ALMOST a fourth of the Road Transport Corporation buses falling beyond economic repairs mainly because of poor maintenance in 15 years is worrying. The fleet of the agency has 1,512 buses. But, 1,102 buses run as 343 of them have been categorised beyond repairs, making any repairs financially not viable, and 64 are under heavy repairs. The agency bought 1,558 buses for Tk 9379.7 million in 2010鈥�2019 financial years. No buses have been bought after 2019. The agency now sells the buses beyond repairs as scraps. Whilst a large number of the buses have been out of operation and no buses have been bought since 2020, the transport agency that should play a vital role in the transport sector appears to be limping. It now runs 239 buses on 21 city routes in Dhaka and 22 buses on four city routes in Chattogram. Although all this has put the agency in a tight spot in service delivery, what remains worrying is the corruption that has led to such a situation.
A former chair who had been at the corporation until this February since 2021 says that even buses bought in the 2019 financial year have fallen beyond economic repairs when a half of the buses bought in 2009鈥�2011 were in operation. Given the economic life of buses, all of the 1,558 buses bought in 2010鈥�2019 financial years should have been running now. He also notes that some of the buses could not be serviced for years because of fund crunch and lack of technicians and workshops. The agency鈥檚 integrated central workshop in Gazipur had been closed for 20 years until 2021. The agency bought 600 buses from India in the 2019 financial year and two of the 200 air-conditioned single-deckers have been scrapped. It bought 138 buses from India in the 2013 financial years and 31 single-deckers and 16 articulated buses have been scrapped. It bought 290 buses from India in the 2012 financial year and 32 of them have been scrapped. The agency bought 255 buses from South Korea in the 2011 financial year and 124 of them have been scrapped. It bought 275 buses from China in the 2010 financial year and 138 of them have been scrapped. The agency appears to have been severely infested with corruption and the former chairman says that the main perpetrators are usually the depot managers.
It is, therefore, time that the government dealt with the corruption issue. It should also deal with the inadequacy issue, deliberate and institutional, to put the agency back in a place where it could successfully cater to people鈥檚 need.
