I have been trying to write on this topic for quite a some time, but nothing seems to work when you are absorbed in many things. So, with sacrificing some other things, I finally am able to write about it.
As, currently living in Dhaka because of job (I do not like either of these two except the peoples in my office 😅) which is on the the list leader of most polluted, populated and unlivable cities, I need to commute through the traffic while going and returning from office.
For the last two weeks, I have been using public transport obviously because it is the cheapest option available. But, it comes with many cons!
You see, the public transportation system is not government owned. It is owned by private organizations or group of people. Those people are there for the profit rather than providing service. It is a busy city with vast population, who travels everyday. The main transport is bus which commutes intracity. Those who become capable, they buy private vehicle at the first opportunity. The unimaginable number of vehicles wrecks havock on the roads, making Dhaka one of the slowest cities.
Hours may pass by, without moving even an inch! Though the incorporation of metro-rail and expressways have been made. How much that improved the traffic quality? Well, somewhere I read only 2% will be able to be benefitted if all the routes of the metro is operational. (Sorry, as I cannot recall or find the source.)
Okay, I am drifting away from what I wanted to talk about.😅
So, the route I commute, the distance from my resident to my office is around 7.5 kilometers. Which is relatively low. But, on an average, it takes around 40 minutes via local bus if I am lucky. The fastest I recorded was in Uber bike which took 18 minutes. You may say, that is not a huge amount of time. You would not be wrong. But you have to take in consideration that fro achieving that time, I need to get out more than one and half hour early. Just in the last week, I went out 10 minutes earlier, and guess what when I reached? Well, 20 minutes late! Does this make any sense? This is the reason I used the word lucky!
I do not know how this private system works, how the bus owners get money and how the driver and the conductors are paid. But I think, most of the time, the passengers and the bus owners are ripped off. The bus I travel, was supposedly 'gate-lock service'. So, it weren't supposed to take passengers outside of the fixed spots. They implemented ticketing system for it. While they did it, the fare rose! And that system only lasted for about two weeks! When people enquired about the reason of the service being stopped, the conductor replied, the bus owner was not getting the money.
How come? As they used digital devices for the ticket system, shouldn't it be recorded? People were okay with paying extra money, because of the comfort it came with. The busses were not crowded, no need to hang in a over crowded bus, there might be one coming shortly which is empty. My theory is, the conductor and the drivers are the ones who opposed it. They fill the busses more than twice of the capacity, you can barely set foot in there. And, while asking for fare, charge showing the reason they cannot lower the fare as the owners would not allow it.
Let me give an example the fare from A to B is 20 taka. There are three points in between A and B. a, C and b. C is the midpoint and fare is 10 taka. From a to C, it is 10 taka, but from a or just before C to b it is 20 taka! If asked the reason, they say the checker would not count from where the passengers get up or get down, they just count the heads.
Well, about the luck, during the rush hour, if I can get in a bus, which is moderately crowded, meaning all the seats are full and couple are standing, then that bus will not stop longer to take passengers often and thus some amount of time can be saved. But, if I get in a bus, which has a couple of vacant seats and no one is standing, then it will eat more than 15 minutes at a single place to pick up passengers.
Everyday there is dispute with the conductor and the driver. There is mainly three topics. Why it is standing still for so long, why the fare is not what he used to travel everyday, why the bus has not crossed the signal. The signal plays a vital role, if one cannot cross a signal then it takes about 10 more minutes, which is late in perspective of the passengers and opportunity to pick up more passengers for the conductor and driver. I think they share the extra money of the people who gets up after the checker counts the heads. The quarrels some times turns extreme! It feels like mayhem would begin any moment! But luckily, haven't yet.😅
I am not even considering the pickpockets, snatchers and other disasters! Also, most of the busses are in no way fit to be still running on the roads! Often the busses clashes, even busses from same organization clashes to go and get to the place from where passengers can be picked!
Amidst the arguments, somehow, I remain calm, maybe because I was not involved in those yet. I think, is there something in the air, which is making people go crazy? Like what was shown in the movie Kingsman: The Secret Service.
This city suffocates me. I am trying to escape this city. The suburbs are okay, the rural areas calm me. I have been in Dhaka for about 6 months, yet have not been able to bond with it.
May be the situation would be slightly better, if the transport sector was governed by government. And measures could be taken to stop the syndicates. But, this seems highly impossible at least for now.
Here is a funny video regarding local busses of Bangladesh. Most of you would not understand it as it is in Bangla, but you can understand the humor in the tone and the clips will say more than words. That is not my video, but as it is on facebook, and public, I think I can give it here.
That's all for today. Hopefully I will write something soon. Have a great day, week,month, year, life.