportation Index (SUTI)” is used
which has 10 indicators. Through 10 indicators an urban transport system of a city can be
evaluated. Through SUTI, a quantitative analysis of Dhaka city’s transportation system, is done
in this report and the basic benefit of this study is it can provide the authority a direction to
focus on the necessary sectors. All the 10 indicators of SUTI are weighted equally, and
performance of each indicators is compared on a scale of 1-100. UN ESCAP has provided a
well proofed guideline regarding the data collection and data analysis process of this indicator.
Number of meetings took place in Ministries and ‘Dhaka Transport Coordination Authority
(DTCA)’ with academicians and experts on Transportation sector for collecting and analyzing
data. The data for these indicators were collected through field surveys and analyzing many
authorized documents for Dhaka City. After the data collection and analysis many experts and
academicians validated the analysis procedures and results of the indicators. The result of the
index is represented through a geometric mean and a spider diagram. The geometric mean of
the index is 46.27 which interprets that overall transport system is in moderate situation. This
spider diagram can provide the city transport authority a precise direction on which areas need
to be focused on and this represents the beauty of SUTI.
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Sustainable Urban Transportation Index (SUTI) for Dhaka, Bangladesh
CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION
1.1 Introduction
Dhaka is one of the most densely populated cities in the world which has a population of almost
17 million and is expected to rise to 35 million by 2035 (World Bank). The city currently
suffers from various impacts caused by lack of affordable, inclusive, efficient and safe transport
mode for mobility. Transportation system in Dhaka relies heavily on road transport which is
characterized by a chaotic mixture of cars, buses, auto-rickshaws, rickshaws, motorcycles,
CNGs, bicycles etc. Absence of any mass transit system and presence of insufficient
malfunctioning old small buses together with some informal paratransit against demand of such
an enormous population cause several externalities like; congestion, accidents, air pollution
and climate change. According to World Bank analysis, this chaotic mixture of high-speed
vehicles and low speed vehicles has brought down the average vehicle speed in Dhaka to 7 km
per hour. The increasing travel time and complexities may reduce the average travel speed to
4 km per hour by the year 2035 (Daily Sun , 2018).
Dhaka, the capital city of Bangladesh has a geographic area of 1463.60 sq. km and the
coordinates of this city lies between 23°42'37.4'' North 90°24'26.8'' East (Español, 2018).
According to Dhaka Zilla Statistics, 2011, Dhaka Metropolitan Area (DMA) covers 302.92
square kilometer and taken as study area (Figure 1.2-1).
Dhaka has one of the highest population densities in the world. Number of urban populations
in Bangladesh in 2010 was 42.11 million of which Dhaka city consists of 40% and is increasing
every year (Ahmed & Muntasir, 2014). According to the data of Bangladesh Bureau of
Statistics (BBS), in 2011 the population of Dhaka city was 14.4 million. Being a mega city,
Dhaka faces huge migration pressure because in Bangladesh most of the living facilities and
employment opportunities are capital centered. From the census of 2011 it has been identified
that among the people living in Dhaka, 38.7% arrived from different districts of the country
(BBS; SID, 2015). Major economic activity of the country is focused in and around Dhaka
City. Dhaka alone consists of 80% of the total garments industry (World Bank , 2005) which
is highly responsible for migration. Again, there is huge freight movement from, to and within
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Sustainable Urban Transportation Index (SUTI) for Dhaka, Bangladesh
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Sustainable Urban Transportation Index (SUTI) for Dhaka, Bangladesh
For mitigating the above transportation complexities, Revised Strategic Transport Plan (RSTP)
of Dhaka to be implemented over the next 20 years (2015-2035) has proposed a public
investment of $34.5 billion. To improve the traffic condition there are proposals for 5 metro-
rail lines, 2 Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) lines, 6 elevated expressways totaling 126 km, three ring
roads and 730 km of other main roads in the metropolitan area (Gallagher, 2016). Appropriate
assessment of existing DMA transportation system and subsequent planning in the factual area
can improve the movement of people and goods in Dhaka city.
The objective of this study is to develop Sustainable Urban Transportation Index (SUTI) for
DMA area. This index was developed by United Nations Economic and Social Commission
for Asia and the Pacific (UN ESCAP) to measure, compare and evaluate the performance of
sustainable urban transport and related sustainable development goals of Asian cities. In this
project, using 10 predefined indicators, overall existing DMA transportation system will be
evaluated and depicted in a spider diagram which will identify the required fields of
improvement and assist policy maker and planners to take appropriate measures.
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Sustainable Urban Transportation Index (SUTI) for Dhaka, Bangladesh
Dhaka's road network comprises around 7 percent of the total built-up area which covers
approximately 3,000 km (200 km primary road, 110 km secondary road, 50 km feeder road
and 2,640 km narrow road) with few alternative connector road (Tahmid, 2017). Bangladesh
railway carries a small portion of passengers travelling inside the DMA area. From the mobility
analysis published in Dhaka Structure Plan 2016-2035, it was found that on an average working
day about 21 million trips take place in the DMA area. The average length of bus trip is 9.7 km
and rickshaw trip is 3.6 km (JICA & DTCA, 2015). Out of all trips taking place each day, trips
to school constitute 17.7%, to home 12.6%, and to work is 44.7% (RAJUK, 2015). There are
152 bus routes with 237 bus stops in the DMA, among which only 5 bus routes are in the East-
West direction. Inside this whole network, there is only 400km of footpaths and nearly 40% of
these footpaths are illegally occupied and filled with dirt (BRT, 2015). Recently the trend is
changing as the authority is working to create a connected footpath network and building wide
with universal accessibility facility footpaths (Figure 2.1-1).
Beside the road networks, water transportation system is getting popular in the urban sector.
Hatirjheel Water Taxi service has provided another dimension of a cost effective and quick
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Sustainable Urban Transportation Index (SUTI) for Dhaka, Bangladesh
transportation system inside Dhaka city. It is getting popular as people are using this service
not only for recreational purpose but also in their day to day life to get rid of traffic congestion.
Four water taxis are now available in two routes which are from Hatirjheel’s FDC landing
station to Badda Link Road and to Rampura Bridge stations.
Besides improving public transport facilities, Government also put much emphasis on
providing pedestrian facility. Footpaths are being designed even sometime taking road width.
