Euro-Bangla Desk
After raising the price of fuel oil, the government increased bus fare by 11 paise per kilometer, but there have been complaints of charging an additional fare of 5 to 15 taka from passengers for short distances in the capital.
The new fare was fixed in a meeting of the Road Transport and Highways Department at the Secretariat on Thursday. It has been increased from 2 taka 42 paisa to 2 taka 53 paisa per kilometer in Dhaka and Chittagong city and for long distance from 2 taka 12 paisa to 2 taka 23 paisa. The minimum fare has been kept at 10 taka.
However, passengers complain that this rate is not accepted in reality. It has been observed on the ground that many buses are charging more than the prescribed fare, especially on short distances.
A passenger going to Caravan Bazaar from Mirpur said that where the fare was Tk 20 earlier, now Tk 30 is being charged there. Similarly, there have been complaints of taking rent from 40 to 50 rupees.
Mahbub Alam, a passenger on the Gabtali-Jatrabari route, said, “The rate at which the government has increased the fare is much higher than the actual fare. One has to pay an extra Tk 10-15 for a short distance.”
Complaints have also been made about the fare of Rs 60 to Rs 75 on the Savar-Natun Bazar route.
On the other hand, transporters say, rising fuel prices, parts and maintenance costs have made it difficult to drive a fixed fare.
However, those concerned think that charging extra rent beyond the prescribed rent is completely illegal. In this situation, the passengers have demanded that the supervision on the implementation of the fare should be strengthened and quick action should be taken to stop the excess collection.
