Proposal to increase public transport fares by more than 40 percent

News Desk: In view of the increase in the price of fuel oil in the market, a new fare adjustment has been proposed in the public transport in the face of the demand of the transport owners. Where the bus fare has been proposed to increase by more than 40 percent on average.

The new proposal of Bangladesh Paribahan Malik Samiti has said that the current long distance bus fare has been increased from Tk 1.42 per km to Tk 2. In other words, passengers will have to pay an additional 58 paise per kilometer. The rate of increase in rent is 40.75 percent.

Besides, the current bus fare in the metropolis is 1.80 paisa per kilometer and it has been proposed to increase it to 2.40 paisa. This will increase the rent by 60 paise. The rate of additional rent is 41.18 percent. The current fare for a minibus in the metropolis is 1.80 paisa per kilometer. It has been proposed to increase it to 2.40 paise. This increases the fare by 60 paisa per kilometer. The rate of increase in rent is 50 percent.

The proposal was made at a meeting of leaders of the Transport Owners' Association with the Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA) on Sunday (November 8) at noon at the BRTA office in the capital's Banani in the wake of rising fuel prices.

Transport strikes have been going on for the last three days across the country in protest of the hike in fuel price by Tk 15 per liter. From the beginning, transport owners have been demanding either a fare adjustment, or a reduction in diesel prices.

Meanwhile, the Bangladesh Road Transport Owners' Association wrote a letter to the BRTA on Thursday (November 4th) regarding the rescheduling of public transport fares due to the increase in diesel and kerosene prices.

Due to rising prices of fuel oil in the international market, the government re-fixed the price of diesel-kerosene in Bangladesh as well as in other countries of the world including India. The price of diesel and kerosene was hiked by Tk 15 per liter in a press release issued by the Ministry of Power, Energy and Mineral Resources on Wednesday night (November 3). The new price has been increased from Tk 75 to Tk 60 at the consumer level. Which is effective from Thursday.

The day after the announcement of the increase in the price of diesel and kerosene, the transport owners and workers expressed their dissatisfaction. Then on Friday (November 5) from 6 am, the owners of buses, trucks and goods vehicles started an indefinite transport strike across the country, including the capital. This has caused great suffering to the people all over the country. As the strike is indefinite, people are also in uncertainty about when the suffering will end.

However, after the increase in the price of oil, the transport owners and those concerned were saying that if the price of diesel is not reduced, the fare will have to be adjusted in other modes of transport including public transport.

The victims of the transport strike say the bus fares are the responsibility of the Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA), an agency under the Ministry of Road Transport. The transport owners held the general public hostage by striking to increase fares, but the government did not take any immediate action. The transport syndicate has gone on strike as a strategy to create pressure to increase fares.

Meanwhile, on the first day of the strike, Awami League General Secretary and Roads Minister Obaidul Quader called on the transport owners to call off the strike considering the plight of the people. But he did not respond to the call in the last two days. On the same day, Obaidul Quader told reporters that a meeting with the rent rescheduling committee would be held on Sunday. The meeting will try to keep the pressure on the common people as tolerable as possible by adjusting the rent.

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