To facilitate crossing of pedestrian 90 foot over bridge and 4 underpasses has been built at
major intersections.
Dhaka is well connected to the different parts of the country. The connection has been
maintained by road, by rail, by water and by air. The key connection points of Dhaka City are
discussed below:
Road connectivity
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Sustainable Urban Transportation Index (SUTI) for Dhaka, Bangladesh
Being the capital of the country Dhaka has to maintain strong road connectivity with part of
the country. The bus hubs are located inside DMA. There are basically three main road
connection points. Sayeedabad Bus Station serves as the depots for to and from buses for
eastern part of the country including Sylhet and Chittagong Division. Gabtoli Bus Station is
for the buses to and from the western part of the country including Jessore, Khulna and Rajshahi
Division. Mohakhali Bus Station is for buses for the areas north of Dhaka, including Tangail
and Mymensingh. There are several other bus depots inside the city like Kallyanpur bus station,
Fakirapool bus station, Gulistan bus station, Kolabaghan bus station which also serves as
important connecting points.
Railway connectivity
Kamplapur railway station, which is the center point of railway connectivity is right in the
middle of DMA area. All the train routes start and ends here. There are five railway stations in
DMA which are: Kamlapur railway station, Tejgaon railway station, Cantonment railway
station, Banani railway station and Airport railway station. Among those two rail stations are
highly used: Kamlapur Railway Station (Central Station) and Airport Railway Station (North
of Central Station). From three directional lines Dhaka is connected with the rail stations of the
whole country. First, from the central station to Narayanganj in south-eastern part. For the
northern part, from Tongi junction, one section goes through Narsingdi towards Chittagong
and Sylhet other section covers the northern parts of the country.
Waterway connection
Sadarghat launch terminal and Gabtoli terminal are the two most important water way
connection points with different parts of country particularly with the south-western part of the
county. Sadarghat is in the southern part of Dhaka, on the river Buriganga. The Sadarghat River
terminal the largest river ports in the country having around 300 large and small passenger river
boats (motorized) depart and an average of 50,000 passengers use the terminal every day for
arrival and departure (Y, 2015). At the same time this terminal handles huge volume of freight
transportation. Gabtoli launch terminal serves as an internal terminal which also handles
passengers and freight within DMA area. To improve the waterway transport system,
Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority (BIWTA) planned a circular waterway service
of 110 km surrounding Dhaka City along Buriganga, Turag, Balu, Shitakhya River.
Airway connection
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Sustainable Urban Transportation Index (SUTI) for Dhaka, Bangladesh
Main airport of the country, Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport is located at the north part
of DMA. This airport is the hub of most of the private airlines in Bangladesh, including Biman
Bangladesh Airlines, Regent Airways, Novoair and US-Bangla Airlines. It is connected with
the three other international airports, 6 domestic airports and 6 Short Take-off and Landing
ports of the country.
Existing transport situation can be judged from various perspectives. In fact, the modal share,
transport modes, land use connectivity with transports, environmental and financial impact
transport system can provide an idea of the existing situation.
22.77 8.87
41.28
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Sustainable Urban Transportation Index (SUTI) for Dhaka, Bangladesh
The result shows public transportation modes (i.e., bus, laguna, microbus, CNG and rickshaw)
account for more than 80% of the traffic in Dhaka Metropolitan Area and its adjoining areas in
particular, buses dominate the share of public transport mode.
1% 0%
0%
2% 10%
8%
5%
5%
64%
5%
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Sustainable Urban Transportation Index (SUTI) for Dhaka, Bangladesh
To monitor air quality three Continuous Air Monitoring Stations (CAMS) are installed in
Dhaka city under Clear Air and Sustainable Environment (CASE) project. CAMS are
continuously recording PM2.5, PM10, NOX, SOX and other pollutants data. The data from
this may help to manage the air quality, produce air quality abatement strategies and provide
directions to set emission policies regarding transport sector. The following Table 2-1 shows
the current condition of air of Dhaka along with the comparison of Bangladesh Standard and
also the sources of pollution.
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Sustainable Urban Transportation Index (SUTI) for Dhaka, Bangladesh
Moreover, wasted time on the streets accounts for nearly Taka 11,896 crore and 3.2 million
business hours are lost every day, which is about one hour per working people (Daily Star,
2010).
Though many transport project works are on progress, still there are some major issues which
people of Dhaka need to face almost every day during their daily travel. Some issues are
described below:
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Sustainable Urban Transportation Index (SUTI) for Dhaka, Bangladesh
• Lack of pedestrian facility is another main issue in Dhaka City. There are not enough
well-connected footpaths to facilitate pedestrians of Dhaka. A major portion of Dhaka,
about 1868 km of roadways have no footpath or sidewalk facility (Chowdhury, 2014).
Number of pedestrian accidents are increasing day by day due to inadequate facility of
crossing. Sometimes, pedestrians are often jump over road divider by risking their lives.
According to a BBC report, during the last five years 950 people died in Bangladesh
while crossing the street (Shifulla, 2016). Major issues for the foot over bridges are:
Dirt, unpractical design, occupied by vendors, beggars, sex workers, thieves and
criminals.
• The East West Connectivity of the core city area is not well developed. Severe traffic
jam is regularly faced by the people and there is lack of public transport facility. Out of
152 bus routes only 5 bus routes operate east-west (RAJUK, 2015).
• Dhaka has extremely limited provision of Taxis. Last year almost 600 taxis are put on
the road by two companies named Trust Transport Services and Toma Construction
and Company Ltd. Due to high fare, people could not enjoy its facility. ‘Uber’ and
‘Pathao’ (Ride Share Service) are recently introduced in the roads of Dhaka but it has
high fare particularly for car rides and limited amount of people can take the facility.
People of low and middle income are still dependent on CNG and bus due to
comparatively low fare.
4%
12%
21%
63%
Figure 2.4-1 Percentage of market share for different private passenger motor vehicle
services
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Sustainable Urban Transportation Index (SUTI) for Dhaka, Bangladesh
• Dhaka City is also facing various problems regarding its circular waterway service. The
water bus project which was from Sadarghat to Ashulia is facing problems as no
suitability study was done before launching this project. From public perspective, poor
landing facilities, unable to maintain schedule and severe traffic jam faced to reach the
terminals of Shadargat and Gabtoli are responsible for the failure of this as an effective
alternative.
