Bus fares surge unchecked as fuel price hike hits commuters
This unregulated spike has triggered widespread frustration, often leading to heated altercations between conductors and passengers.
Commuters in Dhaka and across the country are being forced to pay increased bus fares despite no official announcement regarding fare adjustments following the recent increase in fuel prices.
This unregulated spike has triggered widespread frustration, often leading to heated altercations between conductors and passengers, with reports of passengers being forcibly offloaded for protesting the hikes.
Passengers said buses are charging an additional Tk5 to Tk10 for short distance travel, while for long-distance, some operators are demanding Tk200 to Tk250 above the usual rate.
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They also said a significant portion of the city's buses operate on CNG, but fares are being hiked based on diesel price hike, raising questions about the legitimacy of the adjustments.
Shamim Hossain, who regularly travels on the Rangpur-Jaldhaka route, said the fare was previously Tk95 but has now increased to Tk100, with transport workers citing higher fuel prices.
Meanwhile, visits to bus terminals found that fares on the Dhaka-Moulvibazar route have increased from Tk570 to Tk620. Passenger Nur Nabi Mostafa said buses on the Dhaka to Cox's Bazar, Chattogram and Sylhet routes are charging an additional Tk100 to Tk200.
The Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA) is responsible for determining the fares for non-AC buses and minibuses. As per official regulations, the fare for long-distance buses is fixed at Tk2.12 per kilometer.
In the Dhaka metropolitan area, the rates are Tk2.42 per km for buses and Tk2.32 per km for minibuses. However, passengers said these rates are rarely followed.
Back in August 2022, the government increased the price of diesel by 42% to Tk114 per liter. Consequently, bus fares were raised by BRTA to a maximum of Tk0.40 per kilometer. However, diesel prices were later reduced in three phases to Tk100 per litre, but fares were not lowered.
Transport operators said the fare structures fixed in 2022 are no longer commercially viable. They cited rising operational costs driven by currency depreciation and the soaring prices of spare parts.
According to passenger welfare groups, transport owners failed to implement either of these reductions.
Md Mozammel Haque Chowdhury, secretary general of Bangladesh Jatri Kalyan Samity, told the media that some transport owners are raising fares before any formal decision, putting pressure on passengers. He urged a participatory process to set fair fares and proposed a Tk 0.15 per kilometre increase.
Amid the situation, Prime Minister's Adviser for Information and Broadcasting Zahed Ur Rahman said the government is working to rationalise transport fares in alignment with fuel price changes. Speaking at a briefing yesterday (21 April), he said that discussions are ongoing to reach a balanced decision.
The government on Saturday raised diesel prices to Tk115 per litre, octane to Tk140, and petrol to Tk135, marking increases of Tk15 per litre for diesel, Tk20 for octane, and Tk 19 for petrol.
The next day negotiations between transport operators and the BRTA hit a deadlock, as owners demanded a comprehensive fare hike reflecting broader economic pressures, while the regulator insisted on capping increases strictly to rising fuel costs.
