As it stands, the Dhaka-Gazipur Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) corridor exemplifies how a promising idea can devolve into chaos due to poor planning. The special service is finally set to start on December 16, but the authorities have been forced to choose existing Bangladesh Road Transport Corporation (BRTC) buses for the route, instead of dedicated ones. Moreover, initially, the BRT corridor—Bangladesh's first dedicated rapid bus service designed to reduce congestion on the busy route—was intended to operate from Gazipur to Keraniganj, with the BRT-3 main line covering the Keraniganj-Dhaka airport route and its extension covering the airport-Gazipur route. However, continuous mismanagement led the previous government to abandon the main line. The revised plan, which rerouted the service from Gazipur to Mohakhali, also fell through. Eventually, only the extension covering the distance between Gazipur and airport was completed.

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BRT service: Finally begins on Dec 16 but with 5-yr-old BRTC buses

The project has now morphed into what resembles a basic gate-locked bus system. Stations planned to facilitate automated ticketing have not been set up. An independent operator, intended to manage the service for efficiency, was never appointed. As a result, the BRTC, with its questionable track record for providing services, is now tasked with operating the system. All this means that the original plan—initially deemed a well-thought-out solution for traffic congestions in Dhaka—has failed due to poor execution by the previous government, effectively reducing the BRT to a standard road service. And this happened despite the project deadline being revised on multiple occasions.

All this means that the original plan—initially deemed a well-thought-out solution for traffic congestions in Dhaka—has failed due to poor execution by the previous government, effectively reducing the BRT to a standard road service. And this happened despite the project deadline being revised on multiple occasions.

Twelve years after the project was initiated, the infrastructure—that is, for the extension—is now nearly complete. However, the authorities have failed to procure the buses necessary to launch the service, prompting the government to deploy old BRTC buses on the route. These collective and repeated failures, which have turned this project into such a debacle, should serve as a critical lesson on how not to manage future projects.

While this project can no longer be classified as a true BRT service, BRT systems worldwide have proven to be excellent solutions to various traffic problems, providing efficient and high-capacity transportation. In fact, some estimates suggest that BRT systems operating in 187 cities globally carry nearly 35 million passengers every day. Therefore, the government should carefully analyse the original project plan to determine if it is still salvageable, or if modifications can be made to transform it into a functioning BRT system. Whether this is at all feasible at this stage remains to be seen.