The Rapid Pass is a

smart card A smart card (SC), chip card, or integrated circuit card (ICC or IC card), is a card used to control access to a resource. It is typically a plastic credit card-sized card with an Embedded system, embedded integrated circuit (IC) chip. Many smart ...

automated fare collection An automated fare collection (AFC) system is the collection of components that automate the ticketing system of a public transportation network – an automated version of manual fare collection. An AFC system is usually the basis for integrated t ...

system based on

near-field communication Near-field communication (NFC) is a set of communication protocols that enables communication between two electronic devices over a distance of or less. NFC offers a low-speed connection through a simple setup that can be used for the boots ...

(NFC) technology used on participating public transit systems in

Dhaka Dhaka ( or ; , ), List of renamed places in Bangladesh, formerly known as Dacca, is the capital city, capital and list of cities and towns in Bangladesh, largest city of Bangladesh. It is one of the list of largest cities, largest and list o ...

, the capital of

Bangladesh Bangladesh, officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, eighth-most populous country in the world and among the List of countries and dependencies by ...

. Rapid Pass card readers were implemented on a trial basis in 2017. Full implementation began in January 2018 and it was rolled out across rapid transit stations, railway stations, bus stops and terminals, and transit vehicles on many different transit systems.

History

In 2014,

Dhaka Transport Coordination Authority Dhaka Transport Coordination Authority (DTCA) is the government agency responsible for coordinating transport-related projects in Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh and most of Dhaka division. The agency is responsible for moderating and mediating ...

(DTCA) took up a project to develop an automated fare collection system for Dhaka city at a cost of .

Japan International Cooperation Agency The Japan International Cooperation Agency (), also known as JICA'','' is a governmental agency that delivers the bulk of Official Development Assistance (ODA) for the government of Japan. It is chartered with assisting economic and social gr ...

provided technical assistance and 73% of the total budget for the project. The authority concerned decided to introduce Rapid Pass service on trial basis for buses operated by

Bangladesh Road Transport Corporation Bangladesh Road Transport Corporation (BRTC) is a state-owned transport corporation of Bangladesh. It was established under the Government Ordinance No.7 of 1961 dated 4 February 1961. Following the independence of Bangladesh in 1971, it assumed i ...

plying on Abdullahpur–Motijheel route in the city in May 2017.

Sheikh Hasina Sheikh Hasina (''née'' Wazed; born 28 September 1947) is a Bangladeshi politician who served as the tenth prime minister of Bangladesh from June 1996 to July 2001 and again from January 2009 to August 2024. Premiership of Sheikh Hasina, Her ...

, prime minister of the country, inaugurated the card service of the Rapid Pass on 4 January 2018. The project was said to be completed in 2019, which was in the process of setting up a clearing house bank for multiple transport services which was implemented by

Dutch-Bangla Bank Dutch-Bangla Bank PLC. (), one of the private commercial banks of Bangladesh, started its operation in Bangladesh as the first European joint venture bank. The bank was an effort by local shareholders spearheaded by Mr. M Sahabuddin Ahmed (Founder ...

. In the meeting on bus route rationalization organized on 21 June 2022, it was decided to ensure the use of Rapid Pass in all modes of transport in Dhaka. From September 2023, Bangladesh Road Transport Corporation decided to implement Rapid Pass for all bus transport services operated by them. On 20 March 2024, the facility of collecting fares through Rapid Pass was introduced in BRTC buses operating on Dhaka–Narayanganj link road. In May 2024, the

Road Transport and Highways Division Road Transport and Highways Division () is a Bangladeshi government division under the Ministry of Road Transport and Bridges responsible for roads and highways. The division is headed by Md. Ehsanul Haque. History Road Transport and Highways Di ...

drafted the "Public Transport Integrated Ticketing System and Clearing House Management Act, 2024" to make Rapid Pass a

payment card Payment cards are part of a payment system issued by financial institutions, such as a bank, to a customer that enables its owner (the cardholder) to access the funds in the customer's designated bank accounts, or through a credit account and ...

for all types of monetary activities. In 2024, Japan International Cooperation Agency ended their technological assistance to the Rapid Pass project. From 20 December 2024, metro stations started to sell Rapid Pass. In 2025, DTCA took an intuitive to give online recharge service and for that they called for primary tenders.

