Types of Transportation 🛺

Several have asked what all types of transportation we use in Dhaka. I found these pictures on Google Images and thought I’d write up a post about them all! 

Rickshaw… the most common and what we use the most often. They are best for shorter distances but the rickshaw men will take you long distances if they are in the mood and you pay them well enough! This is what I bumped home from the hospital on 3 days post op from having Shania. Honestly I am quite proud of that little fact.😂

CNG… we take this for longer distances. It’s our least favorite! In the summer when one is in these stuck in a traffic jam.. one is unsure if one is in an Instant Pot or an actual vehicle. They lurch through pot holes like none other. They can weasel their way through traffic like none other though so they are a quick mode of transport if the streets are clear! They have an ear splitting horn that they use freely. 

Easy bike: These aren’t that common in our part of Dhaka. Once you get closer to the edge of the city they become more popular. They are all over in the villages. Trevor says they can be quite tippy and don’t do well with heavy loads. (Read: Big Americans.) They are usually bright colored and quite decked out! 

Vans: These are usually electric and more common in the villages. When we go to Kulna we always ride places on these. Just plop on like you are riding on a tail gate! The ones here in Dhaka are peddle powered and used mostly for hauling heavy loads, usually heaped very high with plastic barrels. The reason there aren’t a lot of the electric powered east bikes and vans here in Dhaka is because the electric grid work isn’t enough to charge them all. 

These rickshaw buses are typically used to carry school children! One day we saw a bunch of boys playing UNO while they were being taken to school! There are so many school in Dhaka. They all wear school uniforms. The blue and white or navy blue and light blue like these children are wearing are very common. Layton asked me if he would go home from school on one of these in Kansas! 

Some call these suicide buses! We haven’t ever utilized this type of transportation. Usually cram packed with men and they barely slow down, people just jump in and out while they are still going. 

Double decker buses… The man in the doorway is the one who collects the fare. Usually more people in them than one thinks is possible. Jared rode one of these one day with Elwood. 

And last but not least… just a regular old humble bus! These drive like max. Saw one that said “king of the road.” That would explain it. When we go to Kulna or Golpagange these buses just swerve around us and lay on the horn. It appears as though they own the road. They drive with great speed, so it is not uncommon to see people vomiting out of the window. When you drive up beside one it’s always good to lay on the horn while you go past otherwise they will just suddenly start pulling into your lane and almost shove you off the road.