Sleeper coaches have added a new level of comfort to long-distance travel in Bangladesh, with passengers willing to pay higher fares to use the buses.

However, safety concerns have now emerged behind this comfortable mode of travel. The Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA) has said 829 unauthorised sleeper buses are operating on the country’s roads, even though it has not approved any sleeper bus for operation.

The BRTA disclosed the information in a report submitted to the High Court on Wednesday (9 September).

After the hearing, the court said no sleeper bus could operate on highways without BRTA approval.

In its report, the BRTA also said it would conduct mobile court drives and take action against buses operating without registration.

The disclosure has raised questions about how 829 sleeper buses took to the roads without approval. If they were originally registered as ordinary buses and later converted into sleeper coaches, how did their fitness certificates and route permits get renewed after the structural modifications?

Md Shahidullah, director of the engineering wing of the BRTA, said many of the buses had initially been registered as ordinary single-decker buses.

“Later, the owners modified their structures and converted them into sleeper coaches,” he said.

Structural modifications raise safety concerns

According to sources concerned, many chassis imported from abroad are designed for single-decker buses. Local garages and body-building companies later modify their structures to turn them into sleeper or double-decker coaches.

Such modifications can change a bus’s height, weight, balance and passenger capacity. Changes made outside the approved design can pose serious risks to passenger safety.

Transport and accident expert Dr Hadiuzzaman said structural modifications could put additional pressure on a bus’s chassis, suspension and braking systems.

He also questioned why authorities failed to detect unauthorised structural modifications at garages before the buses took to the roads.

Sources said allegations have long surrounded the construction and modification of sleeper-coach bodies at garages in Gabtoli, Aminbazar, Maniknagar and Jatrabari in the capital.

On 19 August, authorities conducted a drive in Jatrabari and fined five establishments Tk 250,000 for allegedly constructing unauthorised sleeper-coach bodies and operating illegal garages.

A day earlier, authorities inspected 10 to 12 garages in Gabtoli, Aminbazar and Maniknagar. They fined four garages Tk 230,000, sent eight vehicles to dumping yards and seized two sleeper buses. They also sealed one garage.

Allegations against BRTA officials

Aftab Uddin Masud, president of the Bangladesh Sleeper AC Bus Owners Association, alleged that some BRTA officials had issued registration certificates and route permits to such buses without proper scrutiny for personal interests.

Bangladesh Jatri Kalyan Samity Secretary General Mozammel Haque Chowdhury also questioned the approval process.

“If a bus was registered as a single-decker, why did the subsequent structural modification not come to light during fitness inspections? How were route permits renewed after the structure was changed?” he asked.

High Court intervention

Lawyer Huzzatul Islam Khan filed a writ petition with the High Court in 2025 challenging the legality of sleeper coaches.

During a hearing on 20 August, the BRTA informed the court that 829 unauthorised sleeper buses were operating on the roads.

Following the disclosure, the court on Wednesday barred sleeper buses from operating without approval.

Recent accidents raise safety concerns

Several recent accidents have also raised questions about the safety of sleeper coaches.

On 9 January, three people were killed when a sleeper coach crashed into the back of a truck in Mirsarai.

In March, two people were killed when a sleeper coach crashed into a stationary truck in Birampur.

On 17 August, a sleeper coach caught fire in Daudkandi.

On 4 September, a double-decker sleeper bus fell into a pond in Kalapara, injuring 15 people.

Under the Road Transport Act 2018, vehicle owners cannot change the prescribed shape, structure, length, width, height or seating arrangement of a motor vehicle without approval from the relevant authority.

The operation of these buses without BRTA approval therefore raises questions not only about their legal status but also about their structural safety, making accountability essential.