transit oriented development (tod) - a road towards ...

ISSN (ONLINE): 2455-9261 SOUTH ASIAN JOURNAL OF RESEARCH IN ENGINEERING SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY (SAJREST) WWW.SAJREST.COM

VOLUME: 01 ISSUE: 03 | MAY-2016

TRANSIT ORIENTED DEVELOPMENT (TOD) - A ROAD TOWARDS SUSTAINABLE TRANSPORTATION IN DHAKA Nuzhat Azra Lecturer, Department of Civil Engineering Ahsanullah University of Science and Techology Dhaka, Bangladesh [email protected] Abstract—Planners and urban designers across the globe are promoting transit oriented development (TOD) to encourage sustainable development. TODs are compact, mixed-use developments that facilitate walking, bicycling, and use of public transport through its urban design. In an overpopulated city like Dhaka, uncontrolled urbanization is the major cause of congestion, road accidents, environmental pollution and various other traffic related problems. Hence sustainable transportation is the only option to contain this situation. This article presents the Transit oriented development (TOD) as the best option for sustainable development in Dhaka. The idea is that increased use of public transportation will lessen the demand for private transportation thereby lowering the number of vehicles on the road and thus lessening congestion, accidents and vehicle emissions. The discussion also brings into view the traffic problems of Dhaka city along with current BRT and MRT projects and points out the obstacles in implementing them. Keywords—Sustainable transportation, Transit Oriented Development (TOD), Bus Rapid Transit (BRT), Mass Rapid Transit (MRT), Transportation System, Public transit.

360

©SAJREST 2016

ISSN (ONLINE): 2455-9261 SOUTH ASIAN JOURNAL OF RESEARCH IN ENGINEERING SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY (SAJREST) WWW.SAJREST.COM

VOLUME: 01 ISSUE: 03 | MAY-2016

I.

INTRODUCTION

Many factors have begun to bring about a reconsideration of our metropolitan landscapes. Commuters in many regions of the country are increasingly frustrated with congestion and arduous commutes. Concern over sprawl and the loss of open space is growing. Air pollution, greenhouse gas emissions, and pressure on foreign and domestic oil supplies are in the public spotlight. Disillusionment with auto-dependent development (AOD) and sprawl is on the rise, at least anecdotally. And rising housing prices in many metropolitan areas have limited the residential choices and homeownership opportunities of a large part of the population, including many who are solidly in the middle class (Belzer and Autler, 2002a; Cervero et al., 2004, Hall, 1998; Newman and Kenworthy, 1999). One recent study suggests that places with sprawling, auto-centric landscapes are poor economic performers. Using data from 46 international cities, Kenworthy and Laube (1999) found gross regional product per capita was generally higher in less autodependent cities: Car use does not necessarily increase with increasing wealth, but tends to fall in the wealthiest cities. Therefore, in policy efforts to mitigate these problems, smart growth has emerged under sustainable development. Smart growth calls for building communities that are more hospitable, productive, and fiscally and environmentally responsible than most of the communities that have been developed in the last century. Transit Oriented Development (TOD) has recently become a popular tool to promote smart growth and sustainable development. TODs have been hailed as a model for integrating land use with transportation in the interest of smart growth (Calthorpe, 1993; Cervero, 1998; Newman and Kenworthy, 1999; Renne and Newman, 2002; Renne and Wells, 2004). Dhaka, the capital city of Bangladesh with current population of 17 million has been growing at astonishing levels since the independence. Its metropolitan area is home to almost 15 million people in an area of 1,528 km² (about 17 million in the Greater Dhaka). By 2020, the megacity’s population is expected to rise to 20 million people. It is also one of the most densely populated cities in the world, with more than 45,000 people per square meter in the core area (ADB, 2011). Per capita income averages around US$ 900 per year, and around 30 percent of the population lives in miserable conditions, with very poor access to transport services (Ministry of Finance, GoB, 2012).

traffic and environmental problems in the metropolitan Dhaka. Road traffic congestion continues to remain a major problem and indeed is deteriorating rapidly resulting in massive losses. The greater challenge thus for transportation professionals is to develop a system of urban transport that meet the basic mobility needs for all urban dwellers at desirable safety and avoiding the unacceptable level of congestion and its consequent overwhelming adverse environmental effects. The purpose of this paper is to introduce the key transport and traffic characteristics in metro Dhaka and to identify transitoriented development strategies and policy actions used in sustainable development efforts. II.

