Mohammad Kabir Hossain learned the nuts and bolts of bus building from his guru Ladla at the Ryad Engineering Workshop in Savar. Although Ladla is an expert in building AC buses, he also taught Kabir how to build non-AC buses and minibuses.
"In 2000, at the age of 20, I joined the workshop as a helper. Before I learned to build a full body, I learned how to repair different parts. Now I can build a whole bus," said Kabir.
The 42-year-old is currently working as a bus building mechanic at Boliarpur in Savar.
If you walk through the Dhaka-Aricha Highway, you will hear the sound of hammering coming from several bus-building workshops on both sides of the highway. Some of these were set up years ago while some were set up recently.
The workshops are full of activity; some people are busy welding plain sheets to the skeleton of the bus, while others are busy making frames and plain sheets with grinding machines.
There are seven types of workers or mechanics involved in building a bus. The body of a bus is built by those who only build the bus bodies. Seat makers only make the seats whereas the ceiling is decorated by 'godi mistri.' The windows are made by glass workers and the electrician does the electrical work.
Moreover, there are two types of bus painters. The first only paints the inner and outer side of a bus and the second writes the name, different routes etc on the bus body.
The person in charge of a workshop is called a foreman. Bus owners usually buy the chassis and then build the body at the workshops.
Usually, bus builders get the bus building contracts and they hire other people to work in their workshops. All the workers learn the skills of a helper with their gurus from their respective fields.
Apprentice helpers begin their learning by getting familiar with the workshop tools. While the mechanics work, they ask the helpers to carry the tools for them. Sometimes they ask them to help them out, for example, tighten a screw etc. Gradually, the helpers learn the names of the tools and their usage.
The helpers then learn to weld and are sometimes asked by mechanics to demonstrate their skills. In the meantime, they also learn mathematical skills to cut angles (to make frames) and plain sheets. Some are fast learners while some take time.
However, they need to learn two major skills to become a skilled bus builder: welding, and operating a grinding machine. "When a helper learns these two skills, we consider him a skilled mechanic," said Kabir, adding, "It takes a helper around three years to learn welding, and sheet and frame cutting."
He said that it takes two and a half months to build an AC bus while they build a non-AC bus within 40 days. It takes around one month to build a minibus.
Kabir said that at first, they build the skeleton of a bus using metal frames. Later, they build the floor and the roof. Then in phases, they set up the chairs and decorations. When everything is completed, painters paint the bus and artistic work is done on it.
He said that the workshop charges around Tk35 to Tk37 lakh to build an AC bus while building a non-AC bus costs a bus owner around Tk17 to 18 lakh.
The workshops build a minibus for the Dhaka city streets for Tk9 lakh. However, the price of building a bus depends mainly on what the bus owners want.
On the workers' salaries, Kabir said, "A senior gets a maximum of Tk30,000 as monthly salary. If there is work pressure, they get overtime. That's all."
Helpers get around Tk3,000 per month and when they develop some skills and learn to weld, the salary increases from Tk5,000 to Tk7,000.
32-year-old Mohammed Hossain began learning how to paint a bus body and its interior in 2002. Poverty forced him to drop out of school so he searched for a job.
Finally, he found his guru, bus painter Manik Miah, at Hanif Workshop in Hemayaetpur, Savar. However, Manik can no longer work these days. "I chose painting because it does not need any hard work and at the same time, it looks beautiful," said Mohammed.
Back in 2002, when he was a helper, he would get Tk20 a day and so, Tk600 per month. It took him three years to become a full-fledged painter.
Normally, it takes a week to paint a bus if there are two painters and four helpers. Mohammed said that puttying and rubbing are the two most important tasks in painting. "The more the rubbing, the more the paintings will shine."
He said that if they paint with good-quality paint, it costs a bus owner around Tk1,30,000. If the bus owner wants to use low-quality paint, it will cost him around Tk90,000. He can also get a bus painted at Tk1,00,000 using mid-quality paint.
"There are three types of rates for painting a bus, it costs between Tk90,000 and Tk1,30,000," he said.
Jabed Hossain runs the Bismillah Glass Gallery in Savar's Boliarpur area. He used to work in a mechanic shop in his home town in Kushtia where he also learned how to fix bus windows.
Jabed came to Dhaka seven years ago. He honed the skill of setting glass windows on buses at a workshop in Dhaka's Gabtoli. He said cutting the glass in square feet is the most challenging thing. "Glass cutting is difficult because if you make a mistake, you won't be able to join the glass and fix it. It will be a complete loss." Jabed uses a glass-cutting pen.
The high price of raw materials affecting the bus building industry
Mokshed Ali, owner of Gawsia Motors at Hemayetpur in Savar, said that even 30 years ago, people would import 50% of all fully-built buses but the number has changed. He said that now, local automobile workshops build more or less 80% of the buses.
Not only the small workshops but large companies like Ifad Autos Limited and Aftab Automobile Limited have also come to the market.
Mokshed said that at the moment, three bus bodies, including two by Higer and another by Ashok Leyland, are being built in his workshop. Work will be completed before Eid-ul-Azha. "All three buses will be 30-seat AC sleepers, two of them are for Shamoly NR Travels and the other is for Imperial," he said.
He said that they charge Tk30 to Tk32 lakh for building AC buses and if the owner provides the AC, they charge Tk18 to Tk20 lakh.
Mokshed, who is also the president of the Bangladesh Automobile Body Manufactures' Association, told The Business Standard that currently, around 20% of complete buses are being imported.
Mokshed entered the bus building industry in 1979. He said that the industry did not expand that much before the Liberation War in 1971. "There were three gurus who played a pioneering role in the country's bus-building industry before 1971. At that time, basically, the Biharis were doing this job," he said.
He said that Ustad Halim Khan had a workshop on Mazar Road in Mirpur in the 1960s and 1970s. Ustad Halim Khan and Ustad Irfan Khan were basically bus builders. Ustad Gaffar Khan was well-known for making bus seats and Ustad Wadud Khan worked as a painter.
A few automobile engineering workshops were set up after 1971. Of them, Zia Engineering Workshop was established on Shyamoli Ring Road, while Yellowspray was established in Dolphin Goli in Kalabagan. Dolphin was the name of the bus. The company would build bus bodies.
Mokshed said that there was a workshop called Menoka in Chattogram. Later, Yellowspray also set up a branch here. However, he said that the sector is reeling from the high price of raw materials.
He said that they had a booming business in 2010 when the price of raw materials was low. But now, the price of raw materials has increased so much that the bus-building workshops are struggling to survive. "We could buy a kilogram of plain sheets for Tk50 to Tk60. Now we have to buy one kilogram of plain sheets for Tk140 to Tk150," he said.
He said that they need a separate industrial zone like others across the country so that these workshops can expand further. "Alongside the zone, the government will have to set up a training institute for the expansion of the industry," said Mokshed Ali suggested.
He said that many skilled workers from the automobile workshop industry have gone abroad and are doing well.
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