The Road Safety Foundation (RSF) has called for an immediate cessation of the practice of leasing out Bangladesh Road Transport Corporation (BRTC) buses to various organisations, asserting that the state-owned service is failing in its primary mandate to serve the public.
In a joint statement, RSF Chairman A I Mahbub Uddin Ahmed, Vice Chairmen Professor Hasina Begum, Kamran Ul Baset, and Abdullah Md Ferdous Khan, and Executive Director Saidur Rahman emphasised that BRTC buses are purchased using taxpayers’ money to provide affordable, passenger-friendly transport.
The leaders observed that instead of fulfilling this role, a significant number of buses have been leased for long periods to educational institutions as well as government, private, and autonomous organisations.
These vehicles typically transport staff or students in the morning and remain idle for the remainder of the day, while ordinary commuters – including women, children, the elderly, and the working class – suffer in dilapidated private buses.
This practice effectively deprives low- and middle-income passengers of the services they are entitled to.
The RSF questioned the legal basis of these leases, stating that as public property, the fleet should be managed to provide passenger services while adopting strategies to curb financial losses.
They alleged that dishonest BRTC officials are intentionally shrinking public service routes to benefit private bus owners.
The foundation claimed that numerous buses are strategically declared inoperative and dumped or sold as scrap before the end of their economic life.
The statement highlighted a lack of transparency regarding high-value Volvo articulated and Volvo AC/non-AC buses. Despite many of these vehicles having remaining economic life, they have vanished from capital’s roads.
The RSF noted a recurring pattern where new buses are purchased every few years only to disappear from service shortly thereafter.
The foundation further noted that since the Eid holidays, BRTC passenger services on various capital routes have been completely suspended, causing immense financial and physical hardship to commuters.
They argued that if the government had achieved proper transport capacity through BRTC, private owners would not be able to engage in “fare anarchy” or create mismanagement on the roads.
To address these issues, the Road Safety Foundation has demanded the following:
- Immediate cancellation of the bus leasing system.
- The formation of a high-level investigation committee comprising judges, economists, and public transport experts to audit the number of buses purchased versus those currently in service.
- A formal inquiry into the actual causes of the corporation’s losses and the status of buses currently in dumping.
The RSF leaders concluded by urging prime minister to take effective measures to ensure accountability and provide exemplary punishment for those responsible for the mismanagement of this public utility.