A detailed exposition on the concepts, principles and strategies of sustainable transport has been provided by Replogle (1990). The emerging sustainable transportation paradigm seeks to maximize efficiency in overall resource utilization. This is achieved by increasing modal diversity, paying more attention to the pattern of transportation and land use and encouraging use of efficient transportation modes whenever practical, often by encouraging better connectivity between modes. Replogle (1990) argued that efficient and sustainable strategies strive for a modally balanced system, augmenting traditional transportation with larger volume, longer distance, and faster speed movements and promoting infrastructure and land use patterns that maximize opportunities for pedestrian, cycle and cart traffic to meet short distance movements, including access to higher speed, larger capacity motorized or rail transport system. Efficient and sustainable transport strategies promote the mechanization of goods and person movements made by low income people replacing the sheer drudgery of unaided human-powered transport with greater use of bicycles, carts, rickshaws, and other non-polluting, nonresource intensive low cost tools for transport. The principles of sustainable transport also encourage utilization of low cost public transport capable of performing well in land use and densely populated cities, developing cities in particular (Masood et. al. 2011). Thus the guiding principles of sustainable transport are:

The rapid urbanization process, high vehicular population growth and that of the mobility, inadequate transportation facilities and policies, varied traffic mix with over concentration of non-motorized vehicles, absence of dependable public transport system and inadequate traffic management practices have created a significant worsening of

361

THE CONTEXT OF SUSTAINABLE TRANSPORTATION

©SAJREST 2016



Improve accessibility along with mobility: should focus accessibility-based planning along with mobility-based planning that include improvements to alternative modes, more accessible land use patterns, and improvement to mobility substitutes.



Enhance the safe and healthy movement: systems should be designed and operated in a way that protects the health (physical, mental and social well-being) and safety of all people especially the vulnerable users, and enhances the quality of life in communities.

ISSN (ONLINE): 2455-9261 SOUTH ASIAN JOURNAL OF RESEARCH IN ENGINEERING SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY (SAJREST) WWW.SAJREST.COM

VOLUME: 01 ISSUE: 03 | MAY-2016



Participation of all and equity consideration: people and communities need to be fully engaged in the decision-making process about sustainable transportation, and empowered to participate. The transportation system should meet the needs and requirements of all categories of road users.



Integrated planning of land and resource use: Land-use planning systems must be geographically, financially and politically feasible.



Economic affordability: seen as contributing to improvements in economic and community wellbeing with due emphasis on the needs and affordability of low income people.

Asian Development Bank (ADB, 2009) has pursued three strands in its approach to sustainable urban transport. These strands are known as “avoid, shift, and improve.” 

Avoid-Reducing the need for travel: an integrated land use planning reduces residents‟ need to travel promoting city structures and urban densities that do not require large passenger–kilometers (km) and freight–km of travel; and cuts back on urban sprawl, pollution, and congestion.



Shift-Changing modal choice: change modal choice to promote lower fuel consumption per passenger–km and/or freight–km and manage traffic so as to reduce fuel consumption and air pollutants.



Improve-Increasing the energy efficiency of vehicles and fuels: increase the energy efficiency of vehicles and fuels by decreasing distances travelled and reduce the greenhouse gas footprint per liter of fuel consumed.

The preceding observations are especially cogent to the urban situation in Bangladesh and there is a need to translate these principles in the urban transport strategies particularly in Dhaka. III.

OVERVIEW OF TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM OF DHAKA CITY

