Since Bangladesh's independence in 1971, the transportation sector has grown rapidly and transportation medium on land and rivers have begun to develop. Air travel came into existence later. Though Bangladesh has greatly evolved in the transportation sector, it still has many flaws which hamper the development of other economic and social sectors. Transportation has evolved in mostly land vehicles but it still needs improvement in safety standards, which endangers the life of civilians. Road safety – Ministry of Road Transport and Bridges Rail transport – Ministry of Railways Civil aviation – Ministry of Civil Aviation and Tourism Maritime transport – Ministry of Shipping
Road
With continued economic development, Dhaka (Bangladesh's capital) is beginning to experience severe traffic congestion. This is impacting the quality of life for inhabitants of the metropolitan area, the nation's largest. Many government and public-transport agencies drafted policies, undertook projects and implemented programmes to solve the problem. The Dhaka Integrated Transport Studies, conducted by the Ministry of Planning in 1991–1994, found that the uncoordinated activities of Dhaka City Corporation (DCC), Rajdhani Unnayan Kartripakkha (RAJUK) and the Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA) did not alleviate the problem and there was no one organisation responsible for improving the city's transport and traffic problems.
With financial assistance from the World Bank, the government of Bangladesh created the Dhaka Transport Coordination Board in 1998. An urban transport plan was commissioned with the US consultant Louis Berger Group and Bangladesh Consultant Ltd (BCL). Introduced in 2008, the comprehensive transport plan for the Greater Dhaka City and its adjoining areas (such as Tongi, Gazipur, Savar, Narayanganj, Keraniganj, Narshingdi and Manikganj) covered around . The plan looked at 15 key policy issues, including safety, pedestrian preferences, public transport, non-motorised transport, travel demand management and mass transit systems, and almost 70 policy recommendations were made. Ten comprehensive transport strategies were evaluated, using a baseline of no Bus rapid transit (BRT) or metro service, and a number of alternatives were explored. The adopted plan included roads, a three-line Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) and three-line BRT. It included provisions for 54 new roads in and around the city, three part-elevated expressways and a circular waterway programme.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina inaugurated Bangladesh's highest road, Thanchi-Alikadam Road in Bandarban District, in a 2015 video conference from Dhaka. Construction of the road, which is above sea level, was built under army supervision at a cost of 1.17 billion (roughly US$10.8m) and is aiding development, education and health in the hill tracts.
Bangladesh moves up in World Bank logistics index. Bangladesh's rank in the index of countries rose to 88 from 100 in 2018.
Traffic congestion
With more than vehicles in Bangladesh and the country's population and infrastructure, traffic congestion wastes fuel and time and makes travel difficult. It also makes existing public transport inefficient, adding unsafe levels of noise and air pollution. Noise and pollution are stressful, and lead to medical conditions such as cardiovascular disease and hypertension.
Traffic congestion varies during the day, necessitating planning and longer trips; this impacts productivity, cutting across social and economic status. Although walking is a major travel mode of the low-income majority, pedestrian needs are ignored in transport planning. As a result of traffic congestion, more people walk and bicycle; however, both may be dangerous. Almost 80 percent of traffic fatalities in Dhaka are pedestrians struck by a fuel-based vehicle. Although private cars are four percent of total vehicles, they occupy about 70 percent of road space. Public transport must be stressed in any future policy. The change to compressed natural gas (CNG) cars saved over 4,000 premature deaths in 2009, but their low cost has increased the number of cars on the roads (although CNG price increases may have tempered the increase) and decreased the amount of natural gas available for other purposes.