Modal Integration for Improving Urban Mobility in Dhaka

Abstract

About 15 million people live in Dhaka, the capital city of Bangladesh, with a growth rate of 1.8%, which creates huge travel demand as well as numerous transport problems. Lack of effective public transport system and door-to-door service influence the augmentation of private cars, which is causing congestion and deterioration of the environment. Though railway is a very popular, safe, and cheap transport system of Bangladesh, in absence of proper initiatives and investments, the railway could not play the much expected role in Dhaka's public transport system. However, Dhaka is surrounded by four rivers providing an inbuilt facility for operation of circular waterways, due to financial constraint and lack of appropriate planning for interconnectivity among other modes, it's not serving effectively. The airport is in the northern part of Dhaka, which does not have any integration with the public transport system, railway stations, and waterway terminal. Through the development of the public transport system using Mass Rapid Transit, Bus Rapid Transit, and commuter rail service along with proper integration of airway and the circular waterway, an effective sustainable integrated transport system can be achieved in Dhaka. In this paper an attempt has been made to develop an effective integrated transport system by integrating and improving systematic, effective, and safe operation of all modes. Besides these, the present scenario of the transportation system of Dhaka city is illustrated in the context of transport demand and supply and also discusses potential initiatives that will lead to a sustainable integrated transportation system.