The sale of advance bus tickets for Eid-ul-Fitr holidaymakers from capital Dhaka and other metropolitan cities to different districts of the country has begun. Like in the past, the bus owners are already charging more than the set fare and this time they are calling for even more. The operators are charging Tk400 more than the usual ticket price for non-AC bus and taka 500 to taka 1000 for AC ones.
Only few months ago the government increased the fares for intercity and long-haul buses by 26.5 per cent and 27 per cent respectively following the demands of bus and launch owners in the wake of fuel price hike. Therefore, the travelers have been paying the increased fare since November last.
When the common people are passing through serious financial hardship due to price hike of almost all daily essentials and other products, the bus operators’ tendency to extract more money is adding woes to the fixed-income people, who are already reeling from the economic slowdown caused by the pandemic.
The ill practice of increasing ticket prices before Eid is nothing new as majority of city residents set off for their home district or villages. Transport owners take advantage of that and increase the bus fares to more than twice the usual fee.
We hope that the homebound
people will be able to purchase their advance
bus tickets at government fixed rates
Authorities in Chattogram have fined a bus counter of Hanif Paribahan for overcharging passengers ahead of Eid journeys as they caught the salesperson at the counter red-handed while demanding extra fare from passengers. The Directorate of National Consumer Rights Protection (DNCRP) on Wednesday slapped the counter taka 100,000 as fine for overcharging passengers Tk300 than the usual bus fare ahead of Eid-ul-Fitr. Besides, DNCRP conducted operation in the capital Dhaka’s Kalyanpur and Gabtali bus terminals fined the bus counters of Hanif Paribahan, Shyamoli NR Paribahan, Desh Travel, Eagle and Sohag Paribahan Tk 5,000 each for not pulling the fare list.
Travellers gathered at the bus counters to buy advance tickets alleged that despite DNCRP and Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA)’s drive against charging extra bus fares in Dhaka and Chattogram city, many bus operators are still taking higher fare than the government fixed rate.
Authorities concerned must take immediate steps to strictly monitor the selling of bus tickets in order to stop charging of extra fare. Bus companies will also have to hang fare-charts based on distance at their respective ticket-counters.
If anyone takes extra fare, immediate action will have to be taken against them based on evidence. We hope that the homebound people for the Eid-ul-Fitr celebration will be able to purchase their advance bus tickets at government fixed rate.