A. The Problem Characteristics The transport system in Dhaka includes many different modes of travel - both motorized and non-motorized. These diverse modes often use the same road space, resulting in a high level of operational disorder. The city’s transport environment and system are unique among cities of comparable size in the world, being predominantly road based with a substantial share of non-motorized transport. Buses and minibuses, the cheapest mode available as mass transit, are constrained by poor service conditions: long waiting, delay on plying, overloading and long walking distance from the residence/work place to bus stoppages are some of the problems that users confront daily. This situation has resulted in deterioration in accessibility, level of service, safety, comfort and operational efficiency, causing increased costs, loss of time, air pollution and psychological strain, and posing a serious risk to the economic viability of the city and the sustainability of its environment. In addition, the city’s road space is limited, with few alternative connector roads, lacking of effective maintenance and management, most of it with geometrical conditions that make then not accessible to buses. With non-motorized transport as a significant mode, there are no effective bi-cycle lanes and safe walkways, and the footpath available for pedestrian is occupied in great proportion by vendors and others. Most of signals are manually controlled and police have to control traffic, without properly coordinated automated systems. With policy formation and control shared between governments agencies poorly coordinated, there has been a lack of organized effort to handle the situation. B. Travel Modes Used A variety of vehicle and travel modes including private, public and personalized vehicles and walking are used for different trips. From BRTA the data of total registered vehicles up to 2013 have been collected. There are several categories of vehicles that have been registered up to 2013. The overall composition of all the vehicle types depicts a mixed characteristic. The increase in vehicle number from year 2000 to 2013 has remarkable with the increase of motor car and motor cycle (Figure 1).

The transport system in Dhaka includes many different modes of travel– both motorized and non-motorized. These diverse modes often use the same road space, resulting in a high level of operational disorder with concomitant worsening of traffic congestion. The city’s transport system, being predominantly road based with a substantial share of non-motorized transport, is unique among cities of comparable size in the world. A brief overview of Dhaka’s transport system is provided below.

362

©SAJREST 2016

ISSN (ONLINE): 2455-9261 SOUTH ASIAN JOURNAL OF RESEARCH IN ENGINEERING SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY (SAJREST) WWW.SAJREST.COM

VOLUME: 01 ISSUE: 03 | MAY-2016

Number of Motor Vehicles Registered in Dhaka by type (upto 2013) Others

70000

Motor Cycle

60000 50000

Jeep

40000

Truck

30000

Bus

20000

Auto Rickshaw/ Auto Tempo Taxi

10000 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013

0

Car

Fig 1: Number of vehicle change in Dhaka, up to 2013 (Data Source: Bangladesh Road Transport Authority, 2015)

C. Inadequate public transport facilities Aside from walking and cycling, public transport is the only mean of travel for the majority of the city dwellers. From the recent surveys taken by the Revised Strategic Transport Plan, it is found out that more than 60% of the travelers use public transport for their journey to work. However, in relation with the high fare cost places these modes out of the reach of many lower paid workers. The poor service provided makes these modes unpleasant to use. The average age of the people on a journey is difficult to obtain since it is changing constantly. The systems compete with each other for the patronage of the traveling public mostly with low standard and out of date equipment, and on the roads which are badly surfaced causing additional damage on the vehicles. Bus stops are badly located and routes are not advertised leading to the confusion on the part of the users. The increase of many owners operating single vehicles rather than larger companies or cooperatives operating travels is a hindrance to an organized and passenger-oriented system. The service to the public still suffers further because of the various types of vehicles without any standardization of design and also with regards to pedestrian access ramps and steps. Import rules are also not sufficiently strict leading to further variation of the travel types. Waiting areas for rickshaws and CNGs are not properly located or designed leading to these vehicles standing on the traffic lanes. The links between different sub-modes are poorly designed with buses, rickshaws and CNGs stopping in the same areas causing congestion and disorder. Bus and ferry terminals and rail stations are poorly repaired although there are moves to improve some of these. There are almost no public transport priority measures in existence and public transport has to fight with other modes for road space.

waiting passengers cannot board. (Urban Transport Policy, 2015) D. Environmental Pollution Dhaka can be considered one of the world’s most polluted mega-cities when it comes to air pollution (Gurjar et al., 2008). Transport sector is one of the largest contributing human activities for Greenhouse gas emission. The emission results for Dhaka for 2013 show that emissions from different sources include PM10, PM2.5, SOx, NOx, and CO. Among them traffic is the main contributor of NOx and CO emissions in Dhaka. This sector contributes as much as 7,620 tons of NOx per year for 2013 in the Dhaka grid, which is 58.6% of the total annual NOx emissions. Traffic sector also constitutes 40.5% of the total CO emissions, higher than fossil fuel and industrial emissions (which include brick kilns) constituting only 27.1% and 16.4% of the total CO emissions, respectively (BAPS, 2015). It is apparent that transportation’s impact on the environment needs to be addressed if transportation is to become more sustainable.

