Bus fare may increase by Tk0.29/km for passengers: Ministry

Proportional to the fuel price hike, bus fares may increase by a maximum of Tk0.29 paise per kilometer and launch by Tk0.42, says the Ministry of Power, Energy and Mineral Resources.

In a statement released by the ministry on Saturday, they gave an estimate of how much the sudden price hike of fuel will impact the transport fares.

According to the ministry, at present, the fare on long-distance buses (52 seats) is Tk1.8 per kilometer.

As the price of diesel is increased by Tk34 per litre, this fare will increase by Tk0.29 per kilometer and this fare will be about Tk2 per kilometre. Thus, the fare is increasing by 16.22% per kilometer.

At present, the bus fare in the city area (52 seats) is Tk2.15 per kilometer. With an increase of Tk0.28 per kilometer, this fare will be Tk2.43. The fare is increasing by 13.16% per kilometer.

Apart from this, the current fare of each passenger is Tk2.19 paisa per kilometer for launches. This fare will be increased by Tk0.42 per kilometer to Tk2.62. According to that, the fare is increasing by 19.18% per kilometer.

Earlier, the government hiked the price of fuel oil, which is a record in terms of rate of price increase. In case of diesel and kerosene, the price has been increased by Tk34 per litre to Tk114. Petrol has increased by Tk44 to Tk130 and octane by Tk46 to Tk135. The new prices have been effective from 12am on Friday.

Earlier on 7 November 2021, the Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA) Fare Fixing Committee had increased the fare of long-distance buses and minibusses by 27% in the country due to the increase in fuel prices. Similarly, the cost of intra-city buses increased by 26.5%.

The Inland Water Transport Authority (BIWTA) had also hiked fares for all launches by 35% on the same day. According to that estimate, the fare was increased by Tk0.60 per kilometer.