The government is finally going to fix the economic service life of all commercial vehicles, including buses and trucks, more than two years after a high-powered committee recommended it.

The committee had identified outdated vehicles as one of the major reasons behind road crashes and put forward a set of measures to reduce road accidents and bring discipline in the road transport sector.

Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA) will sit today with all the stakeholders -- experts, transport leaders, and vehicle manufacturers and importers -- to discuss the issue of setting the economic service life of commercial vehicles.

Currently, there is no fixed economic service life for such vehicles. Taking advantage of this, owners of decades-old buses and trucks are running their rickety vehicles.

Though the transport authority in 2010 banned over 20-year-old buses and over 25-year-old goods-carrying vehicles in the capital, many such run-down vehicles operate on district and inter-district highways, posing serious risk of road crashes and causing environmental pollution.

"We have started a process of fixing the economic service life of commercial vehicles in line with the committee's recommendations. As a part of it, we have called a meeting tomorrow [today]," BRTA Chairman Nur Mohammad Mazumder told The Daily Star yesterday.

"We may have to hold one more meeting to finalise it [fixing service life of commercial vehicles]," he said.

In March 2019, a committee, led by transport sector leader Shajahan Khan, gave 111 recommendations to curb road accidents and bring discipline in the sector.

Later, the government formed a taskforce headed by the home minister to implement the recommendations.

In its report, the committee that also included transport experts, called for setting economic service life of buses, trucks, covered vans and human haulers and stop operation of buses used for over 20 years and trucks used for over 25 years.

Identifying old vehicles as a key reason for road accidents, it said on one hand, such vehicles, specially outdated buses and trucks, go out of order on road, leading to traffic congestion. And on the other hand, those cause accidents and loss of lives.

The report also pointed out that neighbouring India already fixed the service life of commercial vehicles.

Seeking anonymity, a BRTA official said the government in 2010 issued a circular banning over 20-year-old buses and over 25-year-old trucks in the capital.

Following the decision, most of such vehicles were removed from the city roads and put into service on district and inter-district roads, the official pointed out.

Khondaker Enayet Ullah, secretary general of Bangladesh Road Transport Owners Association, claimed that no over 20-year-old bus runs in the capital.

"But I am not sure whether trucks [used for more than 25 years] operates or not [in the capital]," he told this newspaper yesterday.

"A meeting has been called and I hope the service life of commercial vehicles will be fixed."

Replying to a query, he said, "I think there should be a fixed service life for vehicles. There was no opposition from transport owners in setting service life of vehicles… This issue did not come to the fore in the past."

Prof Md Hadiuzzaman, director of Accident Research Institute at Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (Buet), said upon expiry of service life, chassis, brake system and axle of such vehicles weaken and pose risk of road accident.

Besides, such vehicles cause environmental pollution as those emit harmful gases, including carbon dioxide.

Referring to a recent report, he said emission of harmful gases from outdated vehicles is responsible for 15 percent air pollution in the capital.

Hadiuzzaman further said the authorities should not fix the economic service life of vehicles only on the basis of years of service because the service life of vehicles varies depending on their manufacturers. Besides, mileage of a vehicle should be considered.

He also opposed setting the service life of buses at 20 years as the service life of buses manufactured by renowned companies usually remains between 10 and 12 years given that those are operated on good roads.

A total of 46.49 lakh vehicles were registered with the BRTA across the country till February this year. Of those, 16.52 lakh were registered in the capital.

However, many unregistered vehicles are in operation all over the country, said people involved in transport sector.