The authorities concerned will launch a joint drive against over 20-year-old buses, unfit vehicles, and illegal drivers in the capital from March 1 to reduce congestion and the number of accidents on streets.

Dhaka South City Corporation (DSCC) Mayor Sayeed Khokon told The Daily Star yesterday that they made the decision at a meeting with Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA), Bangladesh Road Transport Corporation (BRTC) and Dhaka deputy commissioner's office at the Nagar Bhaban.

“There is indiscipline in the city streets, which is one of the main causes of traffic congestion … To bring discipline in the city bus service, we have made the decision,” he said.

Mobile courts run by the DSCC, BRTA, BRTC and Dhaka deputy commissioner's office would be enforcing the law, the mayor said.

“We will form a working group in this regard and this group will start working this month … ,” he said.

According to BRTA rules, a person has to have a minimum educational qualification of class-VIII-pass, to be eligible for getting a driving licence, but this rule is not followed in many cases, said the mayor.

Transport workers said there are many drivers who do not have any educational qualifications and that they have become drivers by learning from other drivers.

With no institutional driving lessons learnt or knowledge about traffic rules, underage drivers of public transport, mostly human hauliers, are exposing city dwellers to accident risks.

Some young drivers manage fake driving licences with the help of unscrupulous brokers at the BRTA, while the others do not even bother with any official documents.

Khandaker Enayetullah, secretary general of Bangladesh Sarak Paribahan Samity, said, “We welcome the announcement that no vehicle should be operated by drivers who have no proper educational background.

“But the problem is that we are facing a shortage of skilled drivers who have proper driving licences. If such a move from the government is launched, the scarcity of drivers may intensify,” he told The Daily Star.

About old buses in service, Enayetullah claimed, “There are no buses in the capital older than 20 years.

“Magistrates from the BRTA and the DMP are regularly conducting mobile court drives against unfit and old vehicles. So, it is not possible in the capital to operate buses over 20 years old.”

Around 5,000 buses run in the capital, he said.

Nazmul Ahsan Majumder, director (enforcement) of BRTA, on the new drives said, “This will be very effective as it will be a combined drive and it will start from March 1.”

He said over 20-year-old buses might enter the capital and they are fined by the traffic police of the DMP.

He said their mobile courts also fine drivers for not have licences.

“Seven drivers have been sentenced to one-month imprisonment each by mobile courts of the BRTA yesterday as they did not have any driving licences and the number was 22 on Monday.”

He said class-VIII-pass certificates, 18 years of age for non-professional diving licence and 20 years of age for professional driving licence were a must.

There is no way to get a licence without these, he claimed.

Nazmul said every day their mobile courts conduct drives against vehicles and file 100 to 150 cases or hand down imprisonments.

Experts, however, say that the regular efforts of the authorities were not effective enough and blamed unfit vehicles, unskilled drivers, and drivers without licences as major causes for road accidents.

Kazi Md Shifun Newaz, assistant professor of Accident Research Institute of Buet, said, “The numbers of mobile courts are not sufficient in the capital because the numbers of vehicles are increasing day by day.”

Shortage of mobile courts creates room for transport operators to run old and unfit vehicles, he viewed, hailing the move for increasing the number of mobile courts next month.

On average, 64 people die every day from injuries suffered in traffic accidents, a government-supervised survey reveals.

In 2010, the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution establishing the Decade of Action for Road Safety (2011-2020) with the goal to stabilise and reduce predicted levels of road traffic fatalities around the world. The issue has also been included in the adopted Sustainable Development Goals with a target to halve traffic deaths and injuries by 2020.

Bangladesh is a signatory to the resolution.