Ride-share bikers allowed 5 litres daily – what about regular riders?
A motorcycle's registration number and the driver's details must be verified with ride-sharing apps before the supply of fuel.
The Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation (BPC) has decided that ride-sharing motorbikes will be allowed to purchase up to 5 litres of fuel per day from petrol pumps across the country.
The information was disclosed in a notification signed by BPC Secretary Shahina Sultana today (10 March).
However, the corporation has set three conditions for the fuel supply. These include issuing a purchase receipt mentioning the type, quantity and price of fuel when a ride-sharing motorbike collects fuel from a filling station; submitting the original copy of the previous purchase receipt or bill each time fuel is purchased; and verifying the motorcycle's registration number and the driver's details with ride-sharing apps before supplying fuel.
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According to BPC, arrangements have already been made to ensure a normal supply of fuel in the country through scheduled imports from abroad, and shipments are arriving regularly.
The corporation said fuel is also being transported from the main installations to depots across the country through railway wagons and tankers to ensure uninterrupted distribution to dealers.
Earlier, on 8 March, the government set limits on the amount of fuel that different types of vehicles could purchase daily.
Under that directive, motorcycles were allowed to buy 2 litres of petrol or octane per day, while private cars could purchase 10 litres. Sports utility vehicles (SUVs), commonly known as jeeps, and microbuses were allowed 20 to 25 litres daily.
Pickup vans and local buses were permitted to buy 70 to 80 litres of diesel per day, while long-distance buses, trucks, covered vans and container trucks were allowed between 200 and 220 litres daily.
In its notice, BPC also stated that fuel must be bought and sold at government-fixed prices in the country.
"Charging extra prices on the pretext of shortages is a punishable offence under the law," the notice said.
It also noted that fuel prices in the country are determined by the government at the beginning of each month.
"In the current situation, the government has not taken any decision so far to increase fuel prices," the notice added, urging consumers and dealers to follow the directives and cooperate to maintain a stable fuel supply nationwide.
