Noise pollution in Dhaka city is worsening steadily due to unnecessary honking. To commemorate our fifth anniversary in Bangladesh today, we pledged to curb noise pollution by encouraging drivers on our platform to honk responsibly. We marked ‘No Honking Day’ on Nov 23, to collectively raise awareness about the negative effects of noise pollution on our health and wellness. 

Sharing his views
Syed Nurul Islam sharing his views

Organised jointly by Uber and Prothom Alo, a leading Bangla daily, the stakeholder roundtable was attended by Dhaka’s renowned experts and environmentalists, including Md. Ziaul Haque, Deputy Director, Dhaka Region, Department of Environment, Syed Nazrul Islam, BPM (bar) PPM Joint Commissioner, Traffic (South), Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP), Syeda Rizwana Hasan, Bangladesh Environmental Lawyers Association (BELA), Dr Fahmida Khatun, ED, Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD), Prof. Syed Abdul Hamid, Institute of Health Economics, Dhaka University, Prof. Kamal UA Chowdhury, Dept. of Clinical Psychology, Dhaka University, Ahmad Kamruzzman Majumder, Founder and Director, Centre for Atmospheric Pollution Studies (CAPS), Armanur Ali Rehman, Head of Uber Bangladesh & East India, and many others, both virtually and in person. Hero Driver Partner Award winner Md. Ziaur Rehman was also present to share his experiences with the audience. 

Armanur Talking
Uber Bangladesh Head Armanur Rahman talking about Uber’s efforts to curb noise pollution

The ‘No Honking Day’ initiative marks our stand against excessive and unnecessary honking. According to the noise pollution control guidelines for Dhaka, the maximum noise level during daytime for quiet zones is 50 decibels, in residential zones 55 decibels, and in mixed zones 60 decibels. However, in reality, those levels exceed 120 decibels, leading to numerous health and wellness problems in residents. 

Curb Noise Pollution
Driver Partner Ziaur Rahman sharing his experience of dealing with noise pollution on Dhaka streets

We have already started to raise awareness about responsible honking amongst Drivers. Additionally, we’ll also place banners at strategic points in the city and initiate in-car placement of awareness raising materials. 

Applauding Uber for its commitment, Md. Ashraf Uddin, Director General, Department of Environment (DoE), said “I am pleased to see Uber’s support to raise awareness against noise pollution and its adverse effects on health and wellness. This will go a long way in encouraging others and I thank Uber for participating in this initiative.”

Md. Humayun Kabir, Additional Director General, Department of Environment, said, “We are pleased to have Uber as a partner to raise awareness about noise pollution and responsible honking. We are thankful for their support for reaching out to its stakeholders on their platform.”  

We are proud of what we have achieved in the last five years and the love we have received from our communities. Our journey is only just beginning and we look forward to celebrating many more milestones in the years to come. Bangladesh is emerging as one of the economic power hubs in the world and we stand committed to moving the nation forward. Our pledge to curb noise pollution, providing vaccine support to our communities and creating livelihood opportunities are just a few of the many ways we stand committed.