Half of BRTC buses busy with office duty

Loosing profitability

Farhad Chowdhury: Bangladesh Road Transport Corporation (BRTC) has around 1600 buses in its fleet. About 1,000 of them are currently active. And the remaining 600 buses are lying in various depots, most of which are useless. Around 450 buses are being used on hire for transporting staff of various offices and students to various schools. Apart from city services, 420 BRTC buses are plying on 163 routes in the country.
BRTC says that 202 of their 202 staff buses are being operated on 164 routes to facilitate office travel of employees of various public and private institutions including the secretariat. Besides, 181 buses are running regularly to facilitate the transportation of students to various educational institutions across the country including the capital Dhaka.
Meanwhile, seven buses are running under circular bus service in Uttara Motijheel and Mohammadpur of the capital. Bangladesh and India are running five buses under direct bus service. BRTC has 9 special bus services for women in Dhaka and Chittagong. Apart from this, one bus on Shaheed Ramiz Uddin School route in Dhaka and 10 BRTC buses are being operated as student service for students of Chittagong city for low fare and safe transportation of students.
BRTC further informed that the activities of BRTC are being conducted through 22 bus depots, two truck depots, two vehicle repair factories, four training institutes and 19 training centers across the country.
According to a report of the organization, various programs are being organized with drivers and conductors to reduce road accidents. Various events, programs and meetings are being organized on cleanliness issues to improve the morale and quality of the employees working in the depot. Buses awaiting heavy repairs including day-to-day light repairs are repaired and on-routed.
According to the information, 127 out of 204 buses are operating at Motijheel Bus Depot. The number of vehicles in Kalyanpur bus depot is 214, out of which 141 are active buses. There are three major repairs. There are 50 idle buses under repair.
BTRC offers car leasing for various terms. Anyone can lease from them. Leases for five years to 10 years. According to the agency, out of 20 buses operating in Long Lease, three buses are running under private ownership. The remaining 17 buses are under the control of the depot.
Meanwhile, the total number of vehicles at Gabtali Bus Depot is 64, of which 63 are active buses. Mirpur bus depot has 142 vehicles. 122 of them are active. Mohammadpur Bus Depot has 33 vehicles. All are active.
BRTC Chairman Tajul Islam told Daily Industry that besides making BRTC a profitable company, several initiatives have been taken to reach the highest level of service. As a result, income has increased and expenses have been reduced. Along with the re-opening of the Integrated Central Repair Plant at Gazipur, work is underway to modernize and modernize the Tejgaon Central Repair Plant.