40pc buses charge extra fares, says Quader
UNB
Road Transport and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader yesterday said 40 per cent public buses are charging additional fares after the government hiked the fares by 10 paisa per kilometre from October 1 in the capital and the port city of Chittagong, reports UNB.
My assumption is that some 40 per cent buses and minibuses are charging additional fares, he said while addressing a signing event of annual performance agreements at the Secretariat. The minister said during his field visits in the last few days he found many buses charging additional fares beyond the revised fare chart.
After receiving complaints from passengers, Ive found that some state-run BRTC buses are also charging extra faresthis has surprised me. Mobile courts have taken legal actions against them as well, Obaidul said.
Following the price hike of gas, the government increased the fares of bus and minibuses by 10 paisa per kilometre in Dhaka and Chittagong cities and other areas under Dhaka Transport Co-ordination Authority (DTCA) -- Gazipur, Munshiganj, Narayanganj, Manikganj and Narsingdi districts. The minimum fare is Tk 7 for buses while Tk 5 for minibuses, he reminded. The minister urged public transport owners to follow the revised fare chart and not to charge additional fare.
Obaidul said no transport vehicle, without having digital number plate (Retro-Reflective Number Plate) and RFID tag, can play anywhere in the country after January 1 next.
He asked the owners of all vehicles registered with the Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA) to collect the digital number plates and RFID tags by December 31 next.
The Road Transport and Highways Division signed the agreements with its affiliated four agencies to improve their performance in the current fiscal year (2015-16).
The Road Transport and Highways Division Secretary and the chiefs of its four agenciesRoads and Highways Department, Bangladesh Road Transport Corporation (BRTC), the Bangladesh Road Transport Authority and Dhaka Transport Co-ordination Authority (DTCA)- signed the agreements on behalf of their respective sides. According to the agreements, a set of targets has been fixed for the agencies to achieve in the current fiscal year.
