Different government initiatives to introduce environment-friendly electric public transport in the country have never seen the light of day while diesel-run vehicles continue to pollute the air.
Most recently, as per IQAir, a Swiss air technology company, Bangladesh ranked as the world鈥檚 second most polluted country in 2024, while Dhaka ranked as the world鈥檚 third most polluted metropolitan city.
Bangladesh Road Transport Authority officials said that the absence of infrastructure, including charging stations, and excessive cost were two major challenges hindering electric public transport to become popular.聽聽聽聽
These buses that have no engines need charging stations at fixed distances, they said.
The government is now planning to purchase around 500 electric buses and set up some charging stations aiming at improving air quality.
Bangladesh Road Transport Corporation officials said that their proposals for purchasing over 100 electric buses and setting up some charging stations were awaiting approval from the planning ministry.
鈥楧iesel-run vehicles heavily pollute the air,鈥� said Professor Shamsul Hoque of the Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology.
While the whole world was stopping the use of diesel-run vehicles to reduce air pollution Bangladesh could not stay behind, said the professor, also director of the BUET鈥檚 Accident Research Institute.
The government initially planned to run electric buses on a 20.5-kilometre-long corridor established under the country鈥檚 first-ever bus rapid transit line project to connect Gazipur and Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport.
But after the project began in December 2012, the plan for electric buses was later abandoned and now diesel-run air-conditioned buses are plying the corridor.
In another initiative, the BRTC in September 2020 sent a primary proposal titled 鈥楶rocurement of electric, CNG and diesel single decker AC buses for BRTC project鈥� to the road transport and bridges ministry to purchase 50 electric buses.
The ministry that same month sent the proposal to the Physical Infrastructure Division of the Planning Commission.
But that plan also was later ditched.
The then Awami-League government in February 2023 again planned to buy 300 electric double-decker AC buses from India under an Indian line of credit for the state-run corporation.
The government also requested the Indian government to initially deliver 100 electric buses within 2023 for Dhaka and Chattogram cities, but that plan also was eventually dumped.
In May 2023, then Dhaka south city mayor Sheikh Fazle Noor Taposh, also then president of the bus route rationalisation committee, announced that Nagar Paribahan, a city service by the BRTC, would get 100 electric buses in a bid to hold back the Dhaka city鈥檚 air pollution.
But his announcement did not come to fruition.
BRTA director for engineering Sitangshu Shekhar Biswas told 抖阴精品 recently that discussions on electric vehicles started in recent years with the electric motor vehicle registration and operation policy 2023 being already formulated.
The aim of the policy was to reduce carbon dioxide emissions, he said adding that the Road Transport Act, 2018 kept a provision allowing these types of buses to run.
The industries ministry introduced the Automobile Industry Development Policy 2021 and the power, energy, and mineral resources ministry formulated the Electric Vehicle Charging Guideline 2022 to facilitate the use EVs, he mentioned.聽
The government also fixed an EV import tax of about 89 per cent of the vehicle鈥檚 value, the lowest import duty for any vehicle import, he added.
BRTC general manager (technical) Major Mohammad Jahangir Hossain Azad told 抖阴精品 very recently that at present their three proposals to buy 12 electric buses with government fund, set up two charging stations and buy 100 more electric buses from South Korea were pending at the planning ministry.聽
The source of funding for procuring the two charging stations and 100 other buses has not been decided yet.
Currently, the Dhaka Transport Coordination Authority is working with the World Bank on the Bangladesh Clean Air Project to support the bus reform and e-bus transition agenda.
As per the project document, 500 electric buses (12 metre low-floor electric buses with 275鈥�300kwh battery capacity) will be聽purchased.
The project was still at the planning phase, said Sitangshu Shekhar Biswas.
About private investment he mentioned that while a luxury fuel oil-run bus cost Tk 1鈥�2.5 crore, one electric bus would cost Tk 4 crore.
聽鈥楾he initial investment for these buses is pretty high,鈥� he remarked.聽
He also mentioned that some private companies had installed a handful of charging stations for their own cars only.
Professor Shamsul Hoque urged the government to take policy for popularising EVs and engage the private sector investors.
When CNG-run auto-rickshaws replaced the two-stroke vehicles, fuel stations were not available at the time, he mentioned and added that fuel stations were set up later to meet the demand of the auto-rickshaws.
Till March this year, around 397 electric vehicles, mostly motorcycles, were registered with the BRTA.