Unfair fare affairs of city transports

Unfair fare is the common picture to the mass transport across the capital Dhaka. Owners are charging fares twice or thrice more than the fare fixed by the government in 2015. However, the owners have again sent a proposal to the Road Transport and Bridges ministry to increase the fare. Victims say, it seems to be extortion to them.

Commuters have to pay two times more fare which was fixed at Tk 1.70 each kilometer for bus and Tk 1.60 for the minibus.  

Jahidul Islam who works at a private organisation and needs to commute at Mirpur-Uttara route, shares his experience to TheReport.live.

Nikunja is 8.1 km distant from Mirpur-12. According to the chart given by Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA), the fare is fixed at Tk 13.77 while the transport workers are charging taka 30 which is more than twice, Jahidul Islam said.

Dhaka Road Transport Owners association sent a proposal to the ministry to increase transport fare once again on October 3. Passengers Rights preservation council strongly condemned the proposal.

Terming the proposal as an act of injustice the organisation’s general secretary Shamsuddin Chowdhury said, the fare charged in the name of sitting service is nothing but extortion.

He alleged that the field level monitoring is not working up to the mark. Bus owners increase the fare every year in one way or another. But, hiking fare amid pandemic is inhumane.

However, claiming to have increased no fare in last seven years owners’ association general secretary Khandaker Enayet Ullah said, “A decision was taken in this regard in concern with the committee, passengers’ welfare council, CAB, BRTC and city corporation authorities. But it is yet to be enforced. So, recently we sent another proposal. Hopefully, the ministry will give its nod to revising the proposal.  

Meanwhile, the ministry secretary Md. Nazrul Islam said the ministry has yet taken no decision regarding the proposal. But, the fare for some particular transports which will hit the road in December has been fixed at taka 2.2 per kilometer. But it will not valid for all bus services.