Kickstarter: First Bus Map of Dhaka

[Blah]

Awesome project. Something the city admin should have done long time ago.

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/...s-map-of-dhaka

Fully funded and ready to go:

[MohammedC]

Good luck and I hope you all reach your destination safely

[zsayeed]

cool!!!!

[Maysun]

About time, all the best to the people developing it!

[Rifat]

Alhamdulillah! Great initiative. Hopefully, it will make transit far easier than before...

[One World]

I miss those Murir Tin's which took only 35 paisa apiece to a ride from Azimpur (my residence) to College Gate (my school).

[Navo]

My two cents:

I think the title itself is a big misnomer as its technically not Dhaka's first bus map but at the same time, if successful it'll be more detailed than any currently existing that I have seen, as it will also cover the multifarious private bus operators that ply Dhaka's streets rather than just government services.

I agree with their assertion that rapid motorisation in Dhaka needs to be stemmed (was the figure of 1% car owners surprising? I thought it was a bit low but the roads in Dhaka are awfully narrow) and bus services need to be improved but I'm a bit wary of their idea of crowd surfing (or what they affectionately call flocksourcing) as I feel that it renders such a map vulnerable to a lot of uncertainties. Plus, their 'local staff' consists of volunteers from Kewkradong - who are not urban planners or transport experts but rather an organisation that involves Bangladeshi youth in 'outdoorsy' activities like trekking, rafting, etc. So, it seems a bit random.

[Blah]

The title was taken from their kickstarter project page. I had no idea BD already have an organized and co-ordinated bus map. I have a hard time believing that, specially the way the bus driver's drive where-ever and however they want.

[One World]

Blah, the bus service is really disorganized not only the capital, both inter city and intra city services all over BD. It is a hectic travel experience for anyone who never really did it in their life. Getting used to the arrogant behavior of the checkers and helpers, constant disturbances created by mostly impatient passengers, the frictions all around the roads caused by traffic, law enforcers, hawkers and poor construction are few of the obstacles a person needs to get accustomed to from long continuous practice of riding. Most drivers of intra city services are novice or non-drivers who do not possess either training or licenses to operate. Actually, the passengers are guinea pigs who are exposed to someone who is using the driving to get skilled. Whenever the driver proves sufficiency in operating generally gets transferred to inter city service.

Very few services operate quite systematically in the expense of price almost unaffordable for common people for Dhaka-Sylhet, Dhaka-Khulna and Dhaka-Chittagong routes only.

[zsayeed]

That makes this kickstarter project all the more entrepreneurial.

[BrianLara7]

Traveling in Dhaka.. lol. Even 4/5 years ago it used to take less time to walk two miles than to drive there, is it still the same? I have no idea how the hell people manage it... but that's what happens when you overpopulate such a small country to this extent.

[zsayeed]

Originally Posted by BrianLara7
Traveling in Dhaka.. lol. Even 4/5 years ago it used to take less time to walk two miles than to drive there, is it still the same? I have no idea how the hell people manage it... but that's what happens when you overpopulate such a small country to this extent.

Yes - but in some places you will not be even able to cross the road on foot. I know that first hand. So a vehicle is the best option in some roads. The drivers and pullers leave less than an inch between vehicles in jams.

Dhaka is overpopulated - go out of Dhaka by about 30 km either side - its fine.