• The Railway Sector of Bangladesh has a very limited amount of Private Investments
and as a result this sector is not well privileged and well facilitated. In the railway
transportation system, the main problem faced by the passengers is lack of train tickets
and maintaining schedule.
The core city area is dominated by 41.45% residential use. The railways and road connectivity
are considered to be the most important features of a region, but it covers only 6.06% of the
city area (RAJUK, 2015). In DMA area, currently most areas are of mixed use. Residential,
business, market areas have deviated from their original area type which is a challenge for
transportation planner. According to RSTP concept, a public-transport-oriented city cannot be
realized solely by introducing mass transit as a mode of transportation; it must also be
associated with effective integrated urban areas and a corresponding shift of lifestyle of the
people. There are three principals provided by RSTP which can influence land use of DMA
area in a great way. Those are:
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Sustainable Urban Transportation Index (SUTI) for Dhaka, Bangladesh
All the bus stops are connected to different destinations via city bus, CNG or rickshaw which
are readily available. Major railway terminals of Dhaka city are basically Kamlapur Station
and Airport Station. Both stations have an adjacent parking area for rickshaw, CNG, private
car and bikes. There are buses adjacent to the stations to provide facilities to middle and low-
income passengers to reach their destination. In the airport area, there is a three storied parking
facility for private cars. At outside there is also a parking area for CNG and other transports.
Moreover, inter modal bus facility and train station is available right in the front gate of airport.
There are also some issues with the quality of some intermodal transport. Sometimes,
passengers need to wait long to get bus or CNG to reach their destination and it’s very difficult
to use bus during the peak hours due to overcrowded passengers. In few places some rickshaw
and CNG stands are available, but in most of the cases there is none. So, they pick passengers
by stopping right in the middle of the road which creates congestions and safety concerns.
In RSTP, based on the proposed BRT and MRT network, 21 transportation hubs or multimodal
stations throughout DMA area has been suggested (Figure 2.6-1). These facilities will include
drop-off and pick-up points for rickshaws, taxis, cars, motorcycles, circular waterway, as well
as parking and bus interchanges with primary and feeder bus systems.
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Sustainable Urban Transportation Index (SUTI) for Dhaka, Bangladesh
The existing urban transportation policies may have various reflections of previous initiatives
which were being taken by agencies related to transport sector. Some Initiatives are discussed
below:
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Sustainable Urban Transportation Index (SUTI) for Dhaka, Bangladesh
2.7.1 Initiatives
In the past, urban transport received little attention, as investment went more in infrastructure
development for inter-urban linkages and for opening up links to rural growth centers. The 4th
Five Year Plan of Bangladesh (1990-95) indicated urban transport problems and stated to be
tackled, particularly in the metropolitan areas. Government, therefore, undertook a study the
‘Greater Dhaka Metropolitan Area Integrated Transport Study (DITS)’ (1992-94), funded by
UNDP. In line with the findings of the study, World Bank formulated a project – “Dhaka Urban
Transport Project”. In the short-term basis this project addressed: urgent policy issues,
infrastructure bottlenecks and traffic management constraints, and in the longer term this
project focused on planning, institutional and policy action. Based on another recommendation
of the World Bank for strengthening coordination mechanism, Greater Dhaka Transport
Planning and Coordination Board (GDTPCB) was established. The Board has recently been
renamed as Dhaka Transport Coordination Board (DTCA). While efforts are underway to
improve urban transport situation in Dhaka, similar initiatives need to be taken to address urban
transport problems in other cities. (Mahmud, Rahman , & Rabbi).
The vision of RSTP, 2015 is basically “Green Dhaka with Blue River and Green Urban” for
Dhaka. To accomplish this vision, six strategies has been suggested to be followed. Among
those the first strategy is to “Develop public-transportation-oriented urban areas to ensure
people’s mobility and to promote an environment-friendly society”. RSTP defined overall
urban transport goal as the following: “Ensure mobility and accessibility to urban services that
are vital for the people and the society, by providing a transport system characterized by safety,
amenity, and equity and sustained by an efficient public transport system”. On the basis of this
goal, eight specific objectives are provided and to fulfill those, policies are suggested. The
strategies are:
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Sustainable Urban Transportation Index (SUTI) for Dhaka, Bangladesh
Several mega projects are going on in the Dhaka city. The projects focused on the improvement
of public transportation system of the city. Few of them are described below:
Figure 2.8-1 Existing and proposed transportations projects for Dhaka city
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Sustainable Urban Transportation Index (SUTI) for Dhaka, Bangladesh
Greater Dhaka Sustainable Urban Transport Project [BRT Gazipur-Airport] is another mega
project approved by the government to implement 20 km long BRT route, starting from Hazrat
Shahjalal International Airport to Gazipur. Once BRT project is in operation, it will carry 20
thousand passenger/hour/direction and travelling time will be half of the present (Bangladesh
Bridge Authority, 2018). Construction work of this project is going on.
Dhaka Metro Rail project also known as MRT LINE-6, is the first metro rail project in the
country. It will run all the way from Uttara to Motijheel, covering the distance of 18.9
kilometers, with 16 stations along the way. In 2021, an estimated 5 lakh people will commute
by MRT Line-6 every day. The construction of this project is also going on.
Moreover, BRTC is adding new buses to its fleet. Due to shortage of buses, BRTC could not
meet the demand of people so the service is being hampered. To solve these issues, buses along
with some double-decker are going to be added in BRTC fleet. Again, to solve congestion issue
and reduce the number of Road Accidents DTCA will introduce Intelligent Traffic System
(ITC) in the city. Under the intelligent traffic system (ITS), closed circuit cameras (CC
cameras) or vehicle detectors (car detecting equipment) will calculate and monitor the number
of cars on the road. The device will keep records of the number of vehicles passing through a
lane at a certain time.
Along with these Mega projects many projects to educate people like Car Free Day celebration
started in Dhaka from 2016 through government and non-government initiatives and it was
first celebrated at national level. Road Transport and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader
announced publicly that, Manik Mia Avenue in Dhaka will be car free during morning time of
first Friday of every month.