E. Safety Concern: Over the past few years the number of road accidents in Dhaka Metropolitan Area (DMA) has reduced but it is still significant. Recent data on road accidents in DMA show the following changes. Number of Road Accidents in Dhaka Metropolitan Area

2012

Killed

2008 2006

Total Accidents

2004 0

200

400

600

800

Fig 2: Number of road accidents in Dhaka, up to 2013 (Data Source: Accident Research Institute Report, 2014)

Some of the key factors that are responsible for safety problem in Dhaka are following (Hoque et al 2014):

All of these unfavorable conditions have a major impact on public transport services making it inefficient, uncomfortable and unreliable. Waiting times are not the critical issue since frequencies of 10-15 per hour are the norm. What is more critical is the fact that many units that pass by are full and

363

Injured

2010

©SAJREST 2016



Irresponsible and careless driving – excessive speed; overtaking without proper precautions; overloaded vehicles, talking over the cell phones and allowing passengers on the roof-top.



Poor road geometry and poor condition of vehicles – insufficient road width; sharp bends; and narrow bridges; brake failures; and lack of proper maintenance.

ISSN (ONLINE): 2455-9261 SOUTH ASIAN JOURNAL OF RESEARCH IN ENGINEERING SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY (SAJREST) WWW.SAJREST.COM

VOLUME: 01 ISSUE: 03 | MAY-2016





Poorly trained drivers - a large number have only fake or no licenses, and are often poorly trained, unfamiliar with basic traffic laws and often act improperly. Careless movement of pedestrians – at traffic intersections in urban areas; and around market places.

From the above discussion it can be clearly deduced that sustainable transport has become a prime concern for this city.

IV.

THE ROAD TOWARDS SUSTAINABILITY- WHY IS TOD THE SOLUTION?

A sustainable urban transport system requires strengthening various features of the system including mobility, accessibility, affordability, social equity, efficiency, safety, security, convenience, low carbon, comfort, and people- and environment-friendliness. In order to achieve all these elements, various challenges need to be addressed in an integrated manner. These challenges include improving human health through the reduction of urban air pollution, tackling climate change, reducing the number of deaths and injuries from road accidents, controlling excessive motorization, improving public transport services, encouraging more walking and cycling, and recognizing the specific needs of urban poor, women, the elderly, people with disabilities, youth, and children. (Shanghai Manual, 2012)



Diversity: mixed land use, extensive choices of housing and commutating;



Design: pedestrian or friendly oriented design.

According to above definitions of TOD, there are three main terms, density, diversity and design, so called 3Ds. Strategies of 3Ds are intended to increase transit ridership, increase walking and biking, and decrease the share of automobile trips. The design and mixed-use features of TOD may reduce both work and non-work automobile trips. Furthermore, these potential benefits can help amortize multi-billion dollar investments in rail transit infrastructure. Urban planning history provides accounts of promising ideas that did not realize its goals on implementation. TOD strategies are based on a theory that land uses near a rail transit stop will produce a different travel pattern than land uses in an automobile focused area. The best way to ensure that TOD can help solve urban challenges is to provide solid analytic evidence about its effectiveness (Lund et al., 2004: 1). In other words, numerous and various benefits of TOD contain economical, environmental and social effectiveness. Thus it can be seen that strategies of TOD are able to achieve goals of smart growth and sustainable development. TABLE I: IS TOD GOALS CORRESPONDENT WITH SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT (LI AND LAI, 2006) Literature

Definitions

Salvensen (1996)

Development within a specified geographical area around a transit station with a variety of land uses and a multiplicity of landowners. A compact, mixed-use community, centered around a transit station that, by design, invites residents, workers, and shoppers to drive their cars less and ride mass transit more. The practice of developing or intensifying residential land use near rail stations. TOD is consistent with the mixed-use, pedestrianfriendly character. A place of relatively higher density that includes a mixture of residential, employment, shopping and

There are various ways to describe an implementation method for sustainable urban transport in a city. Transit Oriented Development (TOD) can be the best solution for an over populated city like Dhaka. A. Sustainable Goals and Definitions of TOD Transit-oriented development is including bus- and railoriented development as well as development along freeways (Lefaver, 1997). This paper takes a narrower definition, referring to development near to mass transit systems. While there is no single, all encompassing definition that represents the TOD concept in its many forms, most definitions of TOD nonetheless share common traits (Cervero et al., 2004). The following represents definitions of TOD found in the literature (see table 1). This paper’s review takes a limited definition, referring to development near or oriented to mass transit corridors and stations. While there is no single, all encompassing definition that represents the TOD concept in its many forms, most definitions of TOD nonetheless share common traits. While such definitions vary in scope and specificity, most TOD definitions share several common elements: 

