The government of Bangladesh has decided to equip all public transport vehicles with GPS tracking systems to curb irregularities on highways and enhance passenger safety, Road Transport and Bridges Minister Shaikh Rabiul Alam said on Sunday.
Speaking after a post-Eid travel evaluation meeting, the minister said the GPS system will monitor vehicle speed, detect route violations, prevent fare overcharging, and identify unfit vehicles. Overspeeding beyond 80 km/h or deviation from assigned routes will trigger automatic action through the system.
“Despite nearly one and a half crores people leaving Dhaka for Eid, traffic largely moved smoothly,” the minister noted, while expressing sorrow over casualties in isolated accidents.
The evaluation meeting included representatives from the Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA), law enforcement agencies, and transport owners’ and workers’ associations.
Several measures were adopted to improve road safety and reduce congestion ahead of the upcoming Eid-ul-Azha, including stricter control of truck and cargo movement, prevention of temporary markets on highways, and enhanced monitoring in high-risk areas such as Gazipur’s Chandra and Shafipur.
Rabiul Alam further said that passengers will be required to disembark before buses are allowed onto ferries, ticket sales will only be permitted at designated terminals, and CCTV and speed cameras will supplement the GPS monitoring. The BRTA and law enforcement agencies will jointly operate the digital surveillance system to ensure safer and more efficient road travel across the country.
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