Eid travel: Passengers throng Saidabad, fare hike alleged

Large crowds of passengers throng Saidabad bus terminal in the capital today, Thursday, the first day of the government holidays for Eid-ul Azha. They are all leaving Dhaka for their homes towns. However, due to traffic congestion on the highways, the buses on many routes are arriving late and leaving late. There are also allegations that fares are being hiked.

At around 10:30am this morning, large crowds of passengers were seen at Saidabad bus counters, most of the passengers waiting for buses. A long queue had formed at a counter of a bus bound for Ramganj, Lakkhipur. One of the waiting passengers said, the bus arrived late and so they have started selling tickets late. They were waiting in the line for tickets.

A Ramganj-bound passenger Samiul said, normally the fare was 300 taka, but now they were taking 600 taka.

Bus helpers and counter staff were summoning passengers to their respective counters. A Barishal-bound passenger was wanting a ticket and the bus counter master told him, "It's 100 taka for an air-conditioned bus and 800 for non-AC. No bargaining."

The passengers complained that fare was being hike on several routes. A passenger Tanveer Hasan was going from Dhaka to Cumilla. He said, "Normally I pay 230 taka to 250 taka. During roza Eid I paid 300 taka. This Eid they're taking 400 taka."

When asked about the additional fare, a bus staff member said that during Eid, the number of trips decreases. Previously, they could make four trips a day, but now it's down to just one. That's why fares are being raised slightly.

Inquiries at the counters revealed that non-AC bus fares from Dhaka are currently 800 taka to Sylhet, 800 taka to Barishal, and 400 taka to Cumilla. Meanwhile, for AC buses, an additional 250 to 300 taka is being charged per ticket. The same situation has been observed on routes from Dhaka to Chattogram, Cox’s Bazar, Rangamati, and Bandarban.

Meanwhile, to ensure smooth Eid travel for passengers, control rooms of the police and RAB have been set up at the Sayedabad bus terminal.