Not a single one of the dozen ridesharing firms have secured enlistment certificate from the Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA) as they have failed to fulfill the conditions stipualted in the guidelines set over a year ago, the parliament was told on Tuesday (Mar 5).
The information was disclosed on behalf of Road Transport Minister Obaidul Quader during question-and-answer session in the House.
Quader, also the general secretary of the ruling Awami League, is now in Singapore undergoing treatment following a cardiac arrest.





“Sixteen ride sharing services had applied for enlistment after the guidelines were issued,” was the minister’s response to a query by ruling MP Nasimul Alam Chowdhury.
“However, they were denied as they have failed to fulfill the terms and conditions stipulated in the guidelines,” it said.
It was further said that the app-based services have been ordered to fulfill the terms and condition of the policies as it was not possible to take legal steps against them due to the police, Election Commission and Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission’s involvement with the implementation of the policy.
When some firms like Uber, SAM and Pathao launched ride-sharing services in Bangladesh in 2016, the government had no guidelines for such companies.
As the services started becoming popular in the city infamous for traffic congestions and anarchy in the public transport sector, the government made the guidelines and approved those in January last year after discussions at different levels.
The guidelines made enlistment certificate from Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA) mandatory for the companies and the owners of the vehicles used for the services.
It also said the firms have to add an SOS button to their apps, which will enable users to send their location and other data by touching the button and seek help through the 999 national helpline.
The guidelines stipulate setting up mechanisms to allow police to monitor every trip from a control room. The companies and police are supposed to do the job together, but it has not been done yet.
The companies have to update data of their drivers from their national ID cards and crosscheck those with the Election Commission, which oversees the database of citizens’ details, the guidelines say.
But the Election Commission told the BRTA that it would not allow companies without enlistment certificate to access the database for crosschecking drivers’ details.
The call centres of the companies must remain open round-the-clock and seven days a week, but those who received BRTA’s permission to set up these centres are yet to start operations.
No company can send ridesharing information outside Bangladesh, which means they must set up their data servers in the country, stipulated the guideline.
The servers of all such companies operating in Bangladesh are stationed abroad, according to BRTA officials.