Sylhet city's only bus service beset with poor service, mismanagement

Sylhet city once had a "Town Bus" service but it lasted no more than six years. Introduced in 2008 with 31 minibuses, the service was wound up in 2014 owing to gross mismanagement and losses, according to locals.

Residents of Sylhet city heaved a sigh of relief when the city corporation launched an intra-city bus service in 2019, but their expectations have again fizzled out.

The Nagar Express, the only available bus service in the city which was launched with 21 buses under the supervision of Sylhet City Corporation on 26 December 2019, is also beset by mismanagement and poor service quality.

Ali Akbar Chowdhury, a supervising engineer at Sylhet City Corporation's Transport Branch, said, "The Nagar Express service is not owned by the city corporation. The corporation launched this service in coordination with a group of bus owners to provide hassle-free transport services to city dwellers. 

"We are neither involved in the management nor do we not get profits or losses" he added. 

People in Sylhet city, which is famous among tourists for its Sufi shrines, have long been relying on motorbikes, rickshaws, and battery-run three-wheelers for daily commuting as the city bus service failed to live up to their expectations.

During the inauguration, the city corporation made a bunch of promises to make the service a more inclusive and reliable one but none of them has been kept.

The mayor of Sylhet city promised that every Nagar Express bus will have free Wi-Fi, closed-circuit cameras and an e-ticket system. Besides, separate buses were supposed to be launched for women passengers.

The mayor also assured that separate passenger sheds will be set up in different areas of the city but so far not even one shed has been constructed. There are no specific bus stops, hence, drivers are picking up and dropping off passengers all over the road.

When contacted over the phone, Sylhet City Corporation Mayor Ariful Haque Choudhury could not be reached for comments on the dilapidated condition of the much-anticipated Nagar Express. 

As the quality of service declined over time, the city service now failed to attract passengers, inflicting more losses on bus owners.

The service that started off with 21 buses currently has only 12 buses plying on a few routes, according to the Nagar Express City Bus Owners Group.  

Bus owners are also disappointed as they are not able to do business as expected. The service is operated by Nagar Express City Bus Owners Group. 

Mukhleshur Rahman Kamran, the convener of this group and councillor of ward 9 in the city corporation, said initially some buses were fitted with CCTV cameras but after some time these were stolen.

Admitting to some chaos in bus operation, he said it is a loss project so far. "The enthusiasm and expectations with which the Nagar Express was launched have waned due to chronic losses. Now the bus owners are not interested in maintaining the vehicles and updating services."

Visiting the Bandar Bazar area of the city on 17 January, The Business Standard (TBS) witnessed three buses of Nagar Express picking up passengers in the middle of the road. Getting on one of the buses, most of the seats were found broken and dirty. Besides, the helper was also seen getting into a verbal argument with a passenger over the fare.

A passenger named Arif Ahmad told TBS that there is no timetable for the arrival and departure of the buses. 

"Passengers are picked up and dropped off at any place. The buses make irregular stopovers on the roads, making it longer for the passengers to reach their destinations," he said, adding that he does not get on the Nagar Express buses unless compelled to.

Saidul Islam, the driver of the bus, said, "The seats were broken and the fans do not work. Passengers file complaints every day. I have informed the authorities but they are not interested in repairing the vehicle."

If the quality of service and the management is not improved, the Nagar Express will fail just like the previous Town Bus service, said President of Shushashoner Jonno Nagorik's (Shujan) Sylhet unit Faruk Mahmud Chowdhury. 

"The lack of public transport is a big problem in Sylhet. It was a very good initiative to introduce the public transport service under the supervision of the city corporation but the corporation did not focus on management and service quality after the launch," he added.