Road Transport and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader on Tuesday said starting from tomorrow, those who apply for driving license could complete the entire process from home, except appearing for the mandatory driving test. “But the applicants have to appear at the Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA) office for a test including biometric purposes,” he said while talking to reporters after attending the 29th meeting of National Road Security Council (NRSC). Read more: No plan for new mega projects now: Obaidul Quader A first level pilot project under the Road Safety Programme proposed by the World Bank, involving Tk 4.80 crore, has been taken and already the Development Project Proforma (DPP) of the project was amended which will be sent to the Planning Commission soon, he said. The purpose of the project is to reduce road accidents and loss caused by the accidents, increasing capability of the government organisations involved in ensuring road safety and achieving economic growth, he added. Read more: Disarray in BRT project result of flawed planning: Quader The implementation duration of the project is December 2022 to November 2027.

Bangladesh Tank-lorry Owners Association has called an indefinite strike from January 3 across the country to demand that the government allows them to raise transportation fare following recent hike in diesel. General Secretary of Bangladesh Tank-lorry Owners Association, Sheikh Farhad Hossain announced the programme on Tuesday. Read: Petrol pumps owners, tank-lorry workers call off strike “The bus fare increased following the price hike of diesel but no steps have been taken yet to raise the fare of tank-lorry. So, we have decided to enforce an indefinite strike from January 3,” he said. Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA) has increased the fares for intra-city and inter-district buses by over 26 per cent and 27 per cent respectively as demanded by the bus owners. The decision came at a meeting between the BRTA and the bus owners on November 7. Read: Tank-lorry workers call off strike after 2 days The government on November 3 raised the prices of diesel and kerosine at the retail level. As per the new price, the fuel is now selling at Tk 80 per litre instead of Tk 65. It said the prices of other petroleum products will remain unchanged.

After the government met their demand, Bangladesh Road Transport Owners Association on Sunday called off the indefinite transport strike it enforced on Friday in protest against the fuel price hike and demanding increased bus fares. Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA) has increased the fares for intra-city and inter-district buses by 26.5% and 27% respectively following the demand of the bus owners. The decision came at a meeting between the BRTA and the bus owners today (Sunday). Khandaker Enayet Ullah, secretary general of the Bangladesh Road Transport Owners Association, said the strike was called off today. "We've also instructed the owners to operate the bus from today." Read: Transport strike enters 3rd day, badly affects normal life From now on, the fare for inter-district buses will be Tk 1.8 per km with a 27% hike which was Tk 1.42 per km. The fare for intra-city buses would be Tk 2.15 per km – an increase from Tk1.70 -- with a 26.5% hike. The minimum fare would be Tk 10 for buses and Tk 8 for minibuses. BRTA Chairman Nur Mohammad Majumdar said, "The notification will be issued after sending the proposal to the ministry today. These new fares will be effective from tomorrow (Monday)." On Thursday, bus, truck and covered van owners called an indefinite nationwide strike from Friday in protest against fuel price hike. Convenor of Bangladesh Truck-Covered Van, Tank Lorry and Prime Movers Owners and Workers Coordination Council Md Rustom Ali announced their decision on Thursday following an emergency meeting of the organization. Leaders of the organization said the government raised the toll of Bangabandhu Bridge and Muktarpur Bridge from 257 per cent to 300 per cent “illogically” on November 2 and then it raised the prices of fuel, said a press release. Transport movement had remained suspended for a long time due to Covid in the last two years. When the transport owners are trying to make a turnaround from their huge losses caused by Covid shutdown, the decision of raising bridge toll and fuel price was announced, they added.

Hitting the road with unregistered vehicles in Bangladesh is widespread and the situation is getting worse as some government agencies have started doing the same, caring little about the Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA) rules.        “Traffic on our roads is already chaotic, and things are unlikely to improve when government agencies fail to abide by traffic rules. General people feel encouraged to defy rules when they find government agencies as traffic offenders,” Prof Md Shamsul Hoque of Buet’s Department of Civil Engineering, told UNB.    Different modes of vehicles, especially motorbikes, of various government organizations or its employees are seen plying the streets in the capital violating the BRTA rules without any obstruction.    Read: Introduce customer-friendly electric vehicle recharging policy: Nasrul The Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA) law 2018 states that if a vehicle plies the road without registration, it may be confiscated and fined. “However, the question arises how a vehicle used by a government agency or employee runs without registration,” he said.   Considering the safety of the general public, the BRTA law has been made more stringent, but some government agencies, especially several members of the law enforcement agencies, are caring little about it, Prof Hoque bemoaned.   As per law, the registration of every vehicle is a must and it is a universal practice. “I don’t know how BRTA allows vehicles to ply without registration. It’s not acceptable in any way,” he said.  

Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA) on Saturday recommended raising bus fare by 80 percent as bus owners have been directed to carry 50 percent passengers to prevent the transmission of coronavirus.    “Road, Transport and Bridges Ministry will take the final decision” BRTA acting Chairman Yunus Ali Molla told UNB.   The government on Thursday issued a gazette notification allowing limited operation of public transport and offices from May 31 to June 15 amid the coronavirus outbreak.   It said public transports – buses, trains and vessels – will have to maintain health guidelines.   The notification also said that all government, semi-government and autonomous offices will resume under self-management but ailing staff and pregnant women have been asked to refrain from joining work.