THE PROPOSED MASS TRANSIT LINES TOWARDS SUSTAINABLE URBAN PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM: A CASE STUDY FOR METROPOLITAN DHAKA, BANGLADESH

Abstract

Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh, needs to have an efficient and effective transit system to cope with its increasing transportation demand and traffic congestion, where improvements of mass transit systems are desirable. For that several initiative have been taken by the Government of Bangladesh , including the introduction of Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) and rail based Mass Rapid Transit (MRT)/Metro which will be the first Mass Transit Systems in Bangladesh . By addressing the transportation condition of Dhaka city, this paper tried to find the ways of achieving sustainable urban transit system within the existing situation, where special focus is given to analyze the prospect of achieving sustainability through the proposed Mass Transit System. The thesis also investigates the opportunities and challenges of implementing BRT or Metro in Dhaka, including argument about which mode of mass transit system is more sustainable for Dhaka city. This will provide the requisite feedback that could influence transportation practitioners, policy makers, transportation geographers, and planners in general, to put in practical measures to address the challenges. The summaries of major findings of the studies are as follows: • BRT system could be the first choice of sustainable urban transport options for Dhaka City; where Metro is considered as a less feasible option because of its huge implementation cost including its operation and maintenance cost, which is difficult to conquer for a poor country like Bangladesh. • However, BRT is not able to fulfill the passenger demand of most corridors in Dhaka city. Thus, BRT system will not work alone. • Metro is necessary to resolve the current and future demands of Dhaka. Besides that, Dhaka already achieved the required demographic and economic levels to start operating both BRT and Metro. • Therefore, an integrated transport system of Metro and BRT are needed, where the systems should be integrated with other mode like normal bus services, existing train services, NMV and pedestrians. Special facilities for pedestrians, bicyclists, disabled persons should be considered. • The funding for these projects is likely to become more and more difficult to obtain, especially for the Metro project. An efficient and effective source of fund is needed to ensure that feasible conditions are in place before implementation takes place. • Nevertheless, nothing can be possible without adopting the strategies to restrain the growth of population in the city. Moreover, Dhaka could be gradually move or extend to a suitable location of the country where sufficient buildable land is available and connectivity with different parts of the country by different modes is quite well. After getting those major finding from the analysis, a few policy guide lines and recommendations are provided towards achieving sustainable transportation system in Dhaka .It also suggested some further research to fulfill and extend the objectives of the present research.