Pink bus to e-ticket: Why Dhaka's bus chaos persists

Dhaka's longstanding struggle to bring order to its chaotic public transport system has all along exposed the gap between policy ambition and on-the-ground reality.

Over the past decade, successive governments have launched multiple initiatives to rationalise bus routes and streamline operations. All those initiatives fell apart due to policy inconsistencies among relevant government agencies and strong opposition from transport owners' and workers' lobbies, sector insiders pointed out.

Against this grim background, the new government is once again signalling urgency of improving the city's public transport in line with its election manifesto. At a secretariat meeting on 2 March, Prime Minister Tarique Rahman prioritised restoring discipline in Dhaka's public transport and expressed interest in introducing electric buses within 180 days.

Series of failures

Around a decade ago, the then Awami League government had introduced plans including circular bus services between Dhanmondi and Azimpur, and city bus operations between Ghatarchar and Kanchpur. None delivered lasting results. Instead, disorder on Dhaka's roads has only intensified.

In a renewed attempt to restore order, the Dhaka Road Transport Owners' Association introduced a counter-based ticketing system and e-ticketing on 6 February 2025, starting with buses from Abdullahpur. All buses were painted pink to create a unified identity, but the plan quickly faltered due to resistance from transport workers, a lack of infrastructure, and disputes over wages that undermined implementation.

Earlier, in 2015, the late Dhaka North City Corporation mayor Annisul Huq attempted to bring six companies under a unified system. A committee was formed under his leadership to rationalise routes. Following his death in 2017, leadership passed to then Dhaka South mayor Sayeed Khokon, who piloted a circular bus service. The initiative stalled during the Covid-19 pandemic and never resumed.

In 2020, Dhaka South City Corporation mayor Sheikh Fazle Noor Taposh revived the effort, launching "Dhaka Nagar Paribahan" on route 21 from Keraniganj's Ghatarchar to Narayanganj's Kanchpur in December 2021. Additional routes were proposed in 2022. However, financial losses discouraged bus owners from participating, and expansion plans collapsed.

After August 2024, even the limited Nagar Paribahan service shut down entirely. A brief revival attempt came on 25 February 2025, when the Dhaka Transport Coordination Authority launched 35 air-conditioned buses on the Gabtoli-Chashara route. That service, too, eventually ceased operations.

The pink bus initiative suffered a similar fate. Despite deploying 2,610 buses from 21 companies, the absence of proper counters and incomplete e-ticketing infrastructure meant the system never functioned as intended. Labour dissatisfaction over wage structures further derailed the effort almost immediately.

As a result, none of the key reforms - eliminating reckless competition, enforcing designated stops, implementing e-ticketing, or even using colour coding for easy identification - have taken hold. Route rationalisation remains incomplete and inconsistent.

Even recent efforts under the interim government have struggled. Old, dilapidated buses were repainted pink and e-ticketing counters were installed. But many counters stopped operating within a week.

Buses continue to pick up and drop off passengers mid-road, ignoring designated stops. The pink buses themselves have reverted to aggressive competition, their paint now faded and worn. Traffic signs indicating official stopping points remain largely ignored - symbolic of a system where rules exist but are rarely followed.

According to data from the Bangladesh Road Transport Authority, nearly 9,027 buses operate across 291 routes in the capital. Yet enforcement remains weak. The traffic division of the Dhaka Metropolitan Police files between 1,800 and 2,000 cases on average, generating monthly fines of Tk13-14 crore for the state - an indication not of discipline but of persistent violations.

Currently, more than 100 companies operate roughly 6,000 buses across the capital - a fragmentation that continues to fuel unhealthy competition.

Acknowledging the failures of several initiatives to bring discipline to the routes, Dhaka Road Transport Owners' Association General Secretary Mohammad Saiful Alam told The Business Standard that while initiatives were taken, they were never effectively implemented due to the lack of cooperation from bus owners.

Drivers face constant pressure to meet daily income targets, pushing them into dangerous competition on the streets, he said.

Pointing to deeper structural issues, Dhruba Alam, transport planner of the Dhaka Transport Coordination Authority, said past initiatives lacked coordination among stakeholders and were often poorly planned.

Some, like the pink bus project, were largely symbolic. Crucially, there was no strong political leadership to bring all parties to the table, he said.

"Public transport is not just a technical issue; it is a political one," he said, adding that institutional conflicts - such as opposition from transport owners to DTCA-led initiatives-have repeatedly stalled progress.

Dhruba cautioned that large-scale reforms like route rationalisation or franchising cannot be completed within such a short timeframe. However, short-term goals include finalising the legal framework for bus franchising, expanding digital ticketing through Rapid Pass and reintroducing dedicated bus services for women.

Not a rocket science

Transport expert Md Shamsul Haque, a professor at Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology, said the government's renewed interest is encouraging but warned that past failures were largely due to resistance from vested interests at the operational level. Identifying those barriers will be key to future success.

Highlighting institutional weaknesses within BRTA, he cited a lack of skilled professionals in transport planning. Without proper expertise, congestion and inefficiency will only worsen.