CU launches eco-friendly e-car service; students question fares

The Chittagong University (CU) administration has launched an environment-friendly electronic car (e-car) service on campus to ease the distress of students regarding transportation.

The service was formally inaugurated by CU Vice-Chancellor (VC) Prof Muhammad Yahya Akhter at 10am today (19 August) at the campus zero point.

The long-standing issue of transportation at Chittagong University (CU), the country's largest campus, has long been a cause of distress for students. Due to the vast distance between different points on campus and the syndicate of CNG-powered rickshaw drivers, students often have to pay high fares even for short trips. Considering these challenges, the university administration has now taken this initiative.

However, students have complained about the newly set fare for the e-car service.

According to university sources, six e-cars or golf carts have been introduced in the first phase under a joint agreement with 'Ma Enterprise' and 'Green Future Bangladesh' under a 'no profit, no loss' model.

The administration expects that this will solve issues related to long walking distances, CNG scarcity and high rickshaw fares across the campus.

Speaking at the inaugural event, VC Prof Yahya Akhter said, "With everyone's collective effort, we have finally been able to launch electronic cars on campus. We hope this will reduce students' commute difficulties. As they are highly environment-friendly, it also reflects our vision of a green and sustainable campus."

He added, "I personally tested the vehicle today. It is quite easy to operate and the fares have already been fixed. In a meeting yesterday, we tried to set the fares at lower rates compared to rickshaw charges so that students can benefit."

Initially, the eco-friendly cars will operate on three designated routes.

However, students have expressed satisfaction over the launch of the e-car service, while voiced discomfort regarding the fare.

Jannatul Ferdous Rita, a third-year student of the Department of Botany, said, "The administration deserves praise for introducing e-cars at CU. However, the fixed fare is quite unfair for students. For example, where the CNG fare from Zero Point to the Biological Sciences faculty is Tk8, the e-car fare for the same route is Tk15. Then what benefit do we get from this? We want the fare to be within Tk5 to Tk10."

Al Araf, a second-year student of the Department of Economics, said, "Transportation problems at the university have been ongoing for a long time. We also spend a lot of money on rickshaw fares daily in this vast campus. With the launch of the electronic car, we hope to be free from those issues. However, the fare set by the administration needs to be more reasonable. In some cases, they are charging extra. I hope the administration will look into this."