PUBLIC transport remains unsafe and the government has so far kept the sector off its reform platter. The Passenger Welfare Association of Bangladesh reports that at least 614 people died and 1,196 became injured in 597 road accidents in May. April was equally deadly, with the death of at least 583 people and injuries to 1,202 in 567 accidents. The highest 33.5 per cent of accidents took place on national highways, as the report says, followed by 32.83 per cent on regional highways involving motorcycles and battery-run three-wheelers, suggesting that the court order to keep battery-run vehicles off the highways has not been enforced. The high fatality among transport workers also indicates an enforcement failure. The interim government has taken many reform initiatives and formed commissions to resolve issues, but the transport sector, plagued with irregularities and corruption, has not been on the agenda.
The reasons for the high fatality in the road transport sector are widely known. In the wake of the student movement for road safety, the deposed Awami League government passed the Road Transport Act 2018, but the law has never been fully enforced because of pressure from transport owners and workers鈥� federations. In July 2019, a guideline on ridesharing services was enforced to regulate unauthorised motorcycles and their drivers, but lack of oversight is evidenced in the death of 226 people in accidents involving motorcycles in May. Unlicensed and unskilled drivers, meanwhile, continue to ply the road. A five-year road safety project taken in 2024 has a component for four months鈥� training for 60,000 new commercial drivers, but the project is yet to yield any result. Although the government announced a decision to keep outdated vehicles off the road by May, there has been little enforcement on part of owners and the government. The situation reflects the failure of successive governments to treat road safety with the urgency that it deserves. During the 15 years of the Awami League鈥檚 rule, corruption, mismanagement and political influence have plagued the sector. Politically influential figures, working hand in glove with the police and political leaders, sustained a corrupt system that has served their interests.
The government should, therefore, consider forming a commission involving all stakeholders and address the perennial crisis in the transport sector. Most important for the government is to enhance oversight so that the enforcement failure identified as the prime reason for road fatalities is prevented.
