The share of walking in covering daily trips generated in Greater Dhaka has more than doubled in 14 years, as people are forced to walk to take trips amid intensified traffic congestion on roads in the area.
Road transport sector experts observed that the rise in the share of walking in daily trips despite poor facilities, safety and security for pedestrians indicated that people opted walking more under compulsion.
The footpaths in Greater Dhaka, which encompasses the capital city of Bangladesh and its surrounding metropolitan areas, still remain unfriendly to pedestrians, they said.
Road transport and bridges ministry officials said that a detailed survey, URSTP and URSTP Household Interview Survey, was conducted in 2023 for the project 鈥楿pdating the Revised Strategic Transport Plan for Dhaka for the period of 2025鈥�2045鈥�, which covers an area of 1,750 square kilometres in six districts, including Dhaka.
According to the survey, daily 3.87 crore trips were generated in Greater Dhaka in 2023.
The survey showed that walking covered the highest 38.3 per cent trips followed by 25.8 per cent covered by rickshaws, 11.4 per cent by compressed natural gas-run auto-rickshaws, 10.8 per cent by motorcycles, 9.3 per cent by buses, human haulers and tempos, and 4.4 per cent by cars in 2023.
As per the Dhaka Urban Transport Network Development Project, a similar study conducted in 2009, rickshaws covered the highest 38.7 per cent of trips, followed by 28.5 per cent by buses, 19 per cent by walking, 6.7 per cent by auto-rickshaws and 5.2 per cent by cars in that year.
鈥楾hese people do not walk voluntarily,鈥� said professor Shamsul Hoque, director of the Accident Research Institute of the Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology, referring to the increased share of walking in Greater Dhaka.
鈥榃hen people see that vehicles are not moving at all due to traffic congestion, people start walking after getting down from different transports like cars and buses,鈥� he said, adding that these were compulsory walking.
He said that if there was inviting environment, the聽 proportion of walking would have naturally increased, but in Dhaka there were not enough footpaths and the existing ones were irregular, unfriendly and had conflicting uses.
鈥楧efinitely we have not made the footpaths pedestrian-friendly, but made these hostile,鈥� added professor Shamsul, who has specialisation in transportation engineering.
Due to lack of amenities for walking like zebra crossing, traffic signals and proper footpaths at places, pedestrians are seen jaywalking on the roads frequently in the Dhaka city.
Grabbing of footpaths by vendors, shops and construction materials is also a serious problem in the capital, as the illegal practice not only narrowed the footpaths, but also forced people to walk on roads.
In Dhaka, pedestrians are the most vulnerable road users as they are in the highest position in cases of fatal road accident victims as a group.
Footpaths are also unsafe for women with risks of sexual harassment, observed women rights activists.
Dilapidated and pedestrian-unfriendly footpaths are also unusable for the elderly people and people on wheelchairs.
SM Salehuddin, a former executive director at the Dhaka Transport Coordination Authority who was involved in the planning of the first STP in 2005, said that the growing number of walking people did not mean that the footpaths became nicer and comfortable.
The number of people especially poor people increased, which raised the share of walking as most transports in the capital is expensive for the group of people, he observed.
鈥業n Dhaka all footpaths become markets where everything is sold,鈥� he said, adding that the grabbers also occupied roads in areas amid lax monitoring.
Salehuddin also said that if the footpaths could be freed from occupation, traffic congestion would ease by 25 to 30 per cent.
About 61 per cent of the victims in road accidents occurred in the Dhaka North City Corporation areas in 2023 were pedestrians, said a report published by the DNCC on April 17.
Most of the pedestrian deaths were caused by buses on the Dhaka streets and one in every three pedestrians was killed by buses, said the report jointly conducted by the DNCC and the Dhaka Metropolitan Police.
Bangladesh Mahila Parishad president Fauzia Moslem said that women in Bangladesh usually faced harassment in public areas, including footpaths and roads.
鈥楴owadays these public spaces become more unsafe for women,鈥� she said, referring to the recent attacks on women across the country.
鈥榃omen should move safely without facing harassments,鈥� she added.
鈥榃alking is essential for maintaining good health. For comfortable walking, the footpaths need to be pedestrian friendly and smooth,鈥� said former Bangladesh Medical Association president Rashid E Mahbub said.
鈥楤ut in Dhaka the design of footpaths is really uncomfortable,鈥� he said.
He mentioned that the footpaths were not connected with each other in the capital while the roads had become places of commercial activities.
鈥業n this perspective, walking did not increase in positive way. It increased due to a lack of alternatives,鈥� he added.
Road Safety Foundation鈥檚 monthly report showed that in April 588 people were killed in road accidents across the country. Of the deaths, 116 or 19.7 per cent were pedestrians 鈥� the third highest victim group.聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽
