'Articulated bus' service this year

[Major Shaheb]

http://http://bdnews24.com/details.php?cid=2&id=236144&hb=2

Dhaka, Nov 12 (bdnews24.com)— The government has decided to introduce 'articulated bus' service in Dhaka this year to ease public transport crisis.

Consisting of two coaches joined together, an articulated bus is generally 15-feet larger than the size of regular buses, with a capacity to carry passengers twice the regular buses.

Urban planners have, however, cautioned of a chaos in traffic if separate lanes are not established for the long buses.

Roads Division Acting Secretary M A N Siddique told bdnews24.com, Dhaka would see 25 to 30 articulated buses plying on the city's streets by this December.

"Order has been placed with India's Ashok Leyland Company for producing 50 articulated buses. The buses will be on roads by January (next year)."

"The bus is especially designed for carrying passengers in addition to its sitting capacity. It will work well as a mode of public transport," he said.

Bangladesh Road Transport Authority Chairman Ayubur Rahman told bdnews24.com the buses would have 58 seats each.

According to him, although the bus is of the size of two regular buses, it requires only 0.25 metre of extra space for taking a turn.

But Acting Director of Accident Research Institute of Bangladesh University of Engineering Technology Md Shamsul Hoque said the second part of the bus could collide with other buses if drivers were not well-trained.

He felt a dedicated lane should be constructed for ensuring a risk-free ride on these buses.

According to Wikipedia, articulated bus was first introduced in European countries in 1920, and their length ranges between 18 and 22 metres.

Roads Division's Siddique said lanes would be demarcated for vehicles plying on various routes by the middle of next year.

"Some roads in Dhaka will be selected for construction of by-lanes on either side."

The service would be increased if commuters found it comfortable and convenient, he added.

"If people respond positively, the bus may ply between Dhaka and its adjacent areas like Manikganj, Gazipur and Narayanganj also," Siddique added.

 

[Mig-35]

This is just a waste of BD money. BD roads doesnot allow articulated bus services. Rather double-dec is better.

Articulated:

Double-deck:

 

[animelive]

Oh lord how will those long buses turn to the narrow roads of Dhaka?

 

[mb444]

These would be only in major roads like on the airport road I assume. Totally lame idea. Given that the city is in gridlock due to lack of space how will this help. The elevated metros are the only real situation. BAL morons did this for kickbacks most likely.

 

[CaPtAiN_pLaNeT]

Saturday, November 24, 2012Front Page

New addition to public transport
First 10 articulated buses hit Dhaka streets next month; 40 more to come

<i>New addition to public transport</i>

M Abul Kalam Azad
A fleet of 10 articulated buses is set to hit the streets in the capital next month to ease the city's chronic transport problem.

Bangladesh Road Transport Corporation (BRTC) is importing the fleet from India under an Indian line of credit. Another 40 buses will be brought in January, said sources in BRTC.

Ashok Leyland is supplying the buses -- single-deckers that are longer than other buses, yet manoeuvre easily on the roads.

Also known as bendy buses, these vehicles comprise two rigid sections but can bend in the middle. They are popular in many countries for their higher passenger capacity.

The articulated buses will ferry around 130 passengers per trip from early morning to late evening every day. The likely routes are Mirpur-Motijheel and Uttara-Motijheel, the BRTC sources added.

A new ticketing system, like that in Western countries, will also be introduced. Passengers will have to insert coins or notes into vending machines on the articulated buses to get their tickets. The doors will not open until the machine reads the ticket. The system is expected to help stop passengers travelling free.

Iftekhar Ahmed, chairman of IFAD Autos Ltd, the firm that has won the import contract of the buses and is the sole agent of Ashok Leyland, said, "A special feature of this bus is that it will have higher standing capacity [70 persons] than the seating [58 persons]."

Each bus would cost Tk 84 lakh, excluding taxes, he added.

Asked if the vehicles would have difficulty negotiating the city's already crowded roads, Iftekhar said the buses would ply the roads without any trouble, as their two carriages are flexible enough for making turns.

Talking to The Daily Star, Communications Secretary MAN Siddique said that recently the buses had been run on trial on some Indian roads similar to the major thoroughfares of Dhaka.

"We can now say that there will be no problem in operating articulated buses in Dhaka," he added.

The secretary also said a select group of drivers were being sent to Kolkata to learn how to drive and maintain the buses.

Due to their higher capacity, bendy buses are often used as part of bus rapid transit (BRT) schemes. However, the government's planned BRT scheme is still at a primary stage.

To meet the growing demand of passenger transport in the country, the government in 2010 decided to import around 1,000 buses from different countries.

The first lot of 275 single-deckers was imported from China in late 2010, followed by 255 single-deck buses from South Korea in 2011.

Recently, 290 double-deckers have been bought from Ashok Leyland.

Many of the double-deckers are now operating in Dhaka, Chittagong and some other districts.

IFAD Chairman Iftekhar Ahmed said 10 more double-deckers would arrive in mid-2013 as the Indian company is supposed to supply 300 buses.

Also in the pipeline is a fleet of 100 air-conditioned single-deckers. "Ashok Leyland will start supplying the vehicles in January and complete it by June," he mentioned.

The state-run BRTC has a fleet of 1,263 buses including 399 double-deckers. The company's strength will grow with the arrival of the new vehicles.

 

[animelive]

But these were supposed to run in airport road good ticketing system though

 

[CaPtAiN_pLaNeT]

A new ticketing system, like that in Western countries, will also be introduced. Passengers will have to insert coins or notes into vending machines on the articulated buses to get their tickets. The doors will not open until the machine reads the ticket. The system is expected to help stop passengers travelling free.

What will happen during rush hours when 100s of people want to come in to the bus by pushing others??? I think this method of not opening the door without reading tickets will be time consuming. What you guys think about it!!!

It also talked about vending machine ... so where the vending machine will be located? Will that be within reach of the passengers??? Only coin system will increase trouble. They should also keep the option of debit and credit cards.

But these were supposed to run in airport road good ticketing system though

Both from Mirpur-Motijheel and Airport-Motijheel.

I have doubt about the efficiency of the ticketing systems.

 

[animelive]

What will happen during rush hours when 100s of people want to come in to the bus by pushing others??? I think this method of not opening the door without reading tickets will be time consuming. What you guys think about it!!!

It also talked about vending machine ... so where the vending machine will be located? Will that be within reach of the passengers??? Only coin system will increase trouble. They should also keep the option of debit and credit cards.



Both from Mirpur-Motijheel and Airport-Motijheel.

I have doubt about the efficiency of the ticketing systems.

Dude thats how western countries operate buses, but i have fair experience of Bangladesh bus, the civilians who climb them need to be civilized first to use buses like this. And the buses stop in the stop for quite a while so its not a problem

 

[CaPtAiN_pLaNeT]

Dude thats how western countries operate buses, but i have fair experience of Bangladesh bus, the civilians who climb them need to be civilized first to use buses like this. And the buses stop in the stop for quite a while so its not a problem

In western countries I do not think the policy of not opening the door until the machine reads the ticket is there. There the passenger comes in... insert the coin and get the ticket or if the have earlier ticket they just validate it after getting into the bus. I am not clear about not opening the door part!!!

 

[animelive]

In western countries I do not think the policy of not opening the door until the machine reads the ticket is there. There the passenger comes in... insert the coin and get the ticket or if the have earlier ticket they just validate it after getting into the bus. I am not clear about not opening the door part!!!

I think they will do something like this
Each bus will stop in the stops for 5 mins and each person will stay in the line then wait for the door to open respectively. Its a waste of time but climbing a bus becomes more civilized that way but lets see what happens

 

[CaPtAiN_pLaNeT]

I think they will do something like this
Each bus will stop in the stops for 5 mins and each person will stay in the line then wait for the door to open respectively. Its a waste of time but climbing a bus becomes more civilized that way but lets see what happens

If every time bus stops for 5 min in each stop then people wont have to reach their destination.

 

[animelive]

If every time bus stops for 5 min in each stop then people wont have to reach their destination.

Why is that?because of **** roads here. Furthermore, cars and rickshaws park and consume half of the roads, sever actions should be taken against them and local buses should stop stopping in the middle of the road to pick up passengers. This management sucks from the core. A 5 mins road ride now takes least 1 hour in Bangladesh

 

[livingdead]

The usual suspects are silent about quality of ashok leyland buses. How many years do you think they will last captain?

 

[CaPtAiN_pLaNeT]

The usual suspects are silent about quality of ashok leyland buses. How many years do you think they will last captain?

Depends on driver 1st!!! Not more then 4-5 years I assume as they have done the same to the expensive Volvo buses decades ago. Obviously quality wise there is no comparison between Ashok Leyland and Volvo. Though it is a less concern now as they are already purchased. Hope they wont pollute air much and atleast the engine will remain active for couple of years. Because whenever we hear about any Indian origin bus or car we see the ghost of maruti cars in our memory.

This is what happened to the expensive Volvo buses...

http://www.thedailystar.net/newDesign/news-details.php?nid=177011

 

[livingdead]

Has anybody used it yet? Is it good value for money?