Advance ticket sale for Eid travel starts Friday

Private bus operators will start selling advance tickets on Friday to assist holidaymakers in reaching their destination ahead of Eid to be celebrated either on July 18 or 19.
The state-run Bangladesh Road Transport Corporation (BRTC) will start the sale on July 10 and Bangladesh Railway on July 9.
Launch owners do not sell advance tickets through formal announcement. Most of the cabin tickets are booked by influential and privileged sections, while deck tickets are sold on board.  
Talking to The Daily Star, officials of Shyamoli Paribahan said they would start selling tickets around 8:00am at three counters in the capital -- Asadgate, Kalyanpur and Darusalam. Hanif Paribahan will sell tickets at Balurmath counter in Gabtoli.
However, some bus owners said they would not sell advance tickets as they feel comfortable in selling tickets on a day-to-day basis.
"Our entire ticket management system is computerised. That is why we need not sell advance tickets. Anyone can buy our tickets on the day they are travelling or a day or two before depending on availability," said Abdus Sattar, general manager of 
Green Line. 
Meanwhile, BRTC will sell tickets at five spots in the capital -- Motijheel, Gulistan, Kalyanpur, Mirpur and Joarsahara.
"We have a plan to operate around 400 more buses from the capital to different districts from three to four days before Eid," said Mizanur Rahman, chairman of BRTC.
Normally, around 500 buses provide services on different inter-district routes, said Mizanur.      
Bangladesh Railway will sell tickets from July 9 to 13 for trips to be made from July 13 to 17 correspondingly, said officials. Similarly, return tickets for trips from July 20 to 24 will be sold from July 16 to 20.       
On June 21, the railways minister said seven pairs of trains will run from July 15 to 26. A total of 169 new coaches will carry passengers ahead of Eid. 
The railway authorities are planning to carry over 2.5 lakh passengers during the Eid rush, said railway officials.
Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Corporation (BIWTC) will start selling advance tickets for its steamer services about a week before Eid. A total of seven steamers will ply from Dhaka to coastal districts.