The government’s new toll policy for the 61 bridges, three toll roads and 45 ferries operated by the Roads and Highways Department (RHD) across the country will come into effect tomorrow.
According to the new toll policy, 51 of 61 bridges’ toll charges will increase from 2.27% to 1,000.25%, so that some bridge toll charges will be 10 times higher than at present.
The rate hikes will, in turn, affect transport fares.
Road Transport and Highway Division officials said the latest toll rates would be applied in several phases in response to the demands of transport owners.
Transport owners said they would protest the implementation of the higher toll charges.
According to the toll policy, bridges less than 200 metres in length are supposed to be exempt from tolls, but the rule cannot be implemented until existing agreements with toll collection contractors expire.
Before the policy was framed, RHD and local collectors charged arbitrary tolls, many of which were haphazardly set. Bridges of similar length had widely varying toll charges and there are cases where longer bridges might have lower charges than shorter ones.
The government decided on setting a toll policy which was accepted by cabinet on March 24 last year.
The policy was supposed to be implemented on July 1, 2014, but after facing three delays, is scheduled to be implemented on Sunday.
According to the policy, the length, location, rate of use of the road or bridge and the vehicle type of the user will determine the toll rate charged to consumers.
The 1.6 km long Meghna–Gomoti bridges at Dautkandi on the Dhaka-Chittagong Highway will experience an average toll rate rise of 25%, sources with knowledge of the new policy said.
Under the new rates, on the Meghna–Gomoti bridges, trailers will be charged Tk1,250, up from the current rate of Tk1,000.
Five-tonne trucks and lorries will be charged Tk500; they are currently charged Tk400. Bus will pay Tk450, up from Tk400, and minibuses Tk185, up from Tk150.
Micro-buses and pick-up vans will be charged Tk90 instead of the previous rate of Tk70. Private cars’ toll rates have increased to Tk65 from the previous rate of Tk50. Auto-rickshaws will have to pay Tk25 and motorcycles Tk15.
But the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) has sent a letter to the Road Transport and Bridges Ministry saying the new toll rates will negatively affect their sector which already faces many transport-related problems.
BGMEA Director Abul Kalam told the Dhaka Tribune: “The Dhaka-Chittagong Highway has caused us much suffering during the last several years due to construction work. If the new toll charges are implemented, transport costs will rise, affecting business.”
According to the toll policy, the new toll rates will also apply to some of the longest bridges, including the 1.4km long Khan Jahan Ali Bridge over the Rupsha River at Khulna, widely known as the Rupsha Bridge, the 1.2km long UK–Bangladesh Friendship Bridge at Bhairab and the second Buriganga Bridge in Dhaka which measures 1.1km.
Bus toll charges on these three bridges are Tk215, Tk185 and Tk150 respectively. The minibus rates are Tk150, Tk100 and TK75 respectively. These rates are Tk25 to Tk50 higher than the current rates. Freight transport rates will go up between Tk200 and Tk250.
Roads and Highways Department Additional Chief Engineer Bipul Chandra Saha told the Dhaka Tribune: “Goods-carrying transport toll rates are higher than passenger-carrying bus and minibus charges...Some bridges had toll rates that had not been reassessed for many years, and those rates have seen a steep rise,” Bipul said.
“We have set new charges on toll roads such as the Chittagong-Port Road, Hatikomrul-Bangaon Road and the Auch-Kanda Road on the Dhaka-Sylhet Highway,” he said.
On December 21 last year, the new toll rates were sent by the Road Transport and Bridges Ministry to the Prime Minister’s Office for approval. On January 3, 2015 the proposal was accepted by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, sources said.
Road Transport and Highway Division Secretary MAN Siddique told the Dhaka Tribune: “The toll policy will be implemented from January 11, for which a gazette notification has already been published.”
The Truck and Covered-Van Owners’ Association Secretary Rostom Ali told the Dhaka Tribune: “We have protested the policy several times. But the government has decided to implement the toll policy with its raised toll charges anyway, despite out objections.”
“If the toll policy comes into effect, we will have no choice but to hike transport fares and may have to launch a movement to have the new toll charges repealed,” he said.