Literature review

Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA) is responsible for regulating road transport in
Bangladesh. The duty of BRTA is to ensure discipline in road and manage the transport sector.
In 1988, the Bangladesh Road Transportation Authority (BRTA) became the governing body to
regulate, manage and discipline road transport. The training of drivers, the issuing of driving
licenses, the authorization of roads, the collection of taxes, the registration of new vehicles, the
renewal of the registration of old vehicles and the checking of the fitness of such vehicles have
been carried out. But several concerns have been asked about the legitimacy of the BRTA since
the beginning of its operation. Despite having such an important role in the economy BRTA fails
to ensure road and transport safety as the internal management is corrupted and unregulated.
BRTA has only one Vehicle Inspection Center in the Mirpur office to digitally track those
vehicle components. Brokers stand outside the BRTA office in Mirpur and offer to do the hectic
job of getting all the papers right for the vehicle owners or drivers. Many of these brokers are
fraud, they take the money in advance and never get the work done (Daily Sun, 2020). Though
this is illegal, most people depend on this brokers so that they do not have to take the hassle for
paperwork. Recently, BRTA put up pictures of few brokers outside the office and warned people
to stop taking any service from them. However, recently people are suffering to get their smart
driving license. Smart license is supposed to make life easy but the trap people are falling into to
get their smart driving license is a sad reality. Almost six lakh eligible applicants are waiting to
get their smart driving license, many fell into the trap of brokers, spending lots of money (The
Business Standard, 2020). After assessing the urgency of applications, the BRTA is now issuing
a restricted number of smart licenses, a BRTA official said, adding that the number is no more
than a hundred on average every month. Also, practical driving tests for all vehicles remained
halted for months. On the other hand, service seekers struggling to renew their vehicles' fitness at
the Mirpur office of the Bangladesh Road Transport Authority in the capital are suffering while
staff members are also struggling due to tremendous pressure in the fear of coronavirus infection.
The service-seekers alleged the presence of brokers and the lack of health and social security
initiatives in the Mirpur office. One motor vehicle inspector at the office was recently found to
be positive for COVID-19, although officials were concerned about more infections if the rush
persisted. The authority is currently inspecting the fitness of vehicles and has recently started the
registration service on a limited scale due to the prevailing situation (The Business Standard,
2020). Bangladesh has been one of the most dangerous places in the world for commuters with a
fatality rate of 70! With the number of motor vehicles increasing at 8 per cent per year, there is a
significant risk that road accidents will steadily increase if the fitness of the vehicles is not tested
and the drivers are not properly qualified. In order to bring about a positive change, the
government needs to make real political commitments. Unless it splits the long-established
union, punishes corrupt BRTA officials and improves the organization providing the required
manpower and technical support, it will not be able to minimize public abuse in the BRTA
offices or ensure road safety.
Reference:
1. What is wrong with BRTA? | daily sun. (2020). Retrieved 15 December 2020, from
https://www.daily-sun.com/magazine/details/440482/What-is-wrong-with-BRTA?
fbclid=IwAR1nz2WlYNCy4yr3dlbdBihsEayCzhQkfm6fMiL1PSDwS-0yfkWomUcietI
2. 6 lakh smart driving licence seekers caught in BRTA puzzle. (2020). Retrieved 15
December 2020, from https://tbsnews.net/bangladesh/transport/6-lakh-smart-driving-
licence-seekers-caught-brta-puzzle-128515?
fbclid=IwAR2dMpUCYcxrxNB57AgJRMZwpIZSSe5daWoG76gUyOfl_2n06ih-803-
yV4