The Dhaka North and South city corporations are set to introduce battery-run e-rickshaw, designed by Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology, in the capital from the first week in August in designated areas.
The rickshaws will initially run on Paltan, Dhanmondi and Uttara roads with the speed limit set at 30 kilometres per hour.
Dhaka North city corporation administrator Mohammad Azaz made the announcement on Saturday at the inauguration ceremony of a driver training programme for three-wheeled e-rickshaws, held at the city corporation auditorium at Gulshan-2 in the capital.聽
鈥楾here is no plan to remove the current rickshaws immediately,鈥� Azaz said, adding that these rickshaws will be phased out gradually.聽
He also said that the service would gradually be expanded to other parts of the city.
LGRD and Cooperatives adviser Asif Mahmud Sajib Bhuiyan, who inaugurated the training programme, said that rickshaw pullers were among the key stakeholders in the July uprising, which led to the ouster of the Awami League government on August 5 past year.
He said, 鈥楧haka鈥檚 rickshaw problem is a complex issue鈥� no one will be allowed on the road without a valid licence.鈥�
The training programme, part of efforts to ensure the safe and efficient operation of the new vehicles, began under the supervision of the Local Government Division with support from BRAC.
As part of this initiative, 300 master trainers will first be prepared, who will then provide field-level training to drivers.
Among them, 200 have been nominated from the Department of Youth Development and the Students against Discrimination platform, and 100 from the Dhaka Metropolitan Police.
In the first phase, 200 trainees began a three-day training programme starting from Saturday, while the remaining 100 will be trained by July next year.
According to a draft policy titled 鈥楾hree-Wheeled Low-Speed Battery-Operated Rickshaw (E-rickshaw) Operation Regulations 2025鈥�, e-rickshaws will be allowed to operate only on roads designated by the respective city corporation and traffic police within city corporation areas.
The e-rickshaws are prohibited from operating on footpaths, highways, elevated expressways, and dedicated bus routes and permitted to use only left lanes.
Drivers are prohibited from using mobile phones while driving, carrying more than two passengers per rickshaw, and using horns that exceed 40 decibels.聽
The initiative came amid the widespread presence of unauthorised battery-run auto-rickshaws on roads across the country, which frequently leads to accidents.聽聽 聽
