Wait for a lavish bus journey between Dhaka and Chittagong cities is almost over.

By the end of this month, people will be able to hop on a double-decker deluxe bus to travel between the two prime destinations of the country.

Private transport operator Green Line Paribahan is making this possible with ten such brand-new imported buses.

The buses will hit the road after August 20 following completion of necessary formalities and one-way fare for each passenger would be Tk 1,300, Abdus Sattar, general manager of the bus service told The Daily Star.

Made in Germany by MAN Truck & Bus Deutschland GmbH, the body of the 40-seater vehicles are fabricated in Malaysia. The buses already arrived in Chittagong port and will be brought to Dhaka within few days for registration, he added.

Road Transport and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader is expected to inaugurate the service in between August 18 and 20, Sattar said.

Double-decker buses have been plying the streets of Dhaka city since 1989 under city service. Two bus operators previously introduced double-decker buses on intercity routes, but discontinued the service within a few months. 

“Brand-new double-decker buses will run on long distance routes for the first time in the country. One or two companies had introduced reconditioned double-decker buses on long routes, but stopped their services within a few months,” claimed the GM of Green Line.

An enthusiastic employee of a private firm, Suman Mahmud, said, “I've heard that long-distance double-decker services are available in many countries. I am really excited after learning that similar service is going to be introduced on the Dhaka-Chittagong route as well.”

Commenting on the technical aspects of running a double-decker bus on the Dhaka-Chittagong highway, Kazi M Shifun Newaz, assistant professor of Accident Research Institute at Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (Buet), said, the highway is suitable for double-decker buses.

However, the drivers of such buses should maintain a speed limit of 80 kilometres per hour (kph) and they will have to bring the speed down to half -- 40 kph -- at while making a turn or passing by markets and crowded  zones, he added.

The drivers will also have to exercise caution while going over a bridge, the Buet professor said.

Green Line Paribahan is a family-owned transport company specialising in passenger bus services since 1990. It introduced country's first air-conditioned bus service.