Dhaka Gridlocked By Traffic Jams For Average Of 7.5 Hours Per Day - AFP

[hatrack]

Traffic in the Bangladeshi capital Dhaka is at a standstill for an average of 7.5 hours a day, according to a government study that highlighted the huge economic toll of congestion.

"Dhaka is perhaps the worst congested city in the world. It is fast becoming unlivable," Santosh Kumar Roy, an engineer with the Roads and Highway Division which conducted the study, said Monday.

"Tailbacks are becoming bigger and bigger," he said. "We have found that between 8:00 am and 8:00 pm, a vehicle spends on average 7.5 hours in traffic jams."

The annual economic loss from the gridlock on Dhaka's four key roads alone amounted to 96 billion taka (1.4 billion dollars) -- one-third of the impoverished country's annual development expenditure, the study found.

EDIT

http://www.terradaily.com/2007/091019093922.5hvtju7n.html

[Warpy]

1. Perhaps a little restriction on those main roads is in order

with commercial traffic only during business hours. Other travel on them could be done early in the morning. It would seem less convenient at first, but so is sitting in traffic for 8 hours at a stretch.

When they do build that transit system, let's hope it's elevated monorails, out of the way, cheaper to build than subways, and impervious to flood.