In March 2022, rising prices in Dhaka drew long lines to mobile trucks operated by the state-run Trading Corporation of Bangladesh. At Boubazar in Hajipara, the wife of a rickshaw driver waited for several hours in intense heat to buy subsidised oil, onions and lentils. At another location, a truck served 238 people while others still in line went home empty-handed.
What distinguishes this queue is that customers first had to locate a vehicle carrying the stock and then secure a place in its line. The low-cost shop moved, but the waiting time of those who needed it was fixed to the pavement.