Owners seek bus fare hike citing no rise in years

Bangladesh Road Transport Owners Association has written to the Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA) seeking a hike in bus fares.

Prices of materials like tyre and tube have gone up, but fares have not in past few years, the association says to argue for their case.

In response to the letter, BRTA says it will send a proposal on readjusting bus fares to the road transport and bridges ministry if it seems necessary after reviewing markets.

The association sent the letter to BRTA chairman Mohammed Moshiar Rahman asking for readjustment of compressed natural gas (CNG)- and diesel-run bus fares on July 6.

Its secretary general Khandaker Enayet Ullah said in the letter that a CNG price hike to Tk 43 by Tk 5.0 per cubic metre pushed up transport operation costs by 7 per cent.

As many as 40 per cent of the buses that operate in Dhaka and nearby districts are run on CNG, according to the letter.

Fares for CNG-run buses were raised for the last time in 2015 while those for the diesel-run buses have not been increased for four years, it said.

Transport operation costs have also gone up due to a rise in prices of tyre, tube, machinery duties by several folds, Enayet Ullah said.

“These are causing huge losses to the transport owners across Bangladesh,” he said in the letter.

The transport owners’ leader was quoted by bdnews24.com as saying: “The fare was supposed to be readjusted with prices of these products (gas, tyre, tube etc.) every year, but there has not been any discussion, let alone readjustment.”

“So, shouldn’t it be readjusted?” he asked.

He said the association recommended fixing new fares through a “costing committee” without specifying any amount.

BRTA officials held a meeting on Monday to discuss the transport owners’ plea, BRTA chairman Moshiar said on Wednesday.

“It’s still at the primary stage,” he said, and added the BRTA would now weigh the owners’ plea by sending a team to check markets.

“We will take the next step after discussing the issue with the ministry on review,” Moshiar said.

The government increased the fares for buses and minibuses by Tk 0.10 per kilometre to Tk 1.7 and Tk 1.6 respectively in Dhaka, Chittagong, Gazipur, Munshiganj, Narayanganj, Manikganj and Narsinghdi on October 1 in 2015.