The government has recently reduced the registration fee for motorcycles to half, which is concerning because it means more and more people will be encouraged to buy motorcycles rather than using public transports. While reducing the fee was a long-time demand of the motorcycle makers, Bangladesh Jatri Kalyan Samity, a passengers' welfare organisation, has always been advocating for reducing the number of motorcycles on roads terming it more "accident-prone". They also urged the government not to allow operations of higher engine capacity motorbikes as they are more vulnerable to accidents.

Already, we have a high number of motorcycles on our roads. According to Bangladesh Jatri Kalyan Samity, of the 44 lakh registered vehicles in the country, 31 lakh are motorcycles. Besides, there are three to four lakh unregistered bikes operating on our roads. And among all the bikers, only 18 lakh have valid driving licenses. Naturally, the unregistered motorcycles and unlicensed drivers are causing more road accidents than any other transport. The Samity estimates that motorcycles were involved in 24.8 percent of road crashes last year. A 2018 survey by Nirapad Sarak Chai (Nischa) also found the growing number of motorcycles to be the main reason for the increasing number of road accidents.

Therefore, we think, instead of allowing more motorcycles on our roads, the government should focus on establishing a safe and efficient public transport system. In its absence, people are looking for an easy and cheap way to commute, and bikes are becoming their number one choice. We urge the authorities to bring quality public transport on our roads, fix the fares rationally and introduce a monthly payment system for the drivers and transport workers, which will definitely help reduce the rising number of road accidents. At the same time, the authorities must ensure that motorcyclists abide by the traffic rules—carry valid driving licenses, wear helmets, maintain speed limits, etc. Most importantly, there should be at least some control over the registration of new motorcycles since more motorcycles will surely bring more chaos on our roads, as transport experts believe.