MOBILITY CONSTRAINTS OF CHILDREN IN BANGLADESH: A STUDY ON TRAVEL TO SCHOOL IN DHAKA CITY (Paper 866)

Dhaka city is the administrative, financial, business, and cultural capital of Bangladesh. The city contains inhabitants of over a hundred million people. However, the traffic and transport situation in Dhaka is very chaotic and often characterized as gross congestion and delays, inadequate transport infrastructure and services which resulted a widening gap between demand and supply. Often it is claimed by several researchers that trips to school to drop and collect children, largely on private carsparticularly during morning and afternoon peak, is one of the major causes of congestion in Dhaka city. Travel pattern and mobility of school children is often different than the overall pattern of city dwellers or adults however, this topic is not researched by academia or professionals in Bangladesh. This research provides an overview of travel pattern of school students in Dhaka and suggests how to overcome their major mobility constraints. Four hundred and twenty students from 21 different primary schools were interviewed using a pre-determined questionnaire and analysed to fulfil the research aim. It was found that the majority of students do travel to and from school with an escort (adult family member) by car or rickshaw whilst walking and cycling is very limited. Findings of this research may help to improve overall mobility and travel experience of school students.