New taxi fare: irrational and unfair

I was totally taken aback by the government decision on fare for taxi cabs in the capital. If we compare it to that of the cities like New Delhi, Bangkok, Dubai, Islamabad, Kuala Lumpur, we will find it much higher. The government must reconsider the new taxi fare as it will not be reasonable and fair to the commuters of Dhaka.
The new fare is fixed at Tk 100 for the first two kilometres and Tk 34 for every next kilometer. The most irrational part of the fair chart is that a passenger is to pay Tk 8.5 for a minute's wait in the traffic for air-conditioned cabs. Introducing new comfortable taxi cabs in Dhaka is indeed a praiseworthy decision but traffic jam will hamper the much-needed mobility in the life of Dhaka city dwellers. No taxi cab or CNG-run auto-rickshaw is ready to take fare on the basis of meter reading. If the law enforcing agency goes tough on errant drivers, the problem may be solved.
Dhaka is a mega city. We need to improve its transport system drastically. Already the proposed cab fare has been termed irrational by various quarters and we hope the government will re-fix it so that everyone benefits from it.

Mohammed Sohel Hara
Shahjadpur, Dhaka
sohelhara@hotmail.com