Ride-sharing services thrive in traffic-stricken Dhaka

Despite being one of the most traffic-congested cities in South Asia, ride-sharing has rapidly been gaining popularity in the Bangladeshi capital of Dhaka.

Ride-sharing and its related sectors provide employment while saving time for commuters in the most densely populated city in the world.

A world bank report said last year that traffic congestion wastes around 3.2 million working hours daily for the 15 million inhabitants of Dhaka, which is rolls over an area of 304 square kilometers (117 square miles).

Drivers of the ride-sharing craze tend to be young people, who are economically relieved to work in the budding industry.

They operate in a taxi-like fashion, generally booked in real-time via websites and mobile apps.

Wakil Ahmed came to Dhaka years earlier to pursue a graduate degree. Shortly after his coming in Dhaka, he took a part-time job to help pay for his studies and other regular expenses, though this helped him only a little.

Ahmed, 25, who currently studies accounting in a private university in Dhaka, found one and half years ago acquaintance with app-based ridesharing service that brought tremendous changes in his income.

Borrowing slightly over $2,000 to purchase a motorbike, he registered his name with four separate ride-sharing companies operating in the city.

Apart from meeting all his expenses including his tuition, Ahmed also occasionally contributed to his family's income.

"I could make about 1,500 Bangladeshi takas ($18) in a day if I did the job full-time, and can make a minimum 500 takas ($6) if I operate the motorbike for half a day," he said.

Having repaid his debt from the motorbike, he added that ride-sharing helped him become self-sufficient while continuing with his studies.

Dhaka met app-based ride-sharing in May 2015. Since then, more than two dozen companies have sprung up and currently operating in the city, though only 12 are registered with the country's road transportation authorities.

Rapidly growing sector

Almost all of these companies provide services with cars and motorbikes, with cars providing a more comfortable journey while bikes allow riders to skip traffic jams.

Ahmed's bike is one of around 130,000 vehicles that cater to ride-sharing customers -- 23% of the city’s total number of vehicles -- since the service came into existence in 2015, according to the service insiders.

The Bangladesh Road Transport Authority's latest data show around 286,000 private passenger cars, 36,600 taxis and 677,700 motorbikes were registered in the city by July 2018. However, the official data did not clarify how many motor vehicles were registered for ride-sharing services.

After the debut of ridesharing service in 2015, sales of motorbikes have doubled.

Shariful Islam Tareq, a Senior Manager of Piikmee, a Dhaka-based ride-sharing company, described the industry's momentum in Dhaka.

He said official municipal figures were neither sufficient nor precise on the numbers of commuters and vehicles in the city.

Five to eight percent of people drive private vehicles which occupy a significant portion of city roads in the Bangladeshi capital, while about 80% use public transport. Despite the limited road network, demand in the metropolis worked along with the inadequacy of public transport to nurture the local ride-sharing service.

City commuters, especially women and private jobholders, face the utmost distress in transport to and from their work. This has also opened up market space for ride-sharing on Dhaka roads. However, this no doubt cost public transport severely, Tareq added.

According to a study of Policy Research Institute (PRI) in 2018, the market size of the ride-sharing industry in Bangladesh is worth an estimated 22 billion Bangladeshi taka ($262 million). And, it covered about 23% of the transport sector in the country.

The PRI report noted that ride-sharing companies paid their riders well, with a ride-share car owner expected to earn over $700 per month, double that of the city's average resident.

Inappropriate behavior from drivers

The report added that the average private vehicle owner made an average of 80 trips a month.

Mahtab Bin Hossain often takes ride-sharing services during his daily commute.

He recounted several experiences involving unskilled bike drivers with limited traffic knowledge, as well as accidents due to arrogant riding.

Furthermore, service providers often refused to use apps -- especially during rush hours -- to have travelers sign contracts for share-riding to make extra money, Hossain mentioned.

To address these, the government approved the "Ride-sharing Service Guideline 2017" which came into force March 8, 2018. The document has since restricted ride-sharing services by those whose vehicles are registered outside of Dhaka.

New challenges for Dhaka

In the meantime, an emergency service has been underway. Once launched this will allow subscribers to seek help from law enforcement by simply dialing a phone hotline.

Tareq also suggested an e-training institute for prospective riders.

Mizanur Rahman, a civil engineering professor and Dhaka local, told Anadolu Agency that rides-haring brought eased transportation for those who had the means to pay extra.

But, as the single public transportation service, the city has yet to make significant changes in its commute system.

He suggested a more public transport facility, bringing the public transport system under five or six companies instead of individual transport owners.

He added that the increased number of motorbikes brought additional pressure on city's roads which soon, he said, would bring other problems.

Dhaka is one of the world's most jammed cities sometimes taking one hour to move 6 kilometers (3.7 miles) -- near walking speed. Experts blame faulty urban planning for the problem.