The government has decided to make GPS tracking mandatory in public transport to prevent road accidents and enhance overall road safety. The decision was taken at an important meeting held on Sunday, 29 March, at the conference room of the Road Transport and Highways Division. The meeting was chaired by Minister for Road Transport and Bridges, Railways and Shipping Sheikh Rabiul Alam. State Minister Habibur Rashid, State Minister for Local Government, Rural Development and Cooperatives Mir Shahe Alam, and Chief Coordinator of Bangladesh Jatiyatabadi Sramik Dal and Member of Parliament from Pabna-5 Advocate Shamsur Rahman Shimul Biswas were also present.
Regarding the decisions, Minister Sheikh Rabiul Alam said that a policy decision has been taken to implement GPS in public transport. He also instructed the Roads and Highways Department to make U-turns safer and directed the Local Government Division to take necessary measures to ensure safe U-turns on local roads. Ahead of the upcoming Eid-ul-Azha, steps will be taken to ensure that passengers disembark from vehicles before boarding ferries, with proper safety measures in place. Authorities have been strictly instructed not to register any unfit vehicles.
Special guests at the meeting included State Minister for Road Transport and Highways Division and Railways Habibur Rashid, State Minister for Local Government Mir Shahe Alam, and Member of Parliament Advocate Shamsur Rahman Shimul Biswas. State Minister Habibur Rashid emphasized the need to further strengthen the Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA) and called for coordinated efforts to implement the government’s development plans.
At a press briefing after the meeting, the Road Transport and Bridges Minister said that highway police will be made more active to reduce road accidents and ensure safety. Measures will be taken to control freight vehicles, and unauthorized temporary bus counters will be shut down. To prevent overcharging, it will be made mandatory to visibly display BRTA-approved fare charts at every bus counter and in all vehicles. The government will soon take initiatives to fix fares for air-conditioned buses.
The minister expressed hope that continued coordinated efforts will make future Eid travel safer, smoother, and more passenger-friendly.
DBTech/ND/EK/OR
