Stopping seating service: Mismanagement driving people to doubt viability

Commuters in Dhaka have voiced their doubts over the ongoing Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA) drive to stop private buses from providing illegal seating services or gate-locked services, saying the rogue routes “could resume anytime”. Speaking to the Dhaka Tribune on Tuesday, some commuters complained that this was nothing but a trick by leaders of transport owners and workers to maximise their profits, as those who previously ran such services are still charging passengers the seating service fares even though they apparently discontinued the service. “The fleecing and harassing of passengers are both on the rise with the service being stopped,” said Rebeka Sultana, a schoolteacher. “The seating service is far better than riding in an overcrowded bus with the same fare,” she added. Activists said that although the move was significant for protecting the passengers’ rights, mistakes and mismanagement by the authorities concerned were prompting people to raise questions about its effectiveness. They said if the authorities fail to implement the measure timely and properly, it will give the corrupt transport leaders even more chances to fleece the public. “The transport owners and workers might try to harass the passengers in a bid to justify their so-called service and to restart it,” said Bangladesh Jatri Kallyan Samity (BJKS) Secretary General Mozammel Haque in a press release on Saturday. The rights activists also said they had observed in the last two days that the passengers were charged extra. Transport workers, particularly those of the Mirpur route, are seen keeping keep three to four “thugs” in their vehicles to deal with the complaining passengers, they added. Nagarik Sanghati General Secretary Sharifuzzaman Sharif, however, alleged that the move was meant for maximising the transport owners’ profits. “Bangladesh Sarak Paribahan Malik Samity (BSPMS) planned it in collusion with the BRTA,” he said. As many buses stopped running in the city in reaction to the drive, BRTA Chairman Moshiar rahman announced that the BRTA would cancel their route permits if they did not resume services. On Tuesday, when speaking to reporters in his office, Road Transport and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader - also general secretary of the ruling Awami League - said the transport owners were “very influential”. “They make the people suffer by stopping transport services if any drive goes against their interests,” said Obaidul, adding that they would hold a meeting with the owners to find out a practical solution in this regard. Asked if there is any possibility of going back to the seating service system, he said everything would be clear following the meeting. Meanwhile, Ilias Kanchan, the chairman of Nirapad Sarak Chai, a non-profit voluntary organisation working for road safety, urged passengers to be “patient for their greater interests” so that the transport leaders “could not go back to the previous system to take advantage of this transitory inconvenience”. It has been three days since the drive was launched, but many vehicles are seen running the old service under a new name: ‘direct service’. Office goers are being compelled to ride in such buses with higher fares due to their shortage of time. Drivers of the vehicles, too, conceded that they were operating the direct service during office hours and charge Tk20 as a fare, wherever a passenger gets down.