Chaos continued in the transport sector for the second consecutive day on Sunday as people across the country were charged extra fares by transports, especially buses and launches.
Staff of buses on city and long routes continued to charge higher-than-fixed fares, by up to 50 per cent.
Due to fewer buses in operation on the first working day after the fuel price hike, passengers suffered throughout the day while they also had to pay higher to other transports like CNG-run auto-rickshaws, rickshaws and illegal contract-based ridesharing services by motorcycles.
People were seen standing at different points in Dhaka and Chattogram cities for transports while they were also seen getting locked into altercations with the transport workers.
Goods-carrying transport owners, meanwhile, demanded the cancellation of the hikes in fuel oil prices.
Launches, too, charged extra from passengers on all routes while the owners demanded a 100 per cent hike in the fares.
Tank-lorry owners called a 24-hour strike from Sunday morning in 15 districts of Khulna division, demanding a readjustment of transport fares and commissions because of the latest hike in the diesel price.
The government, in a statement late on Friday, revised the prices of fuel oils, raising the prices of petrol, diesel, octane and kerosene by almost 50 per cent.
Following the fuel price hike, the government on Saturday increased the fares of diesel-run buses by 16 per cent to 22 per cent while no new fare charts were issued by the authorities concerned as of 9:00pm on Sunday.
Inter-city and inter-district bus passengers in Dhaka and elsewhere claimed that they had to pay extra fares for not finding any other option.
On the day, the number of buses was fewer for the second consecutive day on almost all routes in the capital.
At the three inter-district bus terminals in the capital — Gabtoli, Mohakhali and Saidabad, bus operators charged higher fares by up to 50 per cent.
At the Gabtoli terminal, a Kotalipara-bound Diganta Paribahan was found charging Tk 600 in place of the earlier faree Tk 400.
Md Moshiur Rahman, who was going to Kotalipara, said, ‘I bought a ticket from Diganta Paribahan bus at Tk 600, which I bought at Tk 400 two weeks ago.’
He also said that he was forced to pay the amount as his mother had to go to their village home.
Diganta Paribahan counter clerk Abdur Rahman said, ‘Earlier, we took Tk 400 but the government-set charge was Tk 530. Now, as the price of diesel has increased to Tk 34 per litre, how can we do without adjusting the fares?’
‘We are taking fares as per the owners associations’ directive,’ he added.
At Mirpur-2, Md Soliaman, a passenger of a Rob Rob Paribahan bus, said that he had to pay Tk 15 in place of Tk 10 for the distance between Mirpur-1 and Mirpur-11.
‘The bus conductors are taking extra Tk 3-4 on the excuse of not having changes from passengers,’ he added.
At Nilkhet, Jamil Hossain, a passenger of a Thikana Paribahan bus said that the conductor was taking Tk 15 as minimum fare while it was Tk 10 earlier.
The bus driver’s assistant, Rafiqul Islam, said, ‘We are seeking Tk 15 as minimum fare and passengers are quarrelling with us. Most of them want to pay Tk 10.’
He, however, said that they increased the fares from Tk 15 to Tk 20, from Tk 20 to Tk 25 and from Tk 25 to Tk 30.
In front of Dhaka City College, Mahbub Rahman, a passenger of a Malancha Transport bus, said, ‘I had to pay Tk 30 for travelling from Mohamamdpur to Gulistan. Earlier, I had pay Tk 20.’
Passengers were seen standing on roads at all busy bus stops at Azimpur, Nilkhet, Science Laboratory, Asad Gate, Shyamoli, Mohammadpur, Karwan Bazar, Farmgate, and Mirpur Technical, especially during the office hours.
Bangladesh Road Transport Owners Association secretary general Khandaker Enayetullah admitted that irregularities took place at some places.
Asked about charging higher fares at the Gabtoli terminal, he replied that, ‘The government has set the fare for 52-seater buses but many buses have 40 seats. If people travel in 40-seaters they have to pay the fare in light of 52-seater bus fares.’
A Bangladesh Road Transport Authority press release issued on Sunday said that it had realised Tk 2,60,000 in fine under 93 cases in Dhaka and Chattogram conducting 13 mobile courts on charges of irregularities, including charging higher fares, charging extra fares by CNG-run vehicles that used diesel, not having route permits and fitness certificates, route violations, using hydraulic horns.
Besides, it jailed two brokers and dumped two vehicles, the release added.
Taking advantage of the situation, CNG-run auto-rickshaw drivers, rickshaw pullers and motorcyclists also charged higher fares from helpless passengers.
New Age correspondent in Chattogram reported that transport workers in the port city and other places in the district on Sunday charged at least Tk 5 to Tk 10 extra from the passengers.
CNG-run vehicles also charged extra fares while some passengers got locked into altercations with transport workers over extra fares.
A passenger named Aminul Islam Munna told New Age that CNG-run tempos earlier charged Tk 10 for the distance from Bahaddarhat to Amtala at Reaziddinbazar but they charged Tk 15 on Sunday.
Md Mizanur Rahman, a passenger, said that buses charged Tk 45 from Hathazari to New Market in place of the previous Tk 30.
Chattogram Road Transport Workers Federation president Mohammad Musa and Chattogram Metropolitan Transport Owners Group general secretary Belayet Hossain denied the allegations, saying that they were not charging extra fare.
New Age correspondent in Barishal reported that passenger fares in road transports on the Barishal–Dhaka and domestic routes were raised by almost 40 per cent while passengers suffered greatly.
Vessels on the Bhola–Barishal–Patarhat and other river routes charged Tk 30 to Tk 40 more per passenger.
The Bangladesh Truck-Covered Van Owners’ Association on Sunday urged the authorities to withdraw the increased prices of fuels at a meeting held at its office in the capital.
The leaders alleged that the fuel price hike would damage the goods transportation business hard and increase the prices of essentials.
Meanwhile, in a letter sent to the shipping ministry and the Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority on Sunday, the Bangladesh Inland Waterways (Passenger Carriers) Association urged the government to increase the fares of passenger vessels to Tk 4.60 a kilometre from Tk 2.30 for the first 100 kilometres and to Tk 4 a kilometre from Tk 2 beyond 100 kilometres.
Officials of the shipping ministry are scheduled to sit with the launch owners on Monday to readjust the launch fares.
In the letter, the association said that, following the opening of the Padma Bridge, most of the people from southern districts are using road transports, leading the launch business to incur huge losses.
Against this backdrop, the government increased the price of diesel while the prices of engine oils on the open market were increased by almost 50 per cent and the prices of different spare parts, including plates, angles, propellers, welding rods, were increased by about 200 per cent.
The association’s senior vice-chair, Badiuzzaman Badal, told New Age that as fares for launches were not increased launch workers were charging extra as much as passengers were giving.
‘We [the owners] did not ask them to charge extra but the workers are charging extra by themselves on almost all routes,’ he said.
Badiuzzaman added that they would meet BIWTA officials today morning and then the shipping ministry secretary in the afternoon over increasing fare rates.
‘We’re hoping that new fares for launches will be fixed tomorrow,’ he added.
United News of Bangladesh reported that the Khulna Divisional Committee of Bangladesh Tank-Lorry Owners’ Association called a 24-hour strike from Sunday 8:00am in Khulna division demanding readjustment of transport fare and commission following the latest hike in the diesel price.
The Bangladesh Tank-Lorry Owners’ Association and the Petrol Pump Owners’ Association observed the strike stopping collection of fuel from the depots of petroleum companies Padma, Meghna and Jamuna.
The associations demanded commission at the rate of 7.5 per cent of the current fuel price.
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