Three-wheeled, battery-powered rickshaws developed by BUET are set to begin operating in Dhaka this August. The initiative will start with a limited rollout in Paltan, Dhanmondi, and Uttara, according to officials from the Dhaka North City Corporation.
At a launch event for a new driver training program, Local Government Adviser Asif Mahmud Sajib Bhuiyan shared details of the upcoming pilot. He said each neighborhood will receive a fixed number of rickshaws, with drivers operating only within their assigned zones.
“The goal is to avoid chaos and protect drivers from extortion and harassment,” Bhuiyan told attendees gathered at DNCC’s Nagar Bhaban.
The electric rickshaws were designed by the Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET) as a cleaner and more regulated alternative to the current system. Many existing rickshaws operate without approval and lack standardized oversight.
DNCC Administrator Selim Reza added that the first rickshaws will hit the streets in early August. Meanwhile, non-approved rickshaws will be gradually removed from service.
To support the program, the city is also working on building authorized charging points. Officials stressed that only licensed stations will be allowed to provide charging services to keep the system under control.
One major shift in the process is digitalization. Bhuiyan said the entire licensing process—for both vehicles and drivers—is being moved online.
“We’re eliminating physical contact,” he said. “When paperwork passes through too many hands, the opportunity for illegal transactions increases. We’re closing that door.”
Here’s the big idea city leaders have for getting a handle on the rickshaw problem. By making them stick to their own zones and plugging them into one main system, they think they can bring in some real transparency and cut down on all the shady, informal payments.
Sure, no one really knows if it’ll work or how people will take it. But officials are staying hopeful, calling this test run the first real move toward fixing the city’s rickshaw chaos.
