Holidaymakers from Dhaka count Tk984cr extra for Eid trips: Welfare body

Holidaymakers travelling from the Dhaka city and surrounding areas will have to pay an additional Tk984 crore for this year's Eid-ul-Fitr journeys, according to the Passenger Welfare Association of Bangladesh.

It says about 1.60 crore people are going home from Dhaka and its surrounding districts during this Eid.

While releasing its findings on Sunday (7 April), the organisation said it prepared the report after observing the Eid travel situation, extra fares being charged, and overall passenger service conditions on roads, railways, waterways, and airways in Dhaka from 3 April to 6 April.

Around 60 lakh passengers are expected to use water transport this Eid, estimates the association. Passengers are being charged additional fares ranging from Tk50 to Tk800 each, depending on the class of service, it said. That translates to an average extra fare of Tk200 per passenger, resulting in a total cost of Tk120 crore for passengers, it said.

In the capital, around 25,000 CNG-run auto-rickshaws are charging an average of Tk200 extra fare per trip, said the association. That will cost the approximately 70 lakh passengers Tk140 crore in extra fares, it said.

Battery-run rickshaws, easy bikes and pedal-powered rickshaws are charging an average of Tk20 extra fare per passenger in the name of Eid tips, the association estimates.

Around 7,000 human hauliers operating in the capital are charging an average of Tk20 extra per trip. That will amount to Tk16 crore in extra fares for approximately 80 lakh trips, it estimates.

Around 15 lakh passengers will travel in private cars, jeeps, and microbuses and extra fares of Tk3,500 per trip will result in additional Tk112 crore, said the passengers' welfare body.

Bus passengers travelling on long-haul routes from Dhaka are being charged an average of Tk300 extra fare per passenger and that will result in Tk90 crore in extra fares for the 30 lakh passengers, it estimates.

The association finds that 4,000 city buses in Dhaka city will collect Tk14.4 crore extra from passengers at an average rate of Tk30 per 48 lakh trips, it estimates.

To avoid the hassles of public transport congestion, extra fares, not getting tickets on time, traffic jams, etc, around 12 lakh passengers are travelling to their ancestral homes on motorcycles this Eid, said the association. And 30% of them are using their own bikes while others are having to pay an average of Tk300 more than the normal fare per passenger on ride-sharing motorcycles.

As a result, 8 lakh 40 thousand motorcycle passengers will have to pay Tk25.2 crore in extra fares, it estimates.

Around 3 lakh 78 thousand passengers will travel on the train without tickets due to the unavailability of tickets, said the association. From them, the ticket checkers, guards, government and private stewards, private canteen operators, etc working on the train will collect an average of Tk300 extra per passenger, totalling Tk11.34 crore, it said.

The association estimates that Tk35 crore will be charged as extra fare in the air during this Eid.

The people of terminals charge Tk10/20 instead of the usual Tk2 fare from the public for commuting and crossing the river at Sadarghat and other places, it said, adding, that will result in the collection of Tk140 crore in extra tolls.

Md Mozammel Haque Chowdhury, general secretary of the association, in a statement, said, "Before this Eid, passengers will have to pay more than Tk983.94 crore in extra fares while travelling from Dhaka to different districts of the country. If the calculation is done for the whole country, this figure might increase three to four times."

It is needed to roll out a smart fare collection system, installing CCTV cameras and ensuring good governance in the public transport system to get rid of the situation, he said.