Ctg auto-rickshaw drivers overcharging

Accusing the drivers of CNG-run auto-rickshaws of overcharging commuters in defiance of government rules, the Passenger Welfare Association of Bangladesh in Chittagong city has demanded authorities' intervention to stop the arbitrary increase in fares.

In a statement on Tuesday, the association said the drivers did not use meters and had not been following the government-fixed fare chart for more than three and a half years.

For a 3km ride, Tk 100-120 is being charged, while as per the government chart, updated in January 2011, the fare is Tk 25 for the first 2km and thereafter Tk 7 for every additional kilometre along with a waiting charge of Tk 1.25 per minute, it said.

Mohammad Babu, who works at a private organisation, said the fare for a ride from Cheragi Pahar to Prabartak area should be around Tk 50 but they were forced to pay Tk 70-80. The authorities should stop this, he said.

Haider Azam Chowdhury, president of Chittagong District and Chittagong City CNG-run Auto-rickshaw Malik Chalok Oikya Parishad, acknowledged that the drivers charged extra in the morning and evening when there was a shortage of public transports.

But due to an increase in gas prices, the 2011 fare chart cannot be maintained, he said, demanding a revision of it.

Haider said they conveyed the demand to Road Transport and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader during a meeting in Chittagong city on Wednesday and proposed that the fare should be Tk 35 for the first 2km and thereafter Tk 10 for every additional kilometre along with a waiting charge of Tk 2 per minute.

Admitting the overcharging, Md Harunur Rashid, general secretary of Chattagram Auto-rickshaw Auto-tempo Sramik Union, called for re-fixing the fare.

When asked, officials of both Bangladesh Road Transport Authority and Chittagong Metropolitan Police said they occasionallyconducted mobile courts to check overcharging and other anomalies.

Meanwhile, Obaidul Quader formed a three-member committee, led by Chittagong city Mayor AJM Nasir Uddin, on Wednesday to solve problems relating to CNG-auto-rickshaw and battery-run rickshaws, including fares. Now around 13,000 registered and several thousand unregistered CNG-run auto-rickshaws are plying in the port city,  according to the owners' association.