Bus Owners Decide to Increase Southern Route Fares After Fuel Price Hike
Before the Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA) could announce any revised fares, bus owners operating on Dhaka-Khulna and other southern routes have decided to increase fares by Tk50 per passenger following the latest fuel price hike.
In a Nutshell:
- Bus owners on Dhaka-Khulna, Satkhira, Bagerhat and Pirojpur routes decided to raise fares by Tk50 per passenger after the government increased fuel prices from September 21.
- At the same time, BRTA is expected to announce revised fares within the next few days.
- Some bus owners say that the additional fare is being introduced to cover higher fuel costs while Transport owners say fare will be adjusted according to the per-kilometre rates set by the government.
Context
Earlier this year, bus fares had already been increased by Tk0.11 per kilometre following a diesel price increase. BRTA subsequently published revised fare charts for metropolitan, inter-district and long-distance routes. For September particularly, with diesel rising from Tk115 to Tk135 per litre, the government increased fuel prices which came into effect on September 21.
Why it matters
Fuel-price increases have previously been followed by reports of passengers being charged more than the officially approved fares. For instance, in April, passengers reported additional charges of Tk5–10 on shorter journeys and as much as Tk200–250 on some long-distance routes before the official fare adjustment. Other transport owners have said to wait until the fare gets adjusted according to the per-kilometre rates by the government. However this time only bus owners did not wait for the BRTA’s revised fares and decided to collect Tk50.
What we think
Whenever fuel prices rise, it is the commuters who are forced to take the financial burden and pay higher fares before any official decision is made. We have seen this happen before. While the BRTA is supposed to regulate fares, operator-led increases mean the market sets the price first, and official approval comes later. Again a price paid by the passengers for bureaucratic delays.