Passengers speak up against harassment at public hearing

College student Zunayed Ahmad used to travel by bus from Mirpur-10 to Farmgate for Tk 10-12. But for the last couple of days, he was being charged Tk 15. When he did the math on the basis of the recent fare hike, he discovered that the real fare should be Tk 12 for the 6.7km distance.

This is one instance of anomalies in charging bus passengers in Dhaka city.

Several other allegations came up as well, at a public hearing organised at Farmgate by Bangladesh Passengers' Welfare Association on the chaos over the newly hiked bus fares.

"Most of the time I have to travel standing inside the bus. If I am fortunate enough to have a seat, I see it is either partially broken or dirty," said Ehteshamul Hauqe, a private job holder, and commuter on the Agargaon-Farmgate route.

Passengers also alleged that bus operators often misbehaved with them, even physically assaulted them sometimes, if they protested overcharging.

"There should be a government monitoring cell at major bus stops where people can lodge complaints if bus operators take extra fare or misbehave with passengers," said Mohsin Rabbi, another commuter.

In addition, most operators provide poor services with rundown buses and seats resulting in uncomfortable trips, and even helpers of minibuses charge the fare fixed for buses.

Following the recent hike of the price of the compressed natural gas (CNG), the government increased the bus fare by 10 paisa in Dhaka and Chittagong cities from October 1.

Commuters are supposed to pay Tk 1.7 for travelling every 1km in buses and Tk 1.6 in minibuses, according to the new chart.

But passengers are paying extra on most routes.

The commuters demanded effective government measures to improve quality of bus services in the city. 

After the hearing, columnist Syed Abul Maksud said the government protected the interest of bus operators by increasing the fare, adding that now it was its duty to implement it properly.

He also demanded improvement of the bus services of state-run Bangladesh Road Transport Corporation (BRTC).

Communist Party of Bangladesh (CPB) leader Ruhin Hossain Prince and several road safety activists, among others, attended the hearing.

Around 250 passengers yesterday gave their statements during the hearing, said Mozammel Hoque Chowdhury, secretary general of Bangladesh Passengers' Welfare Association. "We will organise similar hearings in the next couple of days. On the basis of people's opinions, we will prepare a report on the overall scenario of the public transport sector," he said.