The commute to and from university

Brac University is considering relaunching its bus services, and the students are rejoicing every step forward towards the normalcy that had been witnessed and enjoyed before the Covid-19 pandemic. From the past campus days to a two-year-long leap into the future, a common factor that remains is the never-ending onslaught of Dhaka’s traffic, rendering a student’s ability to commute to and from BracU and being on time quite like playing a video game at its highest difficulty mode. Although, the consequences of being late to class surpasses losing a game per se.
BracU restarting its bus services will definitely not eradicate the city’s traffic congestion, but it will somewhat decrease the average amount of private cars heading toward campus. That said, its bigger and brighter effect will undoubtedly be on the reduction of the number of students requiring the usage of public vehicles. With Covid-19 still attached to our lives, a safer means of transportation is certainly a leg up in ensuring health protocols, provided that campus protocols of wearing masks, usage of sanitisers and monitoring the temperatures are extended into the bus service system.
Additionally, BracU is re-examining its bus services and considering the potential commute routes through surveys so that the entirety of Dhaka is covered as evenly and thoroughly as possible. According to Farzana Kamal (Junior, ARC), the bus service is extremely convenient, and the cheap fare of BDT50 per ride helps the students incur a lower transportation cost. However, Azmi Juhaina (Junior, ARC) adds, “The main issue the bus service system has is that sometimes seats are unavailable and one has to wait till 5 pm to avail the services even if their classes end a lot sooner.” Furthermore, it has been noted that occasionally the buses are unavailable, but the students are not notified in advance, thus creating difficulties.
Since BracU is re-evaluating its bus services, one can hope that all the notions of betterment are also considered and incorporated. A convenient transportation system is essential to making commuting as comfortable as possible.