How the Padma Bridge motorbike ban spawned a new business

It was a Wednesday afternoon when we met Nahid, a biker from Shariatpur, near the Padma Bridge Toll Plaza in Mawa. Employed in an office in Dhaka, he has to live in the capital to cut down on his commute time. From the time he reached Mawa, if the bridge was open to bikers, it would have taken him less than an hour to reach his home in Shariatpur. 

But for over half an hour, Nahid patiently waited for more bikers to show up. They would then all huddle onto a truck with their motorbikes, which would then take them to the other side of the river. A moderately large truck can accommodate up to seven bikes. 

Only three bikers showed up after 30 minutes. Nahid's wait could drag on for two hours if more bikers did not reach the pick-up point. 

"I dreamed of having breakfast at home and getting to the office in Dhaka through the Padma bridge. But now, because of the bike ban on the bridge, my dream has turned into a nightmare," Nahid said, adding, "I have to go home each week through this suffering. There is no certainty as to how long it might take me to get home. And I am also losing a lot of money because of this," he said. 

Nahid is not alone in his unique predicament. 

Another biker named Shohag from Faridpur said, "I live in Gulistan [for my job]. It shouldn't take more than an hour and a half to reach home if I use the bridge. But I have to waste a long time waiting for trucks, just like the ferry days. And the financial loss is incomparable." 

But the government's ban on motorbikes on the Padma bridge has given rise to a new opportunity for the truckers and the local youth on either side of the bridge. On both sides, influential local youths have formed groups to help bikers pass through the bridge on trucks. 

The local truck owners, on the days they do not have work, send them to carry the bikes. 

Depending on which side the bikers are boarding from (for example the Jajira point charges less than the Mawa point), and the size of the trucks (the smaller the truck, the higher the charge), the bikers pay from Tk500 to Tk1,200 for each trip. 

The stakeholders providing this service — youth groups who conduct the operations, truck owners, drivers and helpers — distribute the profits that remain after paying the trucks pass charges at the Toll Plaza among themselves. 

After the Padma bridge was inaugurated last June, the stupendous number of bikers on the bridge on day one (26 June), when the bridge was opened to the public, created problems. You probably remember the news about the overwhelming number of bikers competing with each other to get on the bridge. In effect, it created a massive traffic gridlock on both sides of the bridge. 

That night, the very first day the bridge was opened to the public, two people were killed in a motorcycle accident. The accident took place between the 27th and 28th pillars of the bridge. 

The Bridges Division issued the motorbike ban on the bridge effective from 27 June. However, the bikers expected this ban to be revoked after the public enthusiasm revolving around the bridge's inauguration ebbed. 

But two months after the ban, in September 2022, Road Transport and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader hinted that the ban on motorcycles was unlikely to be lifted anytime soon. 

"We did not have any restrictions on motorcycles on the Padma bridge initially. But there has been a problem… Everyone [bikers on the bridge] race in a way," the minister said to explain why restrictions had to be imposed.

It has been nearly five months since the minister's comments and the ban is still in place. Bikers' sufferings, as a result, continue. 

The bikers have been crossing the bridge on small pickup trucks to moderate-sized trucks, paying a hefty fee for the pass. Some of them also cross it on launches, but that takes much longer than on trucks.

On the day we met the bikers at Mawa, we also met the local youth groups that conduct the truck operations. 

"A truck charge on the bridge cost from Tk1,200 to Tk2,400 depending on the size. On our side, we charge per bike Tk800 to Tk900 in general. However, we charge Tk1,200 on the smaller pickup [trucks] where not more than two bikes can get on," said a youth named Anik at the outset of Khan Saheber Bari street in Uttar Medini Mandal — a few hundred metres from the Toll Plaza. 

"We devised this system [carrying bikes on trucks across the bridge] very soon after the bike ban was announced. We knew there would be many bikers, despite the ban, who had to cross the bridge. The plan worked. And the entire youth community of our village have come together to operate this," Anik said. 

The youths at work that day were all school or college students who work under the directive of seniors in their village. 

"We distribute the income among ourselves, and at the end of the day, we all earn a couple of hundred Taka," Anik said, adding that, "unlike them [people who conduct these operations at Jajira point], we are the only group at work here. We are united." 

That perhaps also tells us why the motorbike pass charge is so high on this side. Unlike the Jajira point, where there is competition among different groups, the Uttar Medini Mandal youths have created a monopoly. 

The only other option here for the bikers is the launch service, which costs Tk400 per trip. But each launch can accommodate more than a dozen bikes, so bikers have to wait for a long while for the launch space to be filled up and for their journey across the river to start. 

The bikers in a hurry are left with no choice but to rely on trucks and pay a hefty price.

"When the ferries were active, we paid Tk70 per bike. The bridge charges us Tk100 per bike. But I just paid Tk800 for one pass to the other point," said a biker named Alamin from Satkhira that morning. He was crossing the river with his wife. 

The bikers, meanwhile, have been protesting against the government ban on the bridge for several months. 

A Facebook group named 'Padma Setute Bike Chalur Dabi Janai' has more than a thousand members. They have formed several human chains under the bridge and at the press club. 

On 12 December last year, a man named Abu Hanif Hridoy filed a writ on behalf of the bikers challenging the legality of the government's decision to ban bikes on the bridge. 

But a judge dismissed the writ stating that "it was the government's decision. The government can take control of which vehicles can run on which roads. The court will not interfere here," Abu Hanif told The Business Standard. He said he was going to file another case. 

The 'motorbike' peril 

Some 9,951 people lost their lives to road accidents in 2022, which is the highest in the past eight years, according to a recent report by the Passenger Welfare Association of Bangladesh. The report also states that 28.59% of accidents (also the highest) involved motorbikes followed by 24.50% of accidents, which involved trucks, pickups, covered vans and lorries.

Additionally, 13.95% of accidents involved buses, and 11.42% involved battery-powered rickshaws and easy bikes.

This report sheds light on the phenomenon of road accidents across the country, and perhaps begs the question: what difference can a motorbike ban on only one bridge really make while road accidents, in general, remain largely unaddressed? 

"The accident that promoted the ban was a mere excuse," Hanif said. "Buses also get into accidents in this area. Will the government ban buses for this? Actually, there is a syndicate [of transport owners] at play who are misleading the government." 

We reached out to Bridge Division secretary Monjur Hossin to learn why they are dragging on the ban and if they have plans to withdraw it, but he did not respond to our call. 

Meanwhile, the bikers' woes at the Padma Bridge continue. 

We attended one of their human chains demanding the ban be withdrawn in front of the press club on a recent Saturday. 

A biker named Billal, from Shariatpur, was there among others. 

"Earlier I used to drive myself and get on the ferry. Now three to four people have to pick up the bike and load it onto the truck. And still, there are many risks. Every now and then, the bike gets damaged, the paint gets scratched off, and the spokes get chipped. 

"All in all, while crossing the Padma, the cost has increased manifold for bikers," stated Billal.