364

Density: raising density around transit stations with 1/4 to 1/2 miles;

Bernick and Cervero (1997)

Boarnet and Crane (1998) Boarnet and Compin (1999) Maryland Department of Transportation (2000)

©SAJREST 2016

Is TOD Goals Correspondent with Sustainable development Eco. En. So. √ √

√

√

√

√

√

√

ISSN (ONLINE): 2455-9261 SOUTH ASIAN JOURNAL OF RESEARCH IN ENGINEERING SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY (SAJREST) WWW.SAJREST.COM

VOLUME: 01 ISSUE: 03 | MAY-2016

Bae (2002)

Belzer and Autle (2002b)

California Department of Transportation(2002)

Still (2002)

Cervero et al.(2004)

Lund et al.(2004)

civic uses and types located within an easy walk of a bus or rail transit center. The development design gives preference to the pedestrian and bicyclists, and may be accessed by automobiles A means of reducing automobile dependence, promoting more compact residential development and fostering mixed land uses. TOD focus on desired functional outcomes, not just physical characteristics, is an important next step. Three main outcomes or goals of TOD: location efficiency, choice, and value capture/financial return. Moderate to higher density development, located within an easy walk of a major transit stop, generally with a mix of residential, employment and shopping opportunities designed for pedestrians without excluding the auto. A mixed-use community that encourages people to live near transit services and to decrease their dependence on driving. TOD is a tool for promoting smart growth, leveraging economic development, and catering to shifting housing market demands and lifestyle preferences. TOD is intended to increase transit ridership, increase walking and biking, and decrease the share of automobile trips. The design and mixed-use features of TOD may reduce both work and nonwork automobile trips.

B. TOD Strategies of Dhaka City According to Urban transport policy (UTP) 2015, the strategy should be to “Ensure mobility and accessibility to urban services that are vital for the people and the society, by providing a transport system characterized by safety, amenity and integrity sustained by an efficient public transport system”. √

Without public transport, the city’s future is untenable. The future public transport must be provided in sufficient quantity and quality. An attractive public transport system is the only solution in which both city authorities and the people are expecting. The following are the suggested policies:

√

√

1. 2.

√

3.

√

4. 5. 6.

√

7.

√

A well thought out mass transport plan including three (3) Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) and three (3) Metro lines (MRT) and a development of 54 arterial roads and improvement of public bus services were proposed as part of overall traffic and transport development for Greater Dhaka Area (GDA).

√

√

√

√

√

NOTE: Eco. =Economical Efficiency; En. = Environmental Protection; So. =Social Equality

Development of a hierarchal mass transit system; Early introduction of an integrated public transport system in an effort to maintain public transport share; Development and improvement of bus transport system, including reform of management systems and the business model Exploitation of para-transit and NMVs Exploitation of water transport system Promotion of public transport use and expansion of services Providing an Affordable Public Transport system

√

C. Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) in Dhaka Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) combines the benefits of light rail transit with the flexibility and efficiency of bus transit. Developing countries with high transit-dependent populations and limited financial resources have increasingly attempted the use of BRT systems because of their low costs and relatively fast implementation times. The cost of a BRT project is considered to be approximately one-third of a LRT project, which is a cost that developing countries can afford. BRT can be integrated into urban and suburban environments in ways that foster economic development and transit and pedestrian friendly design. Examples of regions that have integrated BRT successfully include Adelaide, Boston, Ottawa, and Brisbane (Levinson et al. 2003). The successful BRT systems in many cities can now be taken as an example for other developing countries to follow in the future. e.g. Bogota, Curitiba (Leal and Bertini, 2003). The Strategic Transport Plan (STP), for Metro Dhaka, recommended a package of comprehensive programs for the development of transport infrastructure over 20 year period. The BRT project is envisaged to have the transport improvements and is expected to contribute in achieving

