Hidden cost passed on to commuters

Munima Sultana | Published: April 11, 2014 00:00:00 | Updated: November 30, 2024 06:01:00

Commuters will have to bear at least 30 per cent of the fares proposed for the new taxicab service in Dhaka city as 'hidden cost' and loss on account of traffic jams. The picture emerges after assessment of different charges through a financial analysis by the agencies concerned.
Experts are of the opinion that targeted users of the taxicab service and their affordability to avail the service have totally been ignored while fixing the fares.
In addition to counting the economic cost of traffic jams, commuters will have to shoulder the expenses the taxicab services make in the forms of tolls and extortions.
"In the Bangladesh context, the proposed taxicab fare is certainly unusually high," said Professor M Shamsul Hoque of Civil Engineering Department of Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET).
He said an economic analysis would have given an enhanced focus on greater number of per day trips and reduction in abnormal operational costs.
The commuters will have to part with at least Tk 250 for an hour's waiting, which is common during traffic jams in the city.
The Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA) has estimated a decline of 10km in the per day average run of each taxicab due to increase in the traffic jam in the city. BRTA officials have also expressed the fear that the estimated daily run could not be maintained by some cabs in the days to come. On assumption, they have assessed that one-fourth of the 500 cabs would remain idle every day for reasons like maintenance or incidental causes. The cab service operators also have to meet the demands for tolls from different quarters including the people in uniform. This adds to their cost of operation.
The rates proposed by the BRTA in the case of minimum fare, per kilometre fare, waiting charge etc. are Tk 100, Tk 34 and Tk 8.5 respectively against the existing rates of Tk 60, Tk 15, Tk 3.75 fixed in 2010.
The taxicab operators -- Toma Group and Army Welfare Trust -- submitted separate proposals taking into consideration the issues of import cost, tax, fuel costs, lifetime, depreciation, wages of drivers, office management, maintenance cost, bank interest, registration and fitness fees while fixing the fares and other charges. They calculated the per-day operational cost of each car at Tk 473. Â
The operators had proposed minimum charge between Tk 120 and 130, per km fare at Tk 60 and waiting charge at Tk 15. Only the charge for calling cabs remains the same as the rate of 2010 at Tk 20.
The ministry of communications (MoC) at an inter-ministerial meeting endorsed the BRTA-revised fares last month, which would be published soon through a gazette notification amidst widespread criticism.
BRTA chairman M Nazrul Islam said the organisation reviewed the rates proposed by the cab operators applying its traditional way of fare calculation under which there is no scope for fixing fares from the perspective of targeted commuters and their affordability.
He said the BRTA had reviewed all the charges, like the operators, to ensure a secure, modern and standard taxicab service for commuters. All calculations were made taking into account a minimum of 10 per cent profit for the operators.
"We consider safety and standard commuter service in fare fixation," the BRTA chairman told the FE at his office on Sunday claiming that air conditioned, brand cars, trained and higher salaried drivers, control rooms to operate all cars, tracking system, lost-and-found department would ensure a secure and standard cab service.
When asked about the cabs' availability and affordability of the commuters in the context of fares, the taxicab operators said a good number of people could afford the AC cab service.
"This is not a mass transport. This service is not for all. But we believe, still many affluent people who regularly go to five-star hotels or want to avail two to three trips a day by cabs will turn to our service," said managing director of Toma Group M Ataur Rahman Bhuiyan.
He claimed that people of posh areas, corporate high-ups, tourists, foreign workers will love the service and will be ready to pay the new fares.
Qazi Abidus Samad, managing director of Army Welfare Trust-run transport service, said the new fare has been proposed keeping in view the fares being claimed by other modes of transport including CNG-run auto-rickshaws.
"People are now paying the increased fares being demanded by rickshaws and auto-rickshaws. The hike proposed in line with the fare rate of these vehicles is not much," he added.
Dr Golam Moazzem of Centre for Policy Dialogue, however, said due to the lack of pricing policy and a rule to fix fares for different modes of transport, the unusual hike in taxi fares has been proposed.
"We do not see any pricing rule for any kind of transports including rickshaws and everywhere a chaotic situation is now prevailing in the capital city. The commuters are to bear all these costs in the absence of efficient efforts on the part of the government," he added.
Qazi Faruk, president of Consumer Association of Bangladesh (CAB), alleged that commuters' interest had totally been ignored in the new fare calculation as no representatives from the consumers' side had been present during any meetings of the ministry and the inter-ministerial meetings.
He said in the name of providing modern service, the government had earlier hiked fares of buses and CNG auto-rickshaws, but they could not ensure the service.
"Once a fare is fixed upward there is no history of reducing it, even after the failure of the operators to render the promised improvement in services," he added.
The experts said fixing specific taxicab stands, ensuring efficiency in the 'on call' cab service, drivers' willingness to make trips anywhere on demand etc., had not yet been ensured to provide standard service before launching of the new taxicabs.
They also pointed out that the specific cars would not be able to ensure standard if workshops, regular maintenance and drivers' efficiency were not taken into account and given due importance.
Though the operators calculated the fuel cost basing on the use of octane, there is no restriction on the use of these cars with gas if they want to lower their operational costs after fixing of the new increased fares. The cab operators have claimed that all the cabs will be running on octane. But sources said the operators have already applied to the MoC to provide them 'special service' and priority at the CNG stations during filling of gas.
Ruling out the claim of the taxicab operators that it is not a mass transport, Dr Shamsul Hoque said as a para-transit service, the taxis support commuters using mass transit services. "Reasonable taxi fares would certainly help render due mass transit service to people and execute the policy of discouraging small passenger-capacity transports like private cars," he added.
The government earlier failed to popularise both the air conditioned (AC) and non-AC taxicab services introduced after import of 800 cc cars from India during the end of the 90s.
The MoC revised the taxicab policy formulated inÂ 2010 on demand of cab operators to remove anomalies of the past taxicab service, but failed to create enthusiasm among companies to launch new cab service in the country's cities.
Communications Minister Obaidul Quader recently announced introducing 47 octane-run new taxis from the first day of the Bangla calendar year. The BRTA, however, said the first fleet of taxicabs would ply the Dhaka streets in the first week of Baishakh, the first month of the Bangla calendar. But the service will be launched before setting up parking lot, workshops and training of enough drivers for ensuring a better service, sources said.
When asked about how the BRTA would ensure an improved service this time, the chairman said a monitoring committee would soon be formed to overview the performance of the new cab service as per the commitment by the operators.
The cab operators announced to bring 650 cabs of Toyota Allion, Premio, Axio or Probox model having engine capacities ranging from 1500 cc to 2000 cc by June, but they have yet to get any parking place for these cabs.Â They said they have applied for 10 parking areas at the city airport, rail stations, shopping malls and urged assurance from the government that the transports are not "requisitioned by the police".