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Sustainable Urban Transportation Index (SUTI) for Dhaka, Bangladesh
Government is also funding many projects to improve pedestrian facilities. DNCC had done
the work of road improvement, storm drainage and construction of roadside drains and
footpaths in the Gulshan, Banani and Baridhara areas. They had installed the country's first
pedestrian escalator as part of a footbridge to encourage people to use overpass and prevent
unsafe road crossing. It was established under CASE project in mid of 2009 and located at the
intersection of Banani Road Number 11 and Airport Road.
Ride sharing service has become a popular phenomenon in Dhaka city. Uber started it all after
launching their operation at 2016 and the popularity of this tech company saw rapid rise when
it branched out to Dhaka. This paved the way for other companies to follow the trend. Around
same time, “Pathao”, another bike and car sharing app started and got huge popularity.
Currently there are many ride sharing services like Shohoz, Obhai, MUV Asia etc.
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Sustainable Urban Transportation Index (SUTI) for Dhaka, Bangladesh
3.1 Introduction
Data collection for different indicators to develop SUTI comprises of field data collection, data
collection from appropriate authority and reviewing different relevant sources. Four
consultation meetings were organized during data collection and analysis:
First consultation meeting was held under the chairmanship of Executive Director of DTCA
on 04th May 2018. Mr. Noor-E-Alam, Superintending Engineer of Roads and Highway
Department, presented the concept of SUTI and proposed to assess the current state of transport
system in Dhaka City through Sustainable Urban Transport Index (SUTI). He also proposes to
organize a capacity building workshop on SUTI. Executive Director of DTCA opted that a
capacity building workshop can be organized with UNESCAP. After the meeting he officially
wrote to UNESCAP to assist DTCA to organize the workshop.
The second stakeholder meeting was chaired by Rakibur Rahman, Additional Secretary and
Executive Director, DTCA on 6th June 2018. In this meeting representatives from BUET,
Dhaka BRT, BRTA, DTCA, ARI, RAJUK, DMRTDP, GDSUTP, non–government
organization were present. Mr. Madan B. Regmi, Economic affairs officer of UNESCAP
attended the meeting. Mr. Regmi presented on various aspects of SUTI. He also shared some
other cities experience where SUTI was implemented.
c. Third consultation meeting on 10th June 2018 at Ministry of Road Transport and
Highways
Third consultation meeting was held at Ministry of Road Transport and Bridges under the
chairmanship of honorable secretary Mr Nazrul Islam, Road transport and Highways division.
Mr. Noor-E-Alam, Superintending Engineer of Roads and Highway Department, presented the
concept of SUTI and details aspect of capacity building workshop on SUTI. After detail
discussion it was decided that the workshop will be jointly organized by DTCA, RHD, BRTA
and UNESCAP and subject to the approval of the honorable minister the workshop can be
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Sustainable Urban Transportation Index (SUTI) for Dhaka, Bangladesh
organize during the month of September. It was also decided that Mr. Noor-E-Alam from RHD
and Mr. Anisur Rahman, from DTCA would work as the focal point for the workshop.
The last consultation meeting was held on 4th September 2018 to discuss the findings of the
study with three experts. 2 professors from BUET and 1 from DTCA. Detail data collection
approach, analysis and results were presented. Based on the feedback the draft report was
modified.
After all consultation meetings the final report of SUTI was prepared for Dhaka.
Indicators Description
1 Extent to which transport plans cover public transport, intermodal facilities and
infrastructure for active modes
2 Modal share of active and public transport in commuting
3 Convenient access to public transport service
4 Public transport quality and reliability
5 Traffic fatalities per 100,000 inhabitants
6 Affordability – travel costs as part of income
7 Operational costs of the public transport system
8 Investment in public transportation systems
9 Air quality (PM10)
10 Greenhouse gas emissions (CO2eq tons/year)
Overall data collection procedure along with sources for different indicators are described
below:
Indicator 1
Indicator 1 was analyzed based on most recent transport plans which covers public transport,
intermodal facilities and infrastructure for active modes. Revised Strategic Transport Plan
(RSTP) Report, 2015 was used as the main secondary data source for evaluating this indicator.
RSTP has been endorsed by the Government on 2015. Moreover, National integrated
multimodal transport policy (NIMTP) 2013 along with two international conference reports on
“Evaluation of Level of Service for Pedestrian Movement in Dhaka city” and “Assessment of
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Sustainable Urban Transportation Index (SUTI) for Dhaka, Bangladesh
Indicator 2
Data required for indicator 2 were based on data of RSTP report, 2015 and Dhaka Urban
Transport Network Development Study (DHUTS) report, 2009. Daily Vehicular Traffic
Volume and Average Vehicle Occupancy data covering DMA area were provided in RSTP and
DHUTS report. From those data, modal share percentage of active and public transport mode
was calculated.
Indicator 3
For the calculation of indicator 3, Geographic Information (GIS) data of RSTP Report, 2015
were used provided by Dhaka Transport Corporation Authority (DTCA). Population density
map of DMA area, Bus route map along with bus stoppage points were analyzed to calculate
the percentage of people having convenient accessibility to public transports.
Indicator 4
To calculate this indicator field survey was conducted at bus stops and on-boards, along 5 busy
corridors inside the DMA. 5 corridors are, Azimpur-Mirpur1; Gulisthan-Mohakhali-Gazipur;
Gulisthan-Mohammadpur; Azimpur-Mirpur10; Jatrabari-Progoti Shoroni-Abdullahpur.
Passengers who use public transports in their day to day life were asked questions about the
reliability and quality of public transports.
Indicator 5
Bangladesh Police has the official responsibility to collect accident data. The concerned Police
Stations fill-up ‘Accident Reporting Form’ (ARF) for each accident. Again, newspaper reports
also consider as source of accident data. Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology
has a renowned institute solely working with the accidents named “Accident Research Institute
(ARI)”. ARI received accident data mainly from Bangladesh police. For SUTI study, crash
data for the year 2013-2017 were collected from ARI. Population related data was collected
from the publications of Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS).
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Sustainable Urban Transportation Index (SUTI) for Dhaka, Bangladesh
Indicator 6
During the field survey for indicator 4, data was also collected for indicator 6. Daily travel
expense along with their monthly income data was collected which was then used to calculate
affordability.
Indicator 7
The data for this indicator was collected from the final report of “Dhaka Bus Network and
Regulatory Reform Indicator”, 2012. The revenues and operational costs of Bus and mini buses
were provided there, and result is calculated.