365

©SAJREST 2016

ISSN (ONLINE): 2455-9261 SOUTH ASIAN JOURNAL OF RESEARCH IN ENGINEERING SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY (SAJREST) WWW.SAJREST.COM

VOLUME: 01 ISSUE: 03 | MAY-2016

sustainable structural transport improvements and organizational changes in the city transport crisis. Some of the likely improvements are and consequences of BRT for sustainable public transport are (DTCA and ALG, 2011): 



Improved Travel Performance: Decrease bus and general purpose traffic journey times in the corridor. Improvements in connectivity from the corridor to all parts of the city, through highquality interfaces with connecting buses and rickshaws. Improvements in attractiveness of public transport: Promotion of service that attracts new users with alternative private transport options and that offers enhanced services to those who depend on public transport.



Congestion reduction: Shifts in market to public transport. Improvements in traffic behavior through system design, improved management and effective enforcement techniques that lead to reductions in congestion.



Supporting special needs groups: Overall increases in mobility and specific improvements in availability and quality of mobility for the urban poor. Improved trip and comfort characteristics for special needs groups such as the elderly, handicapped and women in general.



Industry support: Provide opportunities for effective private sector participation support for existing bus and rickshaw industries.



Keeping costs reasonable: A relatively low-cost of implementation sensitive to the local needs of Dhaka.



Effective regulation: Develop an effective and accountable system of regulation to select BRT operators; set fares; establish equipment, performance, and good governance standards to be met be franchise holders.



Enhancement of management: Build capacity to manage corridor transport systems. To develop an improved public transport management regime through new institutional and organizational frameworks to manage the corridor transport systems and to develop a high level of service efficiency in the corridor through optimized scheduling and bus speeds that maintain a high level of fleet and passenger efficiency.



366

System integration: Better synchronization of the public transport systems with road and infrastructure development.



Safety enhancement: Overall increase in safety in the corridor through the design of system elements and enforcement approaches that promote safety.



Pollution reduction: Reducing environmental pollution and ensuring World Bank's social and environmental safeguard policies not only in construction period but also when the BRT is in full operation.



Enhancement of facilities for pedestrians: Augmentation of pedestrian sidewalks and overbridges/crossings throughout the corridor, for public access in general.



Urban environmental management/ Landscape Planning: Integrate transport more effectively with land uses and to improve the urban environment. The project will take a proactive environmental stance in developing a strong environmental improvement mandate.

Fig 3: BRT and MRT Corridors proposed by STP (Source: DTCA Homepage)

D. Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) or Metro Project Mass rapid transit projects are often taken by the government of developing countries. Developing countries in Asia are undertaking rail based system as a solution to solve the problems of urban traffic congestion and for meeting rapidly increasing travel demand. This is also targeted for controlling environmental pollution and boosting up economic growth. Experiencing projects in Hong Kong and Singapore, and cities in South Asian countries, like Delhi, Mumbai, Calcutta (India) and Dhaka (Bangladesh) are found to rely on metro for the growing travel demand as ultimate solution.

©SAJREST 2016

ISSN (ONLINE): 2455-9261 SOUTH ASIAN JOURNAL OF RESEARCH IN ENGINEERING SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY (SAJREST) WWW.SAJREST.COM

VOLUME: 01 ISSUE: 03 | MAY-2016

The government of Bangladesh approved a long-term mega project (Strategic Transport Plan, STP 2005) to establish an integrated environment-friendly traffic management system in greater Dhaka reducing troublesome traffic congestion. From a set of investment options including road with Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) or Metro Rail Transit (MRT) or various combinations of these (along various level of road investment), the recommendation was in favor of BRT and MRT along with moderate investments on the improvement of roads as a solution to meet the challenges of the future transport demand of Dhaka. The planned Metro rail in Dhaka is about 60 km. in length and is comprised of three lines (Figure 3). This could be a good response to the prevailing worse traffic situation (Alam, 2010).

