Travelling on public transport for Dhaka city commuters is a big challenge due to extra fare, picking up passengers indiscriminately, and parking vehicles illegally.
According to the Bangladesh Road Transport Corporation (BRTA), a total of 2281 buses and 3126 mini-buses ply on Dhaka city roads.
The bus conductors charge more than the prescribed fare inside the city. Tk 1.55 was prescribed per kilometer for inter-city buses. TkTk 1.45 was prescribed for non AC buses January 2013.
Moreover, the government prescribed Tk 7 for seating service and Tk 5 for local service as minimum fare. But most of the bus staffs collect Tk 10.
Jahanara Begum, a housewife who rode on a bus service from Azimpur-Gazipur route, said; “I was used to pay Tk 15 for traveling from Azimpur to Khilkhet but today the conductor has charged me Tk 20, which is really difficult to tolerate.”
Murad Ahmed, a resident of Shankar, said; “Minimum fare of Taranga bus service from Shankar to Dhaka City College is Tk 10.”
“Not only Taranga but also Trans Silva, Nisharga, City Bus, Malancha, Megacity, Midway, Moitree, Bikalpa and all of such other bus services in the city charge Tk 10 as the minimum fare,” he added.
“Every bus hangs a fare chart fixed by the BRTA, but that is only to show to officers of the mobile court that they are following the rules. In reality, they never follow the chart,” he said.
Moinul Hossain, another passenger from Tejturipara of Farmgate area, said EnaParibahan, which charged Tk 10 a few days back for travelling from Karwan Bazar to Purana Paltan, was now charging Tk 12.
Moinul also claimed that the transport owners hardly maintained the quality of services against ‘non-stop’ and ‘sitting’, for which they charged additional fares from passengers.
Visiting various types of public buses in the city, it was found that almost all the buses frequently take in more passengers than they are allowed.
The buses are so crowded that it becomes impossible for older people, women or children to obtain a seat inside a bus. Consequently, these vulnerable groups of people do not have access to bus services during rush hours.
While talking to the passengers at different bus companies, they reported that they often end up waiting for a bus longer than they should be.
The female passengers claimed they faced various problems or harassment while travelling.
BRTA Director (Engineering) Saiful Haque told the Dhaka Tribune; “We have taken steps against the bus staffs who charge extra money.”
Sometimes the regulatory body was helpless as there was a shortage of buses and the authority did not have enough manpower to monitor the illegal practice of the bus staffs, he said.
Mir Rezaul Alam, joint commissioner (traffic) of Dhaka Metropolitan Police, said; “The drive against dishonest bus staffs and the buses without fitness buses is a continuous operation.”
