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Advocacy Activities of Roads for People

Roads for People (RFP) has engaged in many activities to promote fuel-free transport (FFT), including many demonstrations, bicycle rallies, press conferences, and seminars. Roads for People (RFP)  publishing various papers on the issue of transport and sharing our information with media and policymakers.  Specific demands include a return to rickshaws on Mirpur Road and all other VIP roads, actions to reduce car use, and creation of separate lanes for bicycles and rickshaws.

Roads for People organized a views exchange meeting on “Rickshaw use in Dhaka city:  An Overview of the Arguments For and Against” at CIRDAP auditorium on 7 May 2006. About 85 high-level government officers and members of civil society participated. Most of those present expressed the importance of keeping rickshaws, as they provide convenient and inexpensive transport, are environmentally-friendly, do not require fuel, are particularly important for vulnerable groups such as women and the elderly, are extremely popular, and provide needed employment for hundreds of thousands of the country’s poorest citizens.

On 29 April 2006, Roads for People partner organization MANOBIK organized a cycle rally with a dual demand:  increasing the tax on tobacco and lowering the tax on bicycles.  At the end of the rally, the cyclists presented a memorandum to the Finance Ministry of Bangladesh via the Chairman of the National Board of Revenue.

In order to demand a reduction in the tax on bicycles, Roads for People organized a cycle rally on 26 February 2006. On that day, Roads for People also submitted a memorandum to the Finance Ministry of Bangladesh via the Chairman of the National Board of Revenue for a reduction in the tax.

Press conference on "Rickshaw Bans in Dhaka City: An Overview of the Arguments for and Against" at VIP lounge of Reporters Unity, Segunbagicha, Dhaka, on 24 December 2005.

On 22 December 2005, Civil Engineering Division organized a seminar on "Rickshaw Bans in Dhaka City: An Overview of the arguments for and against" at the seminar room of Engineers Institution of Bangladesh. WBB Trust helped organize the program. At the seminar, the Minister of Communications emphasized the importance of rickshaws and suggested increasing the number of licenses by 50,000.

Views exchange meeting on "Transport policy for poverty reduction and social equity" at the seminar room of the daily "Desh Bangla" jointly organized by Wbb Trust & Desh Bangla.

On 16th December 2005, on the occasion of Victory Day, Roads for People organized a day-long campaign in three different places of Dhaka city demanding separate lanes for bicycles.

Bike training at Dhanmondi 4/A every Thursday and Saturday 3 to 5 PM organized by Roads for People to build relationships within the  neighborhoods and enjoyable childhood for children.

Roads for People member organization Youth Ending Hunger organized a cycle rally demanding cycle lanes on Dhaka city roads for safety on Human Rights Day, 10 December 2005.

Paribash Bachao Andolon (Movement to Save the Environment) organized a demonstration demanding rickshaw lanes on Dhaka city roads to save money, fuel, and the environment and to develop transportation, on 28 November 2005.

Roads for People member organization USHIKA organized a demonstration  demanding rickshaw lanes on Dhaka city roads on 19 November 2005.

Roads for People organized a cycle rally demanding cycle lanes on Dhaka city roads for safety on Road Safety Day, 22 October 2005.

Roads for People were the presenters at a views exchange meeting on "Transport policy for poverty reduction and social equity" at the seminar room of Dhaka Transport Co-ordination Board on 16th September 2005.

Roads for People submitted a memorandum with 10,000 signatures to the Dhaka city mayor demanding separate rickshaw lanes.

WBB Trust met with Bangladesh Road Transport Corporation (BRTC) Chairman to request facilities for bicycles in the city.

On 12 September 2005, Roads for People organized a demonstration to promote bicycles to save fuel and reduce the hardships caused by increases in fuel costs.

On 7 September 2005, Roads for People organized a demonstration demanding promotion of fuel-free transport to save fuel.  As the price of fuel goes up, so does suffering of the population:  bus fares and the price of essential goods all rise accordingly.  Yet there are inexpensive, environmentally-friendly alternatives readily available, which should be encouraged:  use of rickshaw vans, rickshaws, bicycles, and trains to transport goods and people.  While trains are not fuel-free, they are far more fuel-efficient than trucks and buses, and entirely fuel-free transport should be promoted, not banned.

On 16 August 2005, Roads for People organized a cycle rally protest against planned rickshaw ban from Motijheel to Ittefaq & Press Club to Elephant Road, and demanding lanes for rickshaws.