established STP sanctioned projects. Mayor Hanif Flyover and MRT in present alignment are contradictions of STP plan document and in conflict with several STP sanctioned projects. As an example, Mayor Hanif Flyover has displaced Metro line 6 from part of the original route from BUET to Saidabad along the Zahir Raihan Sharani and has been realigned from Shahbag to Bangladesh Bank. The upper part of route from Uttara North to Shahbag remained basically unchanged. By estimates in 2004, the total motorized commuters were in excess of 4.5 million. Bulk (70 percent) of the motorized commuters was carried by fragmented public buses. Private cars carried only eight percent of commuters. Buses occupied less than 30 percent of the road surface. By 2014, the number of Buses have not increased , the private cars have doubled from under 97,000 to a staggering 192,000. More importantly motor cycles now number in excess of 275,000. The fragmented and competitive buses have not increased in numbers nor in quality, and carry almost double the commuters and occupy less road space because of private cars . Buses now occupy no more than 20 percent of road space and private cars in excess of 60 percent. The trend continues with new personal affluence of the upper economic classes. The solution for future Dhaka transport system lies not in building more exclusive expressways but in improving the following (Nawaz, 2015) 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

A pavement recovery & traffic lane streamlining program Better general and higher capacity public bus system Implementing the STP's BRT three line program Implementing the three line Metro line program Implementing a major part of the STP Roads program V.

Fig 4: MRT Line 6 Route Map (Source: DHUTS Report)

The first Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) system in Bangladesh is expected to alleviate traffic congestion in Dhaka to provide a smooth flow of people and goods, and stimulate economic activity. It is estimated that the system will have about 510,000 users per day (comparable to the approximately 450,000 people who use the Tokyo Metro Namboku Line, which is similar in size). It is projected that Dhaka residents will change their mode of transportation from automobiles and buses to rail, decreasing the number of vehicles on the road. This is expected to reduce the emission of greenhouse gases (GHG) and help alleviate climate change (JICA, 2013).

Summarized it, this paper aims to connect sustainable and transit-oriented development planning. We find a definite relationship between sustainable goals for urban development and TOD by literature reviews. Definite strategies are developed by matching goals of sustainable development suitable for Dhaka. There is an ever increasing urgency of mitigating the complex transport problems in Dhaka. Poor traffic management, lack of road spaces and the absence of organized public transport resulted in severe traffic congestion, massive delays, increased fuel wastage and resource losses. TOD seems to be the only valid solution to overcome this.

E. Obstacles in Implementing BRT and MRT Projects Any project that is in contradiction or is in conflict with the proposals of STP program should be carefully evaluated or avoided a proper analysis of its benefits and conflicts with

367

CONCLUSION

©SAJREST 2016

REFERENCES 1.

2. 3.

Alam, M. S. (2010) “Factors in deciding Metro Rail in Developing Countries: A study on the proposed Metro Rail system for Dhaka”, Journal of Bangladesh Institute of Planners, Vol. 3, December 2010, pp. 33-51 ADB (2009), "Preparing the Greater Dhaka Sustainable Urban Transport Corridor Project", Consultant’s Report. ADB (2011), "Preparing the Greater Dhaka Sustainable Urban Transport Corridor Project", Consultant’s Report.

ISSN (ONLINE): 2455-9261 SOUTH ASIAN JOURNAL OF RESEARCH IN ENGINEERING SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY (SAJREST) WWW.SAJREST.COM

VOLUME: 01 ISSUE: 03 | MAY-2016 4. 5.

6.

7.

8.

9.

10. 11.

12. 13.

14.

15.

