Bus Rapid Transit as an Improved Public Transport System for Mega City

Dhaka is the capital and the largest city of Bangladesh. Capital city area is about 304 sq. km and total waterway is about 48.56 sq km. Population density of Dhaka city is 23029 per sq. km. Dhaka is located in central Bangladesh at 23°42 0 N 90°22 30 E on the eastern banks of the Buriganga River. The transport sector in Dhaka is composed of many different modes of travel - both motorized and non-motorized, which use the same road space, resulting in a high level of operational disorder. Walking makes about 60% trip within the city. Traffic on the Dhaka urban highways is mainly rickshaw representing 56% of all movements with auto rickshaws 6%, buses 27% and car/jeep 9%. The intolerable traffic congestion of Dhaka City has become an everyday certainty and nightmare for the city dwellers. To solve this situation this research has anticipated coming up with a new idea of BRT to solve all these problems in the study area. The attempt of Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) is to combine the flexibility and low implementation cost of bus service with the comfort, efficiency, cost-effectiveness, land use influence and versatility of other mass transit options like light rail transit (LRT), Metro.