Southern Routes: Bus operators charging extra ahead of Eid
Sirajul Islam, a businessman from Dhaka's Rayerbagh, was waiting for a BRTC bus in Fulbaria bus terminal area around 3:30pm yesterday. He would travel to Barishal with his wife and two sons.
He said he had to buy four tickets for Tk 800 each, up from the regular fare of Tk 600.
Like Sirajul, many other holidaymakers were seen waiting for buses in the terminal area. Many of them alleged that bus operators charged them extra fares due to the Eid rush.
Rashida Begum, who was waiting with her son and younger sister Aleya Begum, echoed Sirajul's complaint.
"I travel to Barishal every month by BRTC's air-conditioned buses for a fare of Tk 600. But today [yesterday] I had to pay an additional Tk 200 for each ticket," she said.
Asked about the complaint, Md Delwar, a ticket seller at the BRTC's Barisal bus counter, said, "We are charging passengers slightly higher fares because our buses are not having enough passengers on their return trips to Dhaka."
Md Ashik, a passenger of Golden Line Paribahan, said, "Over the year, many transport workers are seen literally draggingpassengers into buses. But when the Eid approaches, their behaviour with passengers changes. They force the vacationers to pay extra fares.
"The regular fare for a journey on Dhaka-Barishal route by a non-air-conditioned bus is Tk 500. But today [yesterday] I had to pay an additional Tk 200 for a ticket."
Md Jamal, manager at the ticket counter of Golden Line Paribahan, told The Daily Star, "Our buses return to Dhaka almost empty during the Eid season. That's why we cannot but charge the passengers extra."
BRTC Director (Technical) Colonel Mohammad Mubarak Hossain Majumdar said they have received some complaints about bus operators charging passengers additional fares.
"Those who are operating our buses on lease are doing this. We will discuss this issue in a meeting tomorrow [today]. We will give specific instructions to the bus operators in this regard," he told this correspondent.
The situation was almost similar at Gabtoli Bus Terminal. Passengers bound for Khulna, Satkhira, Jashore, and Magura had to pay an additional Tk 100 to Tk 300 for each ticket of Shyamoli Travels, Shyamoli NR Travels, Satkhira Line, SP Paribahan, and K Line Transport.
Visiting the ticket counter of Sohagh Paribahan, The Daily Star found that the bus operator was selling advance tickets to Jashore for Tk 750 each instead of the regular fare of Tk 650.
Md Asif, a booking assistant at the counter, claimed that they did not charge passengers additional fares.
"If the passengers buy tickets from us, they don't need to pay extra money. But if anyone buys tickets from the black market, we have nothing to do," he said.
A passenger named Iqbal Anik bought four tickets to Kushtia of an air-conditioned bus of SB Super Deluxe. He said the operator has now hiked the fare to Tk 1,200 from Tk 900.
A staffer at the ticket counter of SB Super Deluxe said they increased the fare at the instruction of their employer.
Meanwhile, a police control room has been set up in front of the Gabtoli bus terminal to ensure safety of the Eid holidaymakers and deal with any untoward situation.
An on-duty police official said they will take action if any passenger lodges any specific complaint with them.
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