DHAKA, Oct 29, 2025 (BSS) – A British delegation today joined a workshop with Dhaka Transport Coordination Authority (DTCL) and other stakeholders to review possibilities of modified replication Transport for London (TfL) model for better bus services in Bangladesh capital, a DTCL statement said.

“We aim to develop an efficient, safe and commuter friendly bus service synchronizing international experiences and the domestic realties,” DTCL’s executive director said as she chaired the workshop.

The workshop participants said it appeared crucial for Bangladesh capital to develop a unified system for bus operators under a policy taking the experience of the TfL model.

TfL manages London's bus network in some 675 routes with a fleet of over 9,000 buses while fare collection system is cashless like the Dhaka’s metro rail system.

The franchise bus operation system in London is a model where the TfL retains public control over the bus network's core aspects, including setting routes, fares, and timetables, awarding contracts to private operators through a competitive tendering process to run the service.

The operators pay set fee and TfL keep the fare revenue, a system that differs from a deregulated system where private companies have more autonomy

According to the statement the workshop analyzed the business model of Dhaka’s bus services, role of concerned government agencies, international experiences of bus contracting and operating, TfL model, knowledge gaps in bus reform process for Dhaka, capacity building and future planning.

The participants agreed that TfL model could play an important role in developing bus services developing contract management for commuter services in Bangladesh capital.

British High Commission in Dhaka supported the Bus Reform Workshop jointly organized by Green Cities, Infrastructure and Energy Programme (GCIEP) of the UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) and Dhaka Transport Coordination Authority (DTCA) in collaboration with Transport for London (TfL).

An expert team led by Alice Day of TfL and representatives of DTCA, DMP, Road Transport Owners Association, DNCC, DSCC, BRTA, BRTC, Dhaka BRT Company, DMTCL, and university teachers and government/non-government and development partners joined the workshop

Mass Transit Engineer of DTCA Md Tushar moderated the workshop.