New guidelines coming to regulate battery-run vehicles: Minister

The government is formulating specific guidelines to regulate and manage battery-run vehicles across the country, including Dhaka, Road Transport and Bridges Minister Sheikh Rabul Alam has said. He clarified that the government has no plan to ban battery-run rickshahs or easybikes, but is working on how to bring them under controlled and disciplined management.

The minister made the remarks in response to a supplementary question from reserved seat MP Shaukat Ara Akhter under Rule 71 of the parliamentary procedure on Monday, July 13.

Earlier, in her notice, Akhter proposed gradually introducing electric and environment-friendly fuel-based public transport to reduce carbon emissions in the transport sector. She noted that nearly 9 percent of the country's total carbon emissions come from the transport sector, with diesel-run buses and trucks responsible for a large part. She emphasised increasing the use of CNG, LNG, biodiesel, biogas, green hydrogen and ethanol-based fuels.

In her supplementary question, she said that while the number of battery-run auto-rickshaws and easybikes in the capital is rising rapidly, unregulated movement, untrained drivers, lack of licensing and ignorance of traffic laws are increasing accidents, congestion and safety risks. She asked whether there is any plan to bring these vehicles under an authority for improvement and discipline.

In response, the minister said battery-run vehicles in Dhaka fall under the jurisdiction of city corporations and the traffic division. However, as part of the initiative to build an integrated multi-modal transport system in the capital, experiments are being conducted on the management of battery-run rickshaws and similar vehicles. A specific guideline will be issued soon for Dhaka and the entire country, based on which the government and local administration will take necessary measures.