368

Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (2015), "Number of Year wise Registered Motor Vehicles in Dhaka" Belzer, D. and Aulter ,G. (2002a). “Transit-oriented development: moving from Rhetoric to reality”. Washington, D.C.: The Brookings Institution Center on Urban and Metropolitan Policy and the Great American Station Foundation. Bangladesh Air Pollution Studies (2015) “Emissions Inventory for Dhaka and Chittagong of Pollutants PM10, PM2.5, NOx, SOx, and CO”, a project report prepared for Bangladesh Department of Environment (DoE). Bhuiyan, A. A. (2007), Final Report, "Study on Bus Operation in Dhaka City", "Air Quality Management Project (AQMP)", Department of Environment (DoE), Ministry of Environment and Forest (MoEF). Cervero, R., Murphy, S., Ferrell, C., Goguts, N., Tsai, Y.-H., Arrington, G. B., Borski, J., Smith-Heimer, J., Golem, R., Peninger, P., Nakajima, E., Chui, E., Dunphy, R., Myers, M., Mckay, S., and Witenstein, N. (2004). Transit-Oriented Development in the United States: Experiences, Challenges, Transit Cooperative Research Program Report 102. Washington, D.C.: Transportation Research Board.Hall, P. (1988). Urban growth in Western Europe, the Metropolis Era, 1: 111-127. Calthorpe, P. (1993). The Next American Metropolis: Ecology, Community and American Dream. New York: Princeton Architectural Press. Cervero, Robert. (1998). “The Transit Metropolis”, Washington: Island Press. Currie (2006), Levinson et al.( 2003), U.S.General Accounting Office, (2001) Currie, G. (2006), "Bus Rapid Transit in Australasia: Performance, Lessons Learned and Futures", Journal of Public Transportation, Volume. 9, No. 3, National Center for Transit Research, University of South Florida. Dhaka Mass Transit Development Project,2016 http://www.rthd.gov.bd/admin/profiles/donation/rthd_13.pdf Dhaka Transport Co-ordination Authority (DTCA) and Advanced Logistics Group (ALG) (2011), "BRT and Corridor Restructuring Implementation Study and Preliminary Design Work for the Uttara–Mohakhali–Ramna Sadar Ghat Corridor in Dhaka", Contract for Consultants Services between DTCA and ALG. Gurjar, B.R., Butler, T.M., Lawrence, M.G., Lelieveld, J. (2008) Evaluation of emissions and air quality in megacities. Atmos. Environ., 42, 1593-1606. Hoque, M. M., Rahman, M. A., Islam, B. A. and Saha, D. (2014), “Achieving Sustainable Transport in Metro Dhaka: The Role and Integration of Non-Motorized Transport” Proceedings of 11th TPMDC Transportation Planning and Implementation Methodologies for Developing Countries, Bombay, India.

©SAJREST 2016

16. JICA (2013), Press Release-“Signing of Japanese ODA Loan Agreements with the People's Republic of Bangladesh” 17. Kenworthy, J.R. and F.B Laube. (1996). Automobile Dependence in Cities: An International Comparison of Urban Transport and Land Use Patterns with Implications for sustainability, Environment Impact Assessment Review. 18. Leal, M., Bertini, R.L. (2003), "Bus Rapid Transit: An Alternative for Developing Countries", Compendium of Technical Papers, Institute of Transportation Engineers Annual Meeting 2003, Seattle, Washington. 19. Levinson, H., Zimmerman S., Clinger J., S. Rutherford, Smith R. L., Cracknell J. and Soberman R. (2003), "Bus Rapid Transit, Volume 1: Case Studies in Bus Rapid Transit", TCRP Report 90, Transportation Research Board. 20. Li, C.N. and Lai, T.Y. (2006) “Sustainable Development and Transit-Oriented Development Cities in Taiwan”, The 12th Annual International Sustainable Development Research Conference 21. Masood, M.T., Khan, A., Naqvi, H.A., (2011), “Transportaion problems in Developing Countries Pakistan: A Case-in-Point”. International Journal of Business and management, Vol-6 No. 11, November 2011. 22. Ministry of Finance (MoF) (2012), "Bangladesh Economic Review", Bangladesh Secretariat, Dhaka. 23. Newman, P. and Kenworthy, J. (1999). Sustainability and Cities: Overcoming Automobile Dependence. Washington, D.C.: Island Press. 24. Newman, P. and Kenworthy, J. (1999). Sustainability and Cities: Overcoming Automobile Dependence. Washington, D.C.: Island Press. 25. Nawaz, T (2015) “A proposal for improving Dhaka's future transport scenario”, 24th Anniversary of The Daily Star (Part-3) 26. Renne, John, and Peter Newman. (2002). Facilitating the financing and development of “smart growth.” Transportation Quarterly 56, no. 2: 23–32 27. Renne, John, and Jan Wells. (2004). Emerging European style planning in the USA: transit-oriented development. World Transport Policy & Practice 10, no. 2:12–24. 28. Replogle, M., (1990), “Sustainability: A Vital Concept for Transportation Planning and Development”. Conference on the Development and Planning of Urban Transport in Developing Countries (CODATU V), Sao Paulo, Brazil, September, 1990. 29. Shanghai Manual (2012) – “A Guide for Sustainable Urban Development in the 21st Century” , Chapter 4- Sustainable Urban Transportation, by: United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UNDESA) 30. (Urban Transport Policy, 2015)