Thousands suffer for wildcat bus strike
BRTA launches mobile courts against unfit vehicles and charging of extra fare in capital
Soon after the BRTA authorities launched mobile courts against unfit vehicles and the practice of forcing passengers to cough up extra fare yesterday, bus owners and workers went on a sudden strike in Dhaka city, which made thousands of commuters suffer in the capital. Hundreds of commuters especially those who wanted to return home after a hard days work suffered, as bus owners and workers started the sudden strike to protest against a mobile courts order that sentenced and fined two bus drivers for driving unfit buses in Mirpur area of the city. Although the Bangladesh Sarak Paribahan Samity (BSPS) withdrew the strike at 5.30 pm, the commuters had to wait for a long time for their buses.
Khandaker Enayet Ullah Khan, secretary of BSPS, said transport leaders called the strike following the arrest of two bus drivers. Weve discussed the issue with the BRTA authorities. Weve been assured that the bus drivers wouldnt have to serve full sentences, he said after coming out of a meeting between representatives of BSPS and BRTA.
After the strike was withdrawn, buses again began to appear on city streets. However, the suffering of commuters did not go away so easily. The moment a bus reached a stand, scores of people, who had been waiting there for a long time, pushed and jostled one another for seats or space. These scenes were observed at most key points of the city, including Motijheel, Gulistan, Shahbagh, Farmgate and Mohakhali and Mirpur areas.
Before holding the meeting with BSPS leaders, BRTA chairman Nazrul Islam Khan said the mobile court will continue to issue sentences against unfit vehicles. He, however, softened his tone after the meeting, saying that they will take action against workers of the unfit buses only after considering the circumstances.
The BRTA authorities started the mobile court operation five days after the road transport and bridges minister Obaidul Quader alleged that even though the government has fixed new fares for public transport, 40 per cent of bus and minibus operators are overcharging passengers. The minister also
said it was not possible to conduct more than five mobile courts to stop the buses from charging extra fare. The drive would continue within this limitation, he added.
He also urged all transport owners to follow the fares stipulated by the government by prioritising passengers interests.
The government has increased bus and minibus fares by Tk 0.10 per kilometre in Dhaka, Chittagong, Gazipur, Munshiganj, Narayanganj, Manikganj and Narsinghdi with effect from October 1. According to the new rates, passengers have to pay Tk. 1.70 for each kilometre of travel, instead of the existing Tk. 1.60, while minibus fare has been hiked to Tk. 1.60 per kilometre from the existing Tk. 1.50.
It means that passengers now have to pay Tk. 1 extra for a 10-km journey. But bus operators are allegedly charging more from their passengers.
Abdul Ali Sujan, a student of Jagannath University, said although students used to pay Tk. 6 to travel from Jatrabari to Sadarghat, they now have to pay Tk. 8 for the same distance. He said bus owners are forcing passengers to pay at least Tk 0. 20 more for per kilometre.
Many commuters voiced the same concern as Sujan. Some of them even complained that many bus operators have doubled their fare. Altercations between bus conductors and passengers have become a daily affair since the fare hike from the beginning of October. BRTA chairman said that a total of 2,350,000 vehicles are plying on the streets across the country at present. Of them, the number of unfit vehicles is around 3,50,000, he added. He also said that the current mobile court operation against unfit vehicles would continue across the country.
