When to get rid of this

EditorialProthom Alo illustration

It is the transport owners’ demand that got priority while fixing the fare on the pretext of diesel price hike, yet they are not abiding by it. Extra fares are being collected from passengers. Although the full list of fares was supposed to be displayed on all public transport from last Tuesday, it has not been done yet. On the other hand, CNG-run transports are also charging extra. With the increase in diesel prices, the cost of travel has gone up and people are still suffering from such trouble. People hit hard by the pandemic find no respite.

Although the minimum fare for public transport has been fixed at Tk 8 to 10, it is being charged at Tk 10 to 20. Tuesday last, road transport and bridges minister Obaidul Quader said that strict legal action would be taken against the collection of extra fares and harassment of passengers, but to no avail. The Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA) is also conducting drives to take actions for collecting excess fares. A joint drive with the employers' and workers' representatives is expected to start from Thursday to stop charging extra fare. But it is difficult to be sure how long the campaign will last or what the outcome will be.

The transport leaders and owners have pocketed the maximum benefits from the government through various loopholes. They brought the issue of salary and bonus of drivers and workers while fixing the fare which is not followed in reality. Passengers got involved in arguments with the drivers and their assistants on the road and even got into conflicts. People are not getting relief even by protesting. Extra fare is being collected by force. The point is if the salary and bonus fixed for the driver and their assistants is taken from the passengers, why don't they get it?

BRTA has instructed to affix stickers on CNG-run buses. BRTA will confirm whether the sticker has been affixed on the bus. But they did not specify the actual number of CNG-run buses or the routes they use. CNG-operated buses ply from Dhaka to Narsingdi, Manikganj, Mawa, Brahmanbaria, Cumilla and many other short distance routes. Increased fares are also being taken on Dhaka-Chattogram and long-distance gas-run buses. The BRTA chairman says it is difficult for passengers to identify CNG-run buses. For this reason, it has been instructed to affix stickers. If no one affixes the sticker, the mobile court and the police will take action. If necessary, action will be taken based on the information of CNG-run vehicles in the BRTA office. Let’s see how much they do.

Khandaker Enayet Ullah, general secretary of the Dhaka Transport Owners' Association, claimed that out of 6,000 buses plying in the capital and surrounding areas, 196 or 3.27 per cent were CNG-run. Apart from this, the association will look into whether there are more CNG-run buses. But will it happen at all? He also said that seating and gatelock services would be stopped. We are skeptical whether that will be effective at all. Earlier, there were demands to stop these services, but the owners kept them running to collect extra fare.

Government policy makers have not considered the public interest in raising diesel prices and transport fares. Now it is important to at least restore order in fare collection. Stop charging extra fare, stop seating-gatelock service, affix stickers on CNG-run vehicles.