Card usage

Autimated entryway at Agargaon metro station 7

This card can be used to purchase tickets for BRTC

bus A bus (contracted from omnibus, with variants multibus, motorbus, autobus, etc.) is a motor vehicle that carries significantly more passengers than an average car or van, but fewer than the average rail transport. It is most commonly used ...

services, BIWTA launches,

Bangladesh Railway Bangladesh Railway () is the state-owned rail transport agency of Bangladesh. It operates and maintains all railways in the country, and is overseen by the Directorate General of Bangladesh Railway. The Bangladesh Railway is governed by the Mi ...

train A train (from Old French , from Latin">-4; we might wonder whether there's a point at which it's appropriate to talk of the beginnings of French, that is, when it wa ... , from Latin , "to pull, to draw") is a series of connected vehicles th ...

services, MRT and

BRT BRT may refer to: Businesses and organizations * Bayrak Radio Television, a Turkish Cypriot broadcaster * Belgische Radio- en Televisieomroep (now ''VRT''), a Flemish broadcaster * Business Research and Training Center (BR&T), Ho Chi Minh Cit ...

. Passengers will get a 10% discount on the fare for using the Rapid Pass or MRT Pass in

Dhaka Metro Rail The Dhaka Metro Rail () is a rapid transit, mass rapid transit system serving Dhaka (currently from Uttara North to Motijheel), the capital and largest city of Bangladesh. It is operated by the Dhaka Mass Transit Company Limited (DMTCL). Toget ...

. As of July 2023, the number of Rapid Pass users was 66,180. The

(DTCA) has planned to introduce Rapid Pass on

Hatirjheel Hatirjheel ( , ; lit. ''Lake of Elephant'') is a lakefront in Dhaka, Bangladesh with surrounding roads and bridges built to ease traffic congestion. The area was constructed under the Bangladesh Army and the Special Works Organization. It is n ...

circular buses by July 20, 2025. The trial phase of this initiative began on July 14, 2025. In addition, there are plans to launch Rapid Pass in the Dhaka Chaka bus service operating between Gulshan and Police Plaza in August.

Purchase and reload

For the card, one has to register and purchase the card from any of thirty four branches and sub branches of

. The branches are including Motijheel Local Office Branch, Motijheel Foreign Exchange Branch, Elephant Road Branch, Uttara Branch, Banani Branch, Gulshan Circle-1 Branch, Gulshan Branch and Sonargaon Janpath Branch. These branches also act as recharge point. Besides, cards can be purchased and recharged at 10 bus counters located at House Building,

Uttara Uttara, which means "north" in Sanskrit and many other South Asian languages, may refer to: Places *Uttara (town), Uttara, a neighbourhood north of Dhaka, Bangladesh *Uttara Export Processing Zone, Bangladesh *Uttara East Thana *Uttara West Thana ...

, Banani,

Shahbag Shahbagh (also Shahbaugh or Shahbag, , ) is a major neighbourhood and a police precinct or ''thana'' in Dhaka, the capital and largest city of Bangladesh. It is also a major public transport hub. It is a junction between two contrasting section ...

Motijheel Motijheel () is a central business district and a thana of Dhaka, Bangladesh. It is Dhaka's primary central business district, and also the nation's largest commercial and financial hub. Motijheel, located immediately adjacent to Dhaka's zero ...

, Rampura, Notun Bazaar, Gulshan-2, Shooting Club, Dhaka Chaka Banani Stopage and Police Plaza. The price of Rapid Pass is 400 BDT (200 BDT pre-recharged on the card). The card can be also recharge from the

ticket machine A ticket machine, also known as a ticket vending machine (TVM), is a vending machine that produces paper or electronic tickets, or recharges a stored-value card or smart card or the user's mobile wallet, typically on a smartphone. For instance, ...

Criticisms and controversy

Even after the launch of Rapid Pass, it was not made available for all bus services. On the other hand, bus operators are unwilling to use it to collect fares as they cannot collect more than the government fixed fare. On 7 December 2023, the Rapid Pass authority directed D-Money, another smart card-based automatic fare collection system permitted by

Bangladesh Bank Bangladesh Bank (BB; ) is the central bank of Bangladesh and is a member of the Asian Clearing Union. It is fully owned by the Bangladesh, Government of Bangladesh. The bank is active in developing green banking. and financial inclusion poli ...

, to stop operations on the ground that any card other than Rapid Pass is invalid in the country, even though there is no such law.

References

{{reflist Contactless smart cards 2018 introductions Fare collection systems in Bangladesh Fare collection systems Transport in Dhaka Japan International Cooperation Agency Stored-value payment card 2018 establishments in Bangladesh