‘Robbery in broad daylight’

According to the BRTA chart, the fare for the Farmgate-to-Victoria Park route was Tk 17. Bihanga Paribahan used to charge Tk 3 extra for this 7.9km route.

After the recent hike in fuel price, the government has increased the bus fare from 2.15 paisa to 2.5 paisa per kilometre. The new fare on the mentioned route enforced from Sunday is Tk 20.

However, the streak of overcharging by Bihanga buses continues, who are now charging Tk 30 on the route.

Bihanga Paribahan is not the only one. Passengers travelling on all public transport have been charged extra yesterday.

This correspondent boarded an Ajmeri Glory Paribahan bus from Sadarghat to Gazipur’s Chandra route and found passengers were being charged Tk 5 to 10 extra.

The fare charts are yet to be hung on the buses even after two days of the new fares coming into effect, and that is something transport workers are taking advantage of.

“It’s like robbery in broad daylight,” said Moshiur Rahman Oni, a passenger.

When asked about the extra fare, the helper of the bus said the company has to collect whatever price it fixed before the fare list comes.

“Get off of the bus if you don’t like it,” said Nasir Mia, driver of the bus, when he overheard the conversation.

“It’s alright if BRTA decides to increase the fare by 22 percent. But where is the new fare chart? The bus helpers are charging fares according to their own will. It’s total chaos!” said another passenger Maqbul Hossain, echoing many others.

“I don’t know when the fare list will be given. The owner asked to charge Tk 25 for a Tk 20 route and Tk 50 for a Tk 40 route. We are just following his orders,” said Aslam, who drives a Savar Paribahan bus.