Dhaka Desk:
7 lakh illegal vehicles on To drive on the road, a vehicle must have a valid registration, fitness, route permit and tax certificate. There are about 6.344 million vehicles of 20 classes registered with the Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA) across the country. Of these, about 6.65 million vehicles do not have registration and updated fitness certificates, route permits and tax tokens. Therefore, this large number of vehicles plying on the road constantly is illegal. BRTA says that the calculation is up to April 15 of this year. Apart from depriving the government of revenue, these vehicles are increasing the risk of accidents and harming the environment.
7 lakh illegal vehicles on
BRTA sources say that a letter was sent from BRTA to the Inspector General of Police (IG) office on April 24 to take action against illegal vehicles as the owners did not update their documents. The registration number of each illegal vehicle has also been mentioned in the letter so that the police administration can take legal action. BRTA has sent the same letter to the Roads and Highways Department (RHD). The letter suggests that illegal vehicles should be identified and handed over to the Highway Police while paying tolls on roads and bridges under the Roads and Highways Department.
According to BRTA officials, the number of illegal vehicles on the road is about 21,000 buses, 12,000 minibuses, 57,500 trucks, 73,200 private cars and 31,000 microbuses.
The total number of registered vehicles in the country is currently about 6.344 million. Of these, about 4.652 million are motorcycles. BRTA does not have information on how many registered vehicles are no longer plying on the road (have become ‘off-road’). However, the organization believes that about 30 percent of the total registered motor vehicles are ‘off-road’. It is mandatory for all types of vehicles, except motorcycles, to be driven on the road to obtain a fitness certificate and renew it every year.
25-year-old vehicles are running freely
A total of 73,057 motor vehicles, aged 20 and 25, are running in Dhaka city and all the circles outside it. The movement of these very old, rickety vehicles is not stopping in any way. According to BRTA sources, the total number of buses and minibuses that are 20 years old is 35,782. Of these, there are 8,132 in Dhaka city and 6,478 minibuses. The total number of trucks, covered vans and tankers that are 25 years old is 37,257. Of these, there are 5,958 trucks in Dhaka city, 149 covered vans and 282 tankers.
Although the Road Transport Act mentions determining the economic life of vehicles, it is not implemented in practice. In May 2023, BRTA determined the economic life of buses, trucks, covered vans and tankers. The government announcement in this regard said that this decision would be implemented immediately. But BRTA could not implement it; on the contrary, the notification in this regard was withdrawn a few months later. It is alleged that BRTA backed down under pressure from transport owners. The apolitical interim government that came to power after August 5 last year decided to remove these older vehicles from the roads from May 1.
But despite the government’s great enthusiasm for this, there is no visible implementation of that decision. Vehicles that are still running on the roads are still running freely.
When asked what action is being taken regarding the expired vehicles, BRTA Director (Engineering) Shitangshu Shekhar Biswas told Ajker Patrika, “There is no other option but to dump old expired vehicles. We are starting that work.”
According to the Bangladesh Road Transport Owners’ Association, the vehicle owners agree with the government. They have already written to the administration asking them to dump expired vehicles if they find them on the roads.
Authorities on illegal vehicles
When asked about illegal vehicles with no updated documents, the BRTA director said, “Our magistrates are conducting operations against illegal vehicles on the road. At the same time, officials have been given the power to fine them. They are also taking action against illegal vehicles on the road. We have also informed the Inspector General of Police to take action against illegal vehicles.”
Joint General Secretary of the Road Transport Owners Association, Kazi Md. Jobayer Masud, said, “Vehicles without fitness, tax tokens and registration will not be able to ply on the road. Owners have also been informed to get their documents renewed quickly.”
Expert’s advice
Communications expert and professor of the Civil Engineering Department of Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET) Md. Hadiuzzaman urged to find a strategy to stop corruption and irregularities. He said, “Vehicle owners can drive vehicles on the road without documents. Government authorities repeatedly give concessions and the transport owners also manage them. Both BRTA and transport owners are responsible for this. The number of illegal vehicles did not reach 7 lakh in a single day. This number has increased due to constant concessions. The vicious cycle of managing transport owners must be broken. If this cannot be done, even giving the police the responsibility will not solve the problem.
