The fare of non-AC buses plying on the Dhaka-Narayanganj route has been increased by Tk 20 as the government has increased the price of fuel oil. This has caused anger among the passengers. There have also been incidents of verbal altercations between passengers and public transport personnel. After the increase in fares, the number of passengers in all types of buses has decreased. This picture was seen on the ground at the bus counters of various public transport in Chashadha of the city on Sunday from morning to noon.

The fare of air-conditioned (AC) buses on the Dhaka-Narayanganj route has been increased by Tk 15. BRTC bus has increased the fare by Tk 10 per passenger. On inquiry, it was found that non-AC Utsav, City Bandhan, Himachal, Maumita Paribahan and BRTC buses ply on the Dhaka-Narayanganj route. Sheetal Transport Limited is the only AC bus on this route. Apart from this, long distance public transport runs from Narayanganj to Panchagarh, Kushtia, Rangpur, Nilphamari, Lalmonirhat.

Abul Kalam worked in a private company in Uttara of the capital. He said that the government has increased the price of oil. The fare may increase by 5-10 rupees. But raising 20 taka at once is oppression and torture to passengers. It will be difficult for common people to bear this additional rent. Abul Kalam’s monthly income is 15 thousand taka. With this income, they have to struggle to run a family of three. He said that if the cost of transportation increases, there will be more tension in the family.

Criticizing the government, Lokman Hossain, another passenger, said that people’s opinion is not needed to take any decision in the country. The government has increased the price of oil, now the transport owners will take advantage by putting the burden of the additional fare on the people. Whether people live or die, there is no one to see.

Kamruzzaman Tushar, a passenger of Utsav Paribahan, said that the car fare is increasing even though the salary is not increasing. It will be difficult to run a family by commuting to Dhaka.

Kabir Hossain, supervisor of Bandhan Paribahan, said that after the fare increase, the arguments with the passengers increased. He said, there is a little trouble with the passengers while taking extra fare.

Shital Transport Limited is the only air-conditioned transport plying on Narayanganj to Dhaka route. It used to charge Rs 65 per passenger; Now taking 80 taka. The director of this transport, Rafiqul Amin, told Prothom Alo that due to the increase in oil prices, they have increased the fare by Tk 15 according to the cost.
Last Friday night, the government increased the price of fuel oil from Tk 34 to Tk 46 per liter. The price of diesel and kerosene has been increased by Tk 34 to Tk 114 per liter, the price of octane has been increased by Tk 46 to Tk 135 per liter and the price of petrol has been increased by Tk 44 to Tk 130 per liter.

The next day, the Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA) determined the new bus fares in coordination with the increased price of fuel while sitting with the leaders of the Transport Owners Association. According to the decision, the long-distance bus fare has been increased by 40 paise per kilometer. And the bus fare has been increased by 35 paisa per kilometer in metropolitan cities including Dhaka and Chittagong.

Narayanganj-Dhaka distance is 20 kilometers. Before the hike in fuel prices, the non-AC bus fare on this route was Tk 45. The new fare is supposed to be 55 to 60 taka. But the fare has been increased by 20 taka to 65 taka. Questions have been raised about it.

Kajal Mridha, Managing Director of Utsav Paribahan highlighted the rationale for increasing the fare. He said in Prothom Alo, Dhaka-Narayanganj distance was 20 kilometers before. Now the distance is increasing by three kilometers due to signboard Uturn. For a distance of 23 km, the fare is 55 taka 2 paisa as fixed by the government as 2 taka 40 paisa per kilometer. Remaining Tk 10 toll cost at Jatrabari flyover. Kajal Mridhar claims that the toll per passenger on Jatrabari flyover is Tk 5, but basically it is Tk 10.