Within a short span of their launch in Dhaka city, short-distance circular bus services in Dhanmondi and Uttara neighbourhoods have turned into long-haul services for not wooing adequate passengers.
For example, circular buses on Mohammadpur-Azimpur route via Satmasjid road are in service, but the service via Mirpur, Nilkhet and Kantaban is dead.
Instead, the circular buses now shuttle between Mohammadpur and Kamalapur via Shahbagh.
The Bangladesh Road Transport Corporation (BRTC) is running the lone circular service among the four designated services, two each in the areas in question.
Since its beginning, officials said, the Uttara service could not get adequate passengers, thus compelling BRTC to make it a regular service on Uttara-Motijheel route.
According to sources, the Uttara inhabitants are not interested in taking the short-distance bus service.
Last March, Dhaka Metropolitan Police commissioner Asaduzzaman Mia declared launching of a circular bus services in Motijheel, Dhanmondi and Uttara like the one in Gulshan to ease traffic.
BRTC later introduced the service with imported air-conditioned buses with an eye to facilitating rickshaw passengers to go short distances comfortably.
The Dhanmondi circular service was launched with a total of 20 buses on March 30 and the service in Uttara on May 27.
However, the Motijheel service is yet to start.
The two-way Dhanmondi service was to pick from and drop passengers in 36 stations.
One route runs through Mirpur Road, Nilkhet and Kantaban and the other through Satmasjid Road, Dhaka City College and New Market.
Similarly, 10 buses were supposed to cover all avenues and sectors of Uttara via two separate routes.
One route was designed from Alaol Avenue to Uttara passport office with 12 stops on its either side.
Another was planned from airport station to Uttara Sector-1, with 19 stops on both sides of the route.
The Uttara circular buses could not run for a month due to lack of users, the officials added.
The FE recently talked to a number of passengers who avail Dhanmondi service.
Abu Mohammad Masudduzzaman and Munira Akter Mitu said Azimpur-Mohammadpur route via Satmasjid is convenient for many for having offices and market areas.
But another route was not designed strategically, the passengers observed.
"Actually, the Dhanmondi circular service has been getting office-goers and students from nearby areas," said BRTC chairman Farid Uddin Ahmed last week.
"But Uttara passengers mostly come to the city centre including Motijheel," he added, arguing in favour of the changed service.
After facing loss for a month, Mr Ahmed said the service has been extended up to Motijheel.
BRTC's mission is to serve people and not to make profits. But he said it cannot operate buses if per-kilometre operating costs go lower than usual.
According to the state-owned operator, it tried to keep running costs at Tk 1,200. But in cases, costs went up to Tk 4,000 for being caught up in congestion.
Official records show BRTC operates 19 buses on Dhanmondi-Azimpur circular route giving 76 trips daily in June and earned Tk 1.6 million.
The BRTC-run circular bus services were not incorporated in the city's strategic transport plan.
Seeing the success of the privately-run Gulshan and Hatirjheel circular bus services, BRTC launched Dhanmondi and Uttara services.
But the services were introduced without adequate study or proper measures to stop the plying of rickshaws or diverting routes of other buses.
Circular buses are operated in Gulshan, restricting rickshaws and buses of other routes.
Even Hatirjheel circular bus is only the service provided for the entire 20-kilometre road.
