Dhaka’s public transports exact addl Tk 1.82b in fare

The public transports in Dhaka collect an additional fare of Tk 1.82 billion per day from the passengers, which causes fare anarchy, commodity hike, and social unrest, said speakers in a discussion on Tuesday.
They raised the complaint in the discussion - "We want effective measures to stop the anarchy against excess fare collection". Bangladesh Jatri Kalyan Samity or Passenger Welfare Association (BJKS) organised the event in the National Press Club on the occasion of 4th Passenger Rights Day.
BJKS Secretary General Mozammel Haque Chowdhury said public transport fares were increased at an unusual rate after the prices of fuel oils were increased twice in the last one year. The public transport sector became unstable due to the fare hike.
At present, there is no fixed fare - set by the government for any transport in the city, and so, the anarchy of collecting extra fare is going on unabated, he alleged.
Meanwhile, 14 passengers were thrown out from buses and killed, and at least 25 passengers were assaulted in public transports for protesting extra fare collection. Some 10 passengers were seriously injured in these protests in the last one year, said the BJKS assessment.
During a survey and assessment by the association, it was found that due to daily deposit, high fuel price, extortion on road, vehicle repair cost, and increase in commodity prices, the bus owners resorted to such fare hike anarchy.
According to the JICA's survey, there are 30 million trips per day on an average in different classes of public transports in the capital.
Low-income passengers have to travel in the capital's 5,000 buses-minibuses, 30,000 auto-rickshaws, thousands of human-haulers, and 500,000 ride-sharing vehicles. These vehicles collect fares at two-three times higher rates, said the speakers.
The BJKS demanded that the transport sector should be radically reformed and a digital fare collection system should be introduced.
In order to stop sole dominance of the owners' associations in determining bus fares, the fare determination committee should be reorganised with experienced people having technical knowledge, maintaining international standards.
Arrangements should be made to display digital fare list inside the buses. Besides, systems like waybill, seating service, and gate-lock service should be stopped, it added.

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