Indicator 8
Both the data of investments on public transport and on active transport over the last five-year
and total transport investments by the city government, central government and development
partner over the same period (including, roads, signals, infrastructure, public transport
facilities, facilities for pedestrians and cyclists, etc.) were collected from annul Reports of
DNCC and DSCC (2014-2017) and other related secondary source.
Indicator 9
There are three Continuous Air Monitoring stations (CAMS) installed under Clean Air and
Sustainable Environment (CASE) Project within Dhaka City. These CAMS are continuously
collecting PM2.5 and PM10 data. From monthly published reports of 2017 PM 10 values are
taken from three CAMS of Dhaka.
Indicator 10
From Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation (BPC) fuel consumption (diesel and petrol) and as
per the guideline provided by ESCAP CO2 emitted from fuel burning is calculated using
standard CO2 emission factor. Population related data was collected from the publications of
Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS).
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Sustainable Urban Transportation Index (SUTI) for Dhaka, Bangladesh
4.1 Indicator 1: Extent to which transport plans cover public transport, intermodal
facilities and infrastructure for active modes
Transport complexity is one of the major issues now in Dhaka City. Due to huge population
pressure this issue is hard to solve and day by day this problem is becoming more acute. To
mitigate this problem, the procedure has to be systematic, sustainable and realistic. Visions,
goals and policies need to be set in such a way that integrates the existing situation with the
future solutions. Government of Bangladesh implemented many large projects to lessen
transport complexities, but due to lack of sustainability measures, many projects failed to work
properly. In 2015, Bangladesh Government accompanied by JICA has provided a report on
Revised Strategic Transport Plans (RSTP) which analysed previous transport policies and
identified some lacking. The newly proposed transport plans along with their opportunities
were stated in that report too. This chapter will focus on the data analysis, scoring procedure
and other discussions regarding SUTI indicator 1.
There are 4 aspects in Indicator 1, i.e. Walking, Cycling, Intermodal Transfer Facilities and
Public Transports. To analyse these 4 aspects, three factors are taken to consideration which
are: Stating clear goals and visions for each aspect, designating infrastructure, facilities and
measures for each aspect in the plan and allocating funding, specifying budgets, and securing
finance for the facilities.
Among these aspects public transport system is highly prioritised in RSTP report. The overall
urban transport goal stated in the report can be detailed as: mobility and accessibility will be
ensured for people with their safety, amenity and equity and a public transport-based city will
be created through 60% public transport-based mode share. So, there is quantitative vision
regarding public transportation system. Objectives like promotion of public transport use and
expansion of services, providing an affordable public transport system and so on are enlisted
to fulfil this goal. Moreover, 5 MRT and 2 BRT lines were proposed. One MRT and one BRT
corridor will be in operation by 2020. Moreover, railway and waterway were also encouraged
as public transport mode. Adequate funding was proposed to develop public transportation
system within Dhaka city.
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Sustainable Urban Transportation Index (SUTI) for Dhaka, Bangladesh
The objectives of Urban Transport Plans stated in RSTP, 2015 are highly concentrated on
promoting integrated urban and transport development, particularly Transit Oriented
Development (TOD). TOD highly focuses on walking facilities and parking requirements of
the city. To encourage walking as a sustainable mode of transport, Bangladesh Government
has declared some areas as ‘motorized free zones’ for specific times or days. Moreover, car
free day celebration takes places in Dhaka city since 2004 and recently one road is declared as
car free during the first Friday of every month. These initiatives not only encourage walking
but also help to create sustainable environment. According to DHUTS report, 4 locations of
existing pedestrian underpasses in Dhaka are: Gulistan intersection, Gabtoli Bus terminal,
Sayedabad (Dhalpur) and Karwan Bazar. Moreover, there is already 87 constructed foot over
bridges in Dhaka city (Daily Sun, 2017) to ease the pedestrian crossing at intersections.
There is no clear strategy to provide bicycle routes. Some policies (policy 70 & 71) were
proposed where Bicycle is recognized as a mode of transport and separate lanes and crossings
is proposed within the city in order to make bicycle journeys safe. It is also proposed that to
make bicycle affordable to the poorer sections of society. Government should support local
manufacture. Recently huge interest has been observed among young generations to use bicycle
and many students and employees are using it for daily commute. But no realistic funding is
secured.
Based on the proposed mass transit network, 21 transportation hubs or multimodal stations
were identified throughout Dhaka and its suburbs as indicated in Figure 2.6. The primary
existing multimodal transportation interchanges include Dhaka International Airport,
Kamalapur Station, Mohakhali bus Terminal, Jatra Bari Bus Terminal, Gabtoli Bus Terminal,
Gabtoli Circular Waterway Station, and Shdarghat Boat Terminal. In addition, there are other
locations where interchange facilities between transportation modes can be developed within
RAJUK area.
Under the vision of ensuring ‘Efficient Traffic Control and Management’, objective of
establishing parking policy and controls is also enlisted. This objective can pursue intermodal
transfer facility in a great extent. Moreover, in various important terminals and nodes
intermodal transfer facilities are observed which helps the mobilization of public.
25
Sustainable Urban Transportation Index (SUTI) for Dhaka, Bangladesh
26
Sustainable Urban Transportation Index (SUTI) for Dhaka, Bangladesh
4.1.3 Conclusion
Sum of the scores value to enter in the final data sheet is 8. This score is based on RSTP report,
2015 and scoring is conducted by a panel of 4 experts. The measures needed to improve the
situation are:
• Dedicated bicycle networks along major roads should be constructed and adequate
budget needs to be secured for this sector.
• Continuous footpaths in the DMA should be planned with ramps for special need
people.
• Overpass or underpass should be provided at the busy intersections for crossing
• Intermodal facilities should be developed at all existing and future transit nodes.
• Immediate implementation of Bus sector reform project.
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Sustainable Urban Transportation Index (SUTI) for Dhaka, Bangladesh
The survey data of RSTP Report, 2015 has been used to calculate this indicator. The data of all
motorized and non-motorized modes of Dhaka city was provided there, except the data of
walking. Later the walking data is collected from DHUTS report, 2009 as it was compatible
with the other data. After the data collection, using statistical total number of trips was
calculated for each mode of transport through multiplying Daily Vehicular Traffic Volume
with Average Vehicle Occupancy.
