The government has planned to bring battery-run rickshaws in the capital under a registration system and regulate their movement through designated zones and GPS-based monitoring.

Under the proposed plan, Dhaka North City Corporation and Dhaka South City Corporation will each be divided into four zones, creating eight zones in total.

A fixed number of rickshaws will be allowed to operate in each zone, and rickshaws assigned to one zone will not be allowed to enter another. Initially, the government has proposed permitting a total of eight lakh battery-run rickshaws on feeder roads in the two city corporations.

The proposals are outlined in a document titled “E-Mobility and Battery Swapping System Roll-out Plan (Dhaka City)” prepared by the Local Government Division. Two meetings held on August 13 and 30, chaired by State Minister for Local Government, Rural Development and Cooperatives Mir Shahe Alam, discussed several issues, including registration, routes, drivers’ licences, production control and charging management.

According to the plan, around 15 lakh unregistered battery-run rickshaws are currently operating in Dhaka city, while another 40 lakh are operating outside the capital. The document says their unregulated movement is contributing to increased traffic congestion and accidents in the capital.

The proposal allows four lakh rickshaws each to operate on 2,250 kilometres of feeder roads under Dhaka North City Corporation and 1,170 kilometres under Dhaka South City Corporation, totalling eight lakh rickshaws. These rickshaws will not be allowed to operate on main roads.

The plan proposes that only new battery-run rickshaws approved by BUET will be registered and allowed to operate on the roads. It also proposes an exchange programme under which old rickshaws will be replaced with new ones.

The value of an old rickshaw will be adjusted against the price of a new one, while the remaining amount may be paid by the owner either personally or through a microcredit scheme.

The proposed price of a locally manufactured two-seater rickshaw is Tk1.80 lakh to Tk2.10 lakh. After adjusting the value of an old vehicle, the cost of purchasing a new rickshaw could range from around Tk1.50 lakh to Tk3.10 lakh, according to the proposal.

Source : Kalbela