Homebound passengers continue to face harassment at different bus terminals in the capital from a section of transport owners who had been illegally forcing them to pay extra fare for the Eid special service tickets.
Most commuters faced immense hardship at Gabtali, Mohakhali, and Sayedabad bus terminals since most buses had left the terminals several hours after the scheduled time.
Speaking to the Dhaka Tribune, most passengers alleged that although the government claimed that many of its agencies were monitoring the situation, rampant irregularities at these bus terminals were continuing unchecked.
During a visit to the city’s bus terminals, the Dhaka Tribune found that most bus operators used their own enterprises to sell their tickets and had been using unfit buses to transport passengers during the Eid rush.
Jalal Uddin, a Madaripur-bound passenger who was waiting for a bus of Subarna Paribahan, said: “I have bought a ticket from Subarna Paribahan at 8am and the bus was supposed to depart at 9:30am. It is already 10:30am, but the bus has yet to leave the terminal.”
He also claimed that at the time of purchase the ticket mentioned Subarna Paribahan as the service provider. However, after arriving at the terminal, he found that the service was being provided using a hired bus from another company. When contacted, officials at Subarna Paribahan ticket counter refused to make comments.
At the same time, many passengers also said that every year many bus operators sell tickets confirming a one-stop journey to different destinations from the capital. However, after crossing the Padma River, bus staff force the passengers to board another local bus for the rest of the journey.
This correspondent also found that highway buses were not the only ones cashing in from the homebound passengers, but transport companies providing services within the capital had joined the bandwagon by leasing out its buses to highway transport companies.
Just days before the Eid-ul-Fitr, local private bus services such as Bahon Paribahan, Baishakhi Paribahan, Suktara Bus Service, Monjil Paribahan, Falgun, Rupkotha Paribahan, Projapoti Minibus Services, Gulistan-Dhamrai Bus Services and Shuvojatra Bus Services had already leased out some of its buses for long-distance routes.
Sources said at least 10 complaint centres have been set up at Gabtoli, Sayedabad, Mohakhali, Kamolapur and Sadarghat terminals to monitor and prevent all kinds of irregularities in ticket selling and public harassment.
When contacted, BRTA Chairman Nazrul Islam said: “These minibuses can run outside Dhaka only if they are fit. Bus owners just repainted these unfit vehicles. If we can identify them, we will take stern actions.”
He also claimed that mobile teams had been visiting all the bus terminals to check such illegal practices by bus operators. Meanwhile, privately-owned bus services in the country began selling advance Eid tickets since July 14 while the state-owned Bangladesh Road Transport Corporation (BRTC) began from Saturday.
Aibur Rahman, a Gopalganj-bound passenger at Gabtali said: “I bought a Rajdhani Paribahan ticket for Tk400, though it is generally Tk270.”
“I do not understand that why the bus owners charge extra during the Eid season,” he added.
When asked, Rajdhani Bus Service Manager Akhter Hossain claimed: “We charge exactly as fixed by the BRTA fare chart.”
He also claimed that normally they charge lower fares than the BRTA chart to attract more passengers.
BRTA has set a fare rate of Tk1.45 per kilometre on every highway, and also set ferry fare rates and bridge tolls. Every bus operator has put the chart, signed by a BRTA official, on display in front of their counters.
According to the Rajdhani Paribahan chart, the distance from Dhaka to Gopalganj was 204 kilometers and the fare rate per kilometre was Tk1.45 while the ferry fare was Tk63.12 and the total fare was Tk440.26. However, the company was selling tickets at Tk440.