After this calculation, all the modes were categorized into three sections, as defined in the SUTI
guideline by UN ESCAP. All kind of buses, auto tempo, CNG, Laguna and Rickshaw were in
Public transport category. Walking and cycling were considered as active transport. Private
cars, motorcycles, taxi and Mini Vans were categorized as individual motorized transport. Then
the percentage of modal share was calculated from the grand total of all three categories.
Individual
Mode Trip Numbers percentage
Bus 1353760 56.19
28
Sustainable Urban Transportation Index (SUTI) for Dhaka, Bangladesh
By observing the table, it can be stated that people of Dhaka are quite depended on the public
transports and due to cheapest fare level people use buses at very high rate. Moreover, due to
absence of proper cycling facility, the number of bi-cycle trips is the lowest. Almost 16%
people prefer walking and most of them choose it due to financial constraints.
4.2.2 Conclusion
Dhaka is an exception to all other cities as huge amount of people are very much depended on
public transports though condition of public transport is not comfortable. To improvise the
situation following measures can be taken:
• Quality and reliable Bus service should be introduced to keep this high share.
Convenient and efficient public transport system should be provided, and they should
be properly and timely maintained. This can ensure less greenhouse gas emission along
with establishing a sustainable urban transport system.
• Once MRT and BRT will be in operation public transport share may increase due to
more reliable service.
Accessibility measures integration between land use and transport. Population and other socio-
economic features change with the change of land use. Transport terminals and stoppages
should be provided by complementing that land use and purpose. Trips are being generated for
various purpose like work, education, recreation, business, shopping etc. Being the capital of
Bangladesh, Dhaka has a huge amount of educational institutions, working companies,
29
Sustainable Urban Transportation Index (SUTI) for Dhaka, Bangladesh
industries and business sectors and this significant concentration generates huge number of
trips. Moreover, the average trip length for the people of DMA is 5.3km/trip and it is expected
to be increased at 6.7km/trip by 2035 (JICA & DTCA, 2015). Along with all, a population
density of 56,120 persons/km2 creates a huge pressure on the existing bus stops and terminals.
So, to support this huge population density and trip demand, proper accessibility of public
transport is a crucial need for Dhaka City. SUTI, Indicator 3 is defined by the rate of population
within 500-meter radius of bus stoppage with 20 minutes frequency of buses. This indicator
will reflect the percentage of people having proper accessibility of public transports in Dhaka
city.
Geographic Information (GIS Data) of Dhaka City was taken from RSTP data source. The Data
included bus route, bus stoppage and population density of DMA area for the year 2011. The
updated bus routes and stoppages were being analysed but due to unavailability of recent
population data in authorized GIS format, previously created data of 2011 was used. Almost
all the bus stops of Dhaka have a frequency of 2 or 3 buses within every 15 minutes.
The GIS data was processed in Arc map GIS 10.3. The number of total bus stops were 237 and
these were buffered for 500m radius. Then the buffer bus stoppage data clipped population
density of Dhaka City. After that, through field geometry the buffered area was calculated.
Later through multiplication of population density and buffered area the number of people
having proper accessibility to public transport was calculated. The result represents that more
than 56 percent people are having the accessibility of public transports.
Aspects Quantity
30
Sustainable Urban Transportation Index (SUTI) for Dhaka, Bangladesh
Convenient access to The data is based on the DMA 2011 census for
public transport 56.5 2011 population in areas within 500 m of main
service nodes, and the 2011 schedule of public buses.
4.3.2 Conclusion
Though more than 50 percent people are having the proper accessibility of public transport,
huge lack of well-defined bus stoppage exists in the roads of Dhaka city. As a result, drivers
randomly pick passengers from various places. This creates congestion on the roads as well as
raise the risk of accidents. Measures need to be taken to improvise the situation:
• Transit oriented development (TOD) shall be introduced. This will increase the
accessibility of people.
• Well defined bus stops should be provided into places where trip generation rate is high.
31
Sustainable Urban Transportation Index (SUTI) for Dhaka, Bangladesh
• To improve “Last mile connectivity” access roads need to be constructed and cheap
transport options should be provided.
• Adequate east – west connecting routes need to be developed.
Reliability and quality are two very important factors for daily commuters. A reliable public
transport service is one that adheres to schedule, whose vehicles run on-time along with proper
information of routes, fare level and frequency of buses. On the other hand, quality can be
ensured through providing comfort and cleanliness, behaviour of service operators and safety.
SUTI Indicator 4 focuses on reliability and quality factors through analysing 8 aspects, i.e.
frequency of buses, punctuality, comfort and cleanliness, safety of vehicles, convenient of bus
stops, information availability, personal courtesy and fare level. Percentage of peoples’
satisfaction over these aspects would provide an over view of reliability and quality of public
transports in Dhaka City.
The data for this indicator was collected through field survey. The survey was conducted at bus
stops and on board. People who use public transports on daily basis were asked to answer the
questions regarding the factors. 280 passengers were interviewed about the 8 aspects of this
indicator and 100 of them were women.
After the data collection, all the data were being statistically analysed. The total number of
responses in each individual factor was calculated. Then weighted average of all the aspects
along with the percentage of satisfaction was calculated.
32
Sustainable Urban Transportation Index (SUTI) for Dhaka, Bangladesh
By analysing the results, it can be observed that more than 50 percent people are satisfied with
the fare level and also the satisfaction score of personal courtesy level is satisfactory. But
people are highly dis-satisfied with the safety issues. During, boarding and alighting from buses
the drivers and helpers do not provide proper attention to passenger’s safety. In fact, the chasing
and racing tendency of drivers is also observed in highly busy roads. Punctuality got very poor
satisfaction level as due to frequent stops at sudden boarding/alighting of passengers and due
to congestion maintaining schedule is difficult. Though enough buses from different companies
are available on the road, still there is a huge lack of well-defined bus stoppage.
33
Sustainable Urban Transportation Index (SUTI) for Dhaka, Bangladesh
4.4.2 Conclusion
From the above result it is well understood that the reliability and quality level in Dhaka city
is very low. Various measures can be taken to improve the situation:
• At grade boarding and alighting and provision for special need people at stations and
inside buses should be provided.
• Old malfunctioned buses should be gradually phase out from the city.
• Traffic management system needs to be improved
• Regular training program for drivers.
