Around 96 percent buses and minibuses are running their vehicles under “seating service” and taking extra fares, survey of a passengers’ platform revealed today.

Bangladesh Jatri Kalyan Samity said in the name of “seating service,” 96 percent buses and minibuses lock their doors in between 7:00am to 11:00 am and 2:00pm to 11:00pm, causing trouble to the passengers in midways.

Those buses are taking extra fare as they don’t follow government’s fare chart, rather follow their company rate, the organisation said, adding, “For this reasons, transportation cost is becoming unbearable for those with lower-income.”

From second to seventh Ramadan, five teams of Jatri Kalyan Samity conducted the survey on 310 buses and 557 passengers in different spots of Dhaka city.

They also conducted a survey on 214 CNG-run auto-rickshaws and 185 auto-rickshaw passengers and 56 taxicab passengers.

Among the surveyed passengers, 82 percent expressed deep discontent over the services of the public transport sector.

Ninety-two percent passengers said they face suffering every day while 98 percent said they are victim overcharging, the survey showed.

Sixty-two percent passengers are forced to leave running buses while 28 percent bus passengers have to go standby even after availing “seating service,” it said.

Ninety-three percent passenger do not know where to lodge complain while 88 percent people said they do not file complain as they believe they will not get remedy.

The survey shows 94 percent CNG-run auto-rickshaw run on contact basis and 98 percent seek extra fare or tips.

Anarchy in “seating service” is a common phenomenon for city’s transport sector but it intensifies when the Ramadan comes, Mozammel Haque Chowdhury, secretary general of Bangladesh Jatri Kalyan Samity, said.

“Taking benefit of higher demand of buses before Iftar time, they [bus operators] are overcharging passengers,” Mozammel told The Daily Star today referring to their survey.