The government on Sunday opened the Bus Rapid Transit corridor with 10 air-conditioned buses to ply between Dhaka and Gazipur to ease the commute between the two cities that till now took hours amid extreme traffic congestion.
On the day, Bangladesh Railway also launched four pairs of commuter trains on the Dhaka-Gazipur route.
Both the services were launched by interim government adviser for the road transport and bridges ministry Fouzul Kabir Khan.
At a ceremony held at the Shibbari BRT terminal in Gazipur, the adviser launched Bangladesh Road Transport Corporation鈥檚 10 AC buses to run on the Bus Rapid Transit corridor.
He said that although the Bus Rapid Transit project had yet to complete, the AC bus service was introduced to ease commuters鈥� regular suffering.聽
He mentioned that the AC bus service was launched on a trial basis, covering a route of 42.5 kilometres.
The buses will stop at Chourasta, Boardbazar, College Gate, Airport, Farmgate, and Shahbagh during its commuting between Shibbari in Gazipur and Gulistan in Dhaka.
The AC bus fares have been fixed at Tk 70 for travelling between Shibbari and Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport聽stoppage, and Tk 140 for the journey of the full distance between Shibbari and Gulistan.
More buses would be added depending on the commuters鈥� demand and the work progress of the stations, said the adviser.
The adviser also said that apart from buses, private cars, ambulances and other small motor vehicles would also be allowed to use the Bus Rapid Transit corridor. The corridor would remain off-limit to heavy vehicles like trucks and non-motorised vehicles, he added.聽
In the morning on the day, adviser Fouzul Kabir Khan inaugurated the commuter train service at Joydebpur Railway Junction. 鈥楶eople can commute between Dhaka and Gazipur quickly and affordably,鈥� said Fouzul at the inauguration. The Gazipur-Dhaka commuters鈥� fare has been fixed at Tk 20.
He also announced that the government had plans to launch commuter train services on Dhaka-Narsingdi and Dhaka-Narayanganj routes, marking Independence Day on March 26 next year.
The schedule of the newly launched two pairs of commuter trains is鈥擳urag Commuter-1 is scheduled to leave Dhaka at 5:00am and reach Joydebpur at 6:00am; Joydebpur Commuter-1 to leave Dhaka at 5:25am and reach Joydebpur at 6:25am; Joydebpur Commuter-3 to leave Dhaka at 11:00am and reach Joydebpur at 12:00 noon; and Turag Commuter-3 to leave Dhaka at 5:20pm and reach Joydebpur at 6:40pm.
The schedule of the rest two pairs is鈥擳urag Commuter-2 is scheduled to leave Joydebpur at 6:30am and reach Dhaka at 7:40am; Joydebpur Commuter-2 to leave Joydebpur 7:10am and reach Dhaka at 8:25am; Joydebpur Commuter-4 to leave Joydebpur at 12:30pm and reach Dhaka 1:40pm; and Turag Commuter-4 to leave Joydebpur at 9:45pm and reach Dhaka at 11:15pm.
All these trains will stop at Dhaka Airport, Tejgaon, Banani, Tongi, and Dhirashram stations.
The Turag Commuters will not operate on Fridays and the Joydebpur Commuters on Saturdays.
