Bus fare hike dampens Eid reunion

People huddle in long queues for tickets at the Chittagong Railway Station in the port city yesterday. PHOTO: STAR

The owners of inter-district buses have sold tickets in advance on October 11. They have charged one and half times higher than the normal price for each ticket for long distance inter-district buses, sources said.

The tickets for Chittagong to Bogra, Pabna, Rangpur, Natore and Naogan routes were sold at Tk 500 at the Hanif Bus counter where the normal price was only Tk 300 to Tk 350.

Mamun, a businessman, said the fare for Chittagong-Bogra route was Tk 320 in last month and it is now being sold at Tk 450 to Tk 500.

Most of the tickets of these routes for October 23 and October 22, just before Eid, have been sold out at Hanif, Shyamoli and Eagle counters.

Many passengers, intending to get the tickets for the last three days, did not get their tickets despite repeated attempts at different counters at BRTC bus terminal on Sunday.

Aslam Habib, a ticket seeker, was trying to convince the man at the counter his urgency but all his efforts and entreaties went in vain.

"I along with my family members usually visit our relatives at home in Natore every year during Eid and I did not face such a crisis in the past," Habib said.

When asked about adding more buses for last two or three days, Hero, a staff of Hanif Bus Service, said owners are not interested in introducing more buses due to less profit in the long routes. Besides, most of their buses are engaged in Dhaka-Chittagong route, he added.

If a bus is engaged for two days in these routes it can earn only half of a bus at the Dhaka-Chittagong route while the maintenance cost is equal, Hero said.

Meanwhile, owners of all the inter-city bus (non air-conditioned) services also raised the fare in the Dhaka-Chittagong route since October 13.

The fair has been refixed at Tk 250 while it was Tk 220 a week ago.

The same scene was seen at the largest inter-district bus terminal at Kadamtali. Buses of as many as 22 routes run from this terminal.

There is no system of selling advance tickets here but the owners and workers are now selling tickets in advance charging higher rates.

Murad, a staff of a Noakhali bound bus, said on Sunday the fair will be increased two or three times the normal after two or three days.

When asked about the price hike of tickets, some staffs said the people of other professions get bonus during Eid, which we don't and we are making it up with the increased fares.

The homebound people are now left with no other option than depending on the railway department that started selling advance tickets since October 15.

The Railway Station authorities in Chittagong will sell advance tickets until October 19.