Road accidents costing Bangladesh in the order of US $800 million (nearly 2% of GDP) each
year (Hoque & Alam, 2002). Therefore, making roads safer is one of the prime importance. As
set in the SUTI guideline this indicator depends on the number of fatalities to population of
Dhaka city.
Crash data was collected from Accident Research Institute (ARI) established at Bangladesh
University of Engineering and Technology (BUET), Dhaka. The following table represents the
fatality data in Dhaka:
Table 4-9 Accidents and casualties in Dhaka Metropolitan Area (2013-2017)
No. of
No. of No. of No. of Severe Total No.
Year Simple
Accidents Fatality Injury of Injury
Injury
34
Sustainable Urban Transportation Index (SUTI) for Dhaka, Bangladesh
The collected data were processed for deriving the SUTI indictor value. Firstly, the fatality data
were separated for calculation (figure 5.2). Other casualty data were ignored as directed in the
“SUTI data collection guidelines”.
320
301
300
280
280 273
Fatalities
264
260
247
240
220
2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018
Year
Figure 4.5-1 Total number of fatalities in recent years within Dhaka Metropolitan Area
Secondly, the population census data of 2001 and 2011 were used to derive the growth rate.
The derived growth rate was used to project the population for 2017 (Annex 1). Finally, both
the population and fatality data were used to calculate the indictor value using the following
formula:
35
Sustainable Urban Transportation Index (SUTI) for Dhaka, Bangladesh
𝐹𝑖 ∗ 100,000
Fatality Rate, FRi =
𝐼𝑖
Where,
FRi is the fatality rate per 100,000 inhabitants in year i
Fi is the number of total fatalities (for all modes) in year i
Ii is the number of total inhabitants in year i
4.5.2 Conclusion
Results found for this indicator indicated a fair good situation for Dhaka. As the population is
huge and the reported number is not that high the overall situation looks good. The fatality data
is taken from police reported data. Data collection for fatality is based on fatality happened
during the event of any accident. In Bangladesh the post-accident fatality is not reported as the
event of accident and there are evidences of un-reported fatality also. In Dhaka most of the
fatalities occurs with pedestrian. So, adopting the following may improve the situation of safety
more:
• Improving Pedestrian crossing facilities at intersection.
• Adequate Training for driver for safe driving.
• More awareness program should be initiated.
• Improve traffic arrangement system (ITS, modern signaling etc.)
36
Sustainable Urban Transportation Index (SUTI) for Dhaka, Bangladesh
A statistical analysis took place after the field data collection for this indicator. During field
survey some passenger complaint about the fluctuation of fare. They mentioned that sometimes
the conductor asked for higher fare then the published fare. The collected data were based on
daily number of trips, cost of per trip and monthly income. After multiplying the cost of per
trip with the daily number of trips, cost per day was found. This cost was multiplied with the
number of working days of Bangladesh. The result represents monthly cost of travel. Then the
percentage calculation of monthly expenditure on travel was derived.
37
Sustainable Urban Transportation Index (SUTI) for Dhaka, Bangladesh
The result represents the average wage level for lower income group is 17, 375 BDT where the
expenditure for travelling is 2,752 BDT (only who travels in Buses and Mini Buses). Almost
16 percent of the income is expended on day to day travel and this represents a huge pressure
on the lower income group.
4.6.2 Conclusion
To improvise the situations following strategies can be applied:
• A more convenient fare level can be proposed by the government through providing
subsidies over the fuel sector.
• Special pass for student, senior citizen and special need people can be introduced. This
will attract people more toward public transports rather than the private one. It may
convert into a very fruitful step to fulfill the RSTP vision of making Dhaka a public
transport-oriented city.
• Strong monitoring is required whether the operators are following the fare fixed by the
government.
Operating costs in transportation sector basically includes three major sections which are
running cost (Fuel cost, wage of driver and support staff), maintenance cost and fixed cost (rent
of garage, insurance, road permit and so on). To cover these costs transport companies basically
38
Sustainable Urban Transportation Index (SUTI) for Dhaka, Bangladesh
depends on revenues collected through fares or other ways like advertisements. Revenues
received by the sale of tickets, passes, and concession to the passengers (i.e. the payment
received from passengers for the journey performed). This indicator is defined by the
percentage of operational cost recovered by fares and usually termed as fare box ration. This
section will focus on the data analysis and other discussion related to this indicator.
Initially field survey was conducted by following the questionaries’ received from UNESCAP.
But most of the operator found reluctant to disclose their business secret. Then after
consultation with UNESCAP expert, data from Dhaka Bus Network and Regulatory Reform
Implementation Report, 2012 was used. Operational cost is calculated through multiplying
standard operating cost with the defined route round trip length, trips per day, Daily Run and
Round-Trip Time. The revenue data was given, and percentage of recovery rate was calculated
through total operating and revenue cost.
This indicator is a critical economic variable as it represents the financial stability of the
operator. Though Dhaka city has a huge population which depends upon public transportation
services, but the recovery rate is almost 74 percent which clearly indicates government
subsidies is needed.
Dhaka Public Transport companies generally do not have other sources of recovery like
advertisement, retail services or others. Moreover, according to findings of Dhaka Bus Network
and Regulatory Reform Implementation Report, the following factors also emphasize on
unsustainable financial operation
39
Sustainable Urban Transportation Index (SUTI) for Dhaka, Bangladesh
• The commercial speed of 9 km/h is very low when compared to optimal international
standards between 25-30 km/h.
• Low commercial speed is negatively affecting the number of passengers that can board
the buses during the day, which in turn translates into reduced revenues.
• Low commercial speed also impacts negatively the profit levels of operators as it keeps
variable costs relatively high. In simpler words, the fleet is burning fuel while in
congested streets instead of plying the roads and moving passengers.
• Current official rate levels do not seem to cover the needs of the operators to sustain an
efficient operation of buses.
4.7.2 Conclusion
Investments in transportation sector plays an important role to enhance the mobility of the city
dweller. Being the capital city of Bangladesh, Dhaka faced huge migration pressure ever year
and thus requires more investment in transport sector. The 8th indicator of SUTI is basically
defined by the percentage of total transport investment to investment on public and active
transport. This section will focus on the data Analysis and other discussion related to indicator
8.
