Bus fare to increase by 27 per cent, strike called off

Bus fares will be increased by 27 per cent due to the fuel price hike. The decision was taken at a meeting between Bangladesh Road Transport Authorities (BRTA) and leaders of transport owner associations Sunday.

BRTA chairman Nur Mohammad Mazumder said a gazette would be published on the increase of fares today and the revised fare would be enforced from tomorrow.

Bangladesh Road Transport Owners' Association’s secretary general Khandaker Enayet Ullah said, “We’ve called off the strike.”

As per the decision, the fare for long haul road buses would increase to Tk 1.8 from Tk 1.42 per kilometre.

The fare would rise 26.05 per cent in Dhaka, Chattogram and other metropolitan cities. In metropolitan cities, the bus fare increased to Tk 2.15 from Tk 1.7 in every kilometre while the mini-bus fare increased to Tk 2.05 per kilometre.

The minimum fare in Dhaka city for mini-bus and buses are Tk 8 and Tk 10 respectively.

On Wednesday, the government raised the prices of diesel and kerosene to Tk 80 from Tk 65 at the retail level. The bus, truck and van owners went on a strike from Friday in protest against the price hike leaving commuters in immense suffering.