Govt playing a joke on passengers by aiming to reduce bus fare by only Tk0.03 per km: Jatri Kalyan Samiti
The statement comes after the Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA) recommended reducing bus fares by Tk0.03 per kilometre for passengers as there has been a drop in fuel prices
The Bangladesh Jatri Kalyan Samiti today (1 April) alleged that the government is playing a joke on passengers by aiming to reduce bus fare by only Tk0.03 per kilometer instead of making the reduction according to the drop in fuel prices.
In a statement, the orgaisation said collecting extra fare has become common in most buses plying on roads across the country ahead of Eid.
The statement comes after the Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA) recommended reducing bus fares by Tk0.03 per kilometre for passengers as there has been a drop in fuel prices.
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A committee of the BRTA made the recommendation following the government's decision yesterday that per litre diesel and kerosene will be sold at Tk106 in April – a Tk2.25 drop from March prices.
After a meeting at the BRTA headquarters in the capital's Banani on Monday (1 April), bus owners also agreed to the recommendation to reduce bus fares.
BRTA Chairman Nur Mohammad Mazumder said the recommendation will be passed to the ministry today and new fares can come into force once the government issues a notification.
The fare per km can be reduced by Tk0.03 from Tk2.15 to Tk2.12 for long-distance buses. For the Dhaka-Chattogram metropolitan area, the fare can be Tk2.42, Tk0.03 down from Tk2.45, as per the committee's recommendations.
The organisation further said, "Earlier, the government reduced the bus fare by Tk0.02 paise in 2011. Common passengers did not get the benefit of this.
"Then in 2016, due to reduction in fuel oil prices, passengers of the country were again deprived of the benefit of bus fare being reduced by Tk0.03.
"The actual benefit of fuel price reduction will be enjoyed only by owners of buses and other transport, but the people of the country will be deprived," said the statement.
The organisation demanded to immediately reduce fuel oil prices at a significant rate and adjust bus fares considering affordability of passengers.