The indicator is basically derived from two basic data sets which are:
• Investments in Public and active Transport Systems and Facilities (last 5 years)
• Investments on Total Transport Sector (including all the aspects both private and
public)
40
Sustainable Urban Transportation Index (SUTI) for Dhaka, Bangladesh
Table 4-17 Total data of overall transport and public transport facilities
The total amount of all kind of registered vehicle for Dhaka city is 51974 (BRTA, 2018) and
among them the number of buses and minibuses are respectively 12055 and 673. These buses
and minibuses are contributing as public transport from 2013-2018. No new bus depots,
terminals or stops are developed during the last five years. No workshops regarding
improvising services, capacity or awareness building took place in the last five years.
According to the officials of Dhaka North City Corporation (DNCC) 20-25 % of the transport
sector related budget is invested into improving pedestrian facility whereas no budget is
secured for bi-cycle lane.
4.8.2 Conclusion
Due to recent huge investment in some mega project i.e. MRT line 6, BRT line 3 and some
ongoing PPP projects, the ratio is high considering the real scenario. However, as per the advice
of UNESCAP expert the maximum value (50%) is considered.
41
Sustainable Urban Transportation Index (SUTI) for Dhaka, Bangladesh
Air pollution is one of the major problems of Dhaka city. Different pollutants are responsible
for the air quality degradation of Dhaka. Particulate matter is one of them. According to
Environment Protection Agency of USA, “Particulate Matter” refers to a mixture of solid
particles and liquid droplets found in the air. “Particulate Matters” are so small that they can
be inhaled and cause serious health problems. Particles less than 10 micrometers in diameter
pose the greatest problems, because they can get deep into the lungs, and some may even get
into the bloodstream. Brick kiln and Transport sector are the two major source of PM 10
pollution in Dhaka.
The ambient air quality monitoring network of Bangladesh consists of eleven fixed Continuous
Air Monitoring Stations (CAMS).
Among all the 11 CAMS, only three are in Dhaka metropolitan Area. Brief description of the
monitoring stations located in Dhaka Metropolitan area and the list of measured parameters
recorded at each station are provided in the following table.
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Sustainable Urban Transportation Index (SUTI) for Dhaka, Bangladesh
4.9.3 Conclusion:
The indicator value is high compare to the standard set by the SUTI guideline. This implies
that Dhaka may have to struggle a lot to reduce the value of PM 10 concentration and also
43
Sustainable Urban Transportation Index (SUTI) for Dhaka, Bangladesh
improve the existing pollution level. The measures which can improve the state are given
below:
Greenhouse gas emissions has been a concern all over the world as it is responsible for global
warming. CO2 shares a major portion of greenhouse gas and transport sector is highly
responsible for the emission of CO2. In Dhaka city registered motor vehicles are 3419884
(Bangladesh Road Transport Authority, 2018). Fuel used for vehicles are diesel, petrol and
CNG. SUTI indicator 10 is denotes greenhouse gas emissions in CO2eq tons/year which
represents CO2 equivalent emissions from transport by urban residents per annum per capita.
In Bangladesh fossil fuel is mostly imported and Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) is extracted
from mines. Different fuel types like High Speed Diesel (HSD), Superior Kerosene Oil (SKO),
Motor Spirit (MS), High Octane Blended Component (HOBC), Jet Fuel and others are used.
HSD is a Diesel type of fuel where MS and HOBC are Petrol type of fuel. For this indicator,
yearly amount consumed of diesel and petrol were collected from Bangladesh Petroleum
Corporation. Data was found for Dhaka division and it was estimated that more than 70% fuel
consumed in the metropolitan area by motorized transport. Data calculation is shown in the
table below.
Table 4-21 Converted data of sold gasoline and diesel per year into CO2
There are some limitations regarding the calculation of greenhouse gas emission. For Dhaka,
there has not been any work on CO2 emission from transport sector. So, overall fuel sell data
44
Sustainable Urban Transportation Index (SUTI) for Dhaka, Bangladesh
was used for Dhaka division and then it was estimated after talking to experts that around 70%
of this sell has been used by motorized transport in Dhaka city. Again, many vehicles used in
Dhaka are very old which may be responsible for more CO2 emission which was not accounted
in this calculation. Result of this calculation is shown below in Table 4-22.
4.10.2 Conclusion
Though in terms of CO2 emission Dhaka is in better position. It can be further improved by
the following measures:
• Old malfunctioned vehicles need to be gradually phased out
• Electric/ Hybrid vehicles should be promoted
• Use of CNG should be encouraged.
45
Sustainable Urban Transportation Index (SUTI) for Dhaka, Bangladesh
46
Sustainable Urban Transportation Index (SUTI) for Dhaka, Bangladesh
47
Sustainable Urban Transportation Index (SUTI) for Dhaka, Bangladesh
Indicators of SUTI has provided a quantitative analysis on the existing transport situation of
Dhaka city. The overall index indicated a moderate situation (geometric mean 46.27). The basic
findings of these indicators are given below;
48
Sustainable Urban Transportation Index (SUTI) for Dhaka, Bangladesh
• The operating cost of the public transport companies is not covered by fare revenues in
many cases. Low commercial speed negatively affecting the revenue as it lowers the
number of passengers. Moreover, these companies do not have other sources of
recovery like advertisement, retail services or others.
• The concentration of PM 10 particles is very high in the air of Dhaka, and these particles
is decreasing the air quality in a drastic way.
Data collection is always a big challenge like other mega cities. We faced several obstructions
during data collection, for this reason some old study data is used. However, DTCA can take
some initiative to collect data for refining the SUTI.
Along with Dhaka city participants from various cities like Surat, In Ho Chi Minh, Surabaya
presented their index results and overall transport system in the Capacity Building Workshop
of Dhaka, 2018. Some general measures taken by these cities can be implemented in Dhaka
city for future improvements. Some of them are discussed below:
• Street priorities should be established. The first priority should be provided to the
pedestrians, second priority should be given to bicyclists and thirdly the car riders.
• Taking Surat free ride example for BRT can be replicated for Upcoming MRT and BRT
operation.
• More public awareness programs with meaningful agenda like: “No person should be
killed on the road” needs to be taken. And long-term activities should be planned and
implemented.
• SUTI indicator should be updated in every 2 year.
49
Sustainable Urban Transportation Index (SUTI) for Dhaka, Bangladesh
50
Sustainable Urban Transportation Index (SUTI) for Dhaka, Bangladesh
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