Dilemma over metro rail fare fixation

The government is facing a dilemma over fixing the metro rail fare due to lack of necessary policy and mechanism to assess it with subsidy.
The authorities concerned were, however, considering two possible models of determining the fare for the country's first such transportation system.
Sources said the Dhaka Mass Transit Company Limited (DMTCL) has handed over two models for fare calculation - cost recovery and affordability - to the Dhaka Transport Coordination Authority (DTCA) a month ago.
The cost recovery model assesses the fare based on operational cost and subsidy. But the affordability model counts the income of people to assess affordability and compare it with fares of other neighbouring countries.
But the special committee of the DTCA is yet to sit with the models due to absence of fare policy and mechanism to assess the fare, they added.
"In both cases, the government's involvement is necessary," said an insider, adding that a loan agreement has been signed between the metro rail operator and the government to set a standard of subsidy.
While talking to the officials concerned at the Ministry of Road Transport and Bridges, DMTCL and DTCA, they informed the FE that a guideline is there to fix the fare of mass rapid transit line 6 (MRT 6) below the air-conditioned bus services.
The AC buses that operate between Motijheel and Abdullahpur charge Tk 120 one way with a minimum fare of Tk 70 which is paid for up to four stoppages.
However, the fare shown in the feasibility study to assess the viability of the MRT 6 was more than Tk 50. With inflation, the rate assessed in 2016 was Tk 150.
Transport experts said the fare calculation compared with the AC buses would be disastrous as the operational cost of MRTs will be quite high. The probable MRT 6 operational cost is estimated at Tk 50 million daily.
They also said that any comparison with the fares of other countries would not be acceptable as the situation varies from one country to another.
Road Transport and Highways Division Secretary Nazrul Islam said the government's investment on the metro rail is to mitigate traffic congestion as it eats up huge working hours and leave adverse impact on the economy.
"It depends on the government what the MRT fare will be," he told the FE at his office recently. He, however, added that the rate is unlikely to be more than the AC buses.
Since the government has announced to start operating the first half of the 21-kilometre MRT line 6 from Uttara to Agargaon in December next, the fare fixing committee was formed in December 2020.
The seven-member committee sat once in January 2021 but asked the DMTCL to propose rates to work on it.
The DMTCL later took the support of a consultant to prepare a model. The first model which was cost recovery was not accepted by the DTMCL as it calculates the fare at a high level.
Managing Director MAN Siddique told the FE that the affordability model will have to focus on the fare fixation and added that the final proposal will come from the special committee.
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