Fearing a shortage of tickets, many people have already got their hands on advance bus tickets to return home for Eid-ul-Azha.
However, those who missed the opportunity are now running from counter to counter in search of tickets.
Many people returned home frustrated after finding out that there is a massive shortage of bus tickets.
Speaking to the Dhaka Tribune, a ticket seller said the number of tickets is currently low, despite the high demand.
One customer waiting in line at the Kallyanpur bus counter explained that private operators holding onto a certain number of tickets in the hope of higher profits, are charging homeward bound people more than twice the actual price for tickets on air-conditioned (AC) buses.
Tickets are scheduled to be sold for two days before Eid-ul-Azha.
Another ticket seller said: “The demand for tickets is very high but we cannot fulfill it.”
However, ticket seekers denied this. Many passengers said they failed to get tickets even after they reached the ticket counters at the right time.
Most of them said that political-administration influence and black market sales left few tickets for the general population.
Private bus companies started selling advance tickets from August 7 while the advanced sale of train tickets began on August 8 and ended on August 12. Train tickets from Kamalapur Railway Station for August 21 , the day before Eid, were sold out on Sunday.
Bangladesh Road Transport Corporation (BRTC) also started selling advance bus tickets from Friday, August 10.
Transportation authorities said long-distance bus tickets for August 16 - 21 started selling on August 7 at the capital’s Gabtoli, Kalyanpur, and Mohakhali bus terminals.
However, tickets for August 16 to August 20 were quickly sold out. Sellers then resorted to selling advance sale tickets for August 14 and 15.
Eid-ul-Azha is scheduled to be celebrated on August 22.