On 14 August 2005, WBB Trust, Ushika, and Dhaka Cycling Club organized a signature campaign simultaneously to protest against planned rickshaw bans.

On 25 July 2005, Roads for People organized a press conference on Transport policy for poverty reduction and social equity. Speakers at the press conference said how fuel-free transport (basically rickshaw & cycle) reduce poverty and improve social equity, and they emphasized on controls of private cars.

On 20 June 2005, Roads for People organized a roundtable discussion on Green Cities and Transportation.  Speakers at the roundtable discussed how fuel-free transport is critical to improving the city's environment, and the need for controls on private cars.

On 5 June 2005, Roads for People held a bicycle rally highlighting the importance of bicycles in creating a "green city" by reducing air and noise pollution.

On 4 June 2005, Roads for People participated in the World Environment Day rally, campaigning for an improvement of the national rail system in order to reduce air pollution and deaths from road accidents.

On 23 May 2005, Roads for People held a seminar on the importance of bicycles to the economics situation and health of Dhaka residents, and demanding bicycle lanes and an end to the tax on bicycles.

On 9 May 2005, Roads for People member Usha organized a banner rally to end the tax on bicycles.

On 7 May 2005, on the occasion of World Health Day, Roads for People organized a demonstration demanding an end to cycle taxes, to make bicycles affordable for the poor.  It was part of a joint demonstration for increased taxes on negative products and lower taxes on positive ones.

On 27 April 2005, Roads for People organized a cycle rally, presenting a petition to the National Board of Revenue and the Ministry of Finance for a complete withdrawal of the tax on bicycles.

On 2 March 2005, Roads for People organized a press conference on lessons learned from Mirpur Road in Dhaka's efforts to improve traffic.

On 15th December 2004, Roads for People member Ushika organized a protest also demanding that the rickshaws be allowed to continue on Mirpur Road.

On 14th December 2004, Roads for People member Welfare Association for Cancer Care (WACC) organized a demonstration in the name of the children of poor rickshaw wallahs, asking where their food will come from when their fathers are no longer allowed to work.

On 13th December 2004, Roads for People member Shadesh Unnayan Kendra organized a demonstration in favor of pollution-free transport, and demanding that rickshaws be allowed to continue on Mirpur Road.

On 12th December 2004, Roads for People organized a press conference to present a plan for better traffic control and protest the planned rickshaw ban.

On 9th December 2004, on the occasion of International Human Rights Day, Roads for People organized a non-motorized transport rally on Mirpur Road from Kola Bagan to Azimpur, emphasizing people's right to mobility.

On 6th December 2004, Roads for People conducted a signature campaign on the stretch of Mirpur Road where rickshaws were later banned, collecting hundreds of signatures mostly from young women who were concerned about their loss of mobility following the ban.

On 31 October 2004, Roads for People held a press conference, "Traffic Jams:  Our Perspective", in which we explained to journalists how private cars are the main cause of traffic jams, the importance of bicycle rickshaws and other non-motorized transport, and the need to reduce the number of private cars circulating in Dhaka through a variety of measures.  The press conference was covered in over a dozen newspapers.

On 26 October 2004, Roads for People held a protest to point out that private cars, not as claimed by many sources bicycle rickshaws, are the main source of traffic jams in Dhaka.  We demanded separate lanes for bicycles, rickshaws, and public buses, and limitations on private cars.  The protest was covered in 20 newspapers.

• On 22 October 2004, Roads for People organized a bicycle rally on the occasion of National Road Safety Day.  Two main issues were highlighted:  fewer cars and more bicycles would mean safer streets; and the streets need to be made safer for bicyclists by creating cycle lanes.  The same message was given on a radio program on the occasion of the National Road Safety Day.  The rally was covered on all 4 national TV channels and 22 newspapers, including as lead news in one major English daily, The Independent.
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• Sale by installment of bicycles (down payment and monthly installment) began in summer 2004, with most purchasers being members of different NGOs whose additional task is to convince others in their NGO to begin cycling.
• On 12 September 2004, Debra Efroymson (Regional Director of PATH Canada and in-house advisor to WBB) gave a three-hour workshop on the issue of Roads for People to alliance members.

• On 12 August 2004, Roads for People organized its first cycle rally on the occasion of International Youth Day, demanding separate lanes for bicycles.  The rally was covered on all four national TV stations and in 19 newspapers.
• On 28 July 2004, WBB organized a seminar on road safety.
• On 29-30 June, WBB organized an in-house exhibition on deaths from road crashes.