Have passengers' reps in decision making bodies

Bangladesh Passengers' Welfare Association yesterday demanded inclusion of representatives from passengers in the government committees which fix and revise public transport fare.

In the absence of passengers' representatives, the committees often propose "irrational fare hike" to protect the interest of owners, said Mozammel Haque Chowdhury, general secretary of the association, at a press conference at the Jatiya Press Club in the capital.

The association came up with the demand following the government's proposal to increase CNG-run auto-rickshaw fare by 37 percent as CNG price was increased to Tk 35 from Tk 30 per cubic metre on September 1.

As per government rule, a costing committee headed by Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA) chairman and comprising representatives from Road Transport and Bridges Ministry and  transport owners and workers formulates a draft proposal of transport fare hike and send it to the ministry for approval, said BRTA officials.

But transport operators usually charge more than the government-fixed rate which become a great burden for the commuters, said Mozammel, demanding regular government monitoring to check the malpractice.

According to the proposal, passengers will pay Tk 40 for travelling the first two kilometres, instead of the existing fare of Tk 25. Moreover, for every kilometre travelled after the first two, passengers will pay Tk 12 and not Tk 7.64. Waiting charge per minute will be increased to Tk 2 from the current Tk 1.40.

However, the new fare is yet to be approved by the ministry. Another committee will sit today to discuss bus fare hike in the capital and Chittagong city.

As per the existing government-set bus fare chart, passengers have to pay Tk 1.50 (minibus) and Tk 1.60 (bus) for travelling per kilometre in Dhaka and Chittagong metropolitan area while Tk 1.45 for per kilometre in long route.

The association leader demanded that new buses should be launched in the capital to replace the rundown buses.