Fare Chaos on Gabtoli-Signboard-Chattogram Road Route: Tk 30 Fare Charged at Tk 45, Up to Tk 80 Allegedly Taken in the Name of Waybills

There is no regard for rules in collecting fares on public transport in the capital. Taking extra money in the name of waybills and checking during the day, and raising fares after evening by declaring local buses a sitting service, are longstanding complaints. Passengers on buses running via Gulistan and Signboard to Chattogram Road are particularly facing this situation.

There are also complaints of being prevented from boarding for offering the fixed fare, not being allowed to get off midway, and misbehaviour by drivers and assistants. For regular commuters this is daily suffering. Such a picture of fare collection was seen on Thursday (30 October) while visiting various routes in the capital.

Although a government fare list exists, it has no reflection on the road. The same distance costs differently on different buses. A Tk 30 fare is being charged at Tk 40 on some buses, and up to Tk 45 in places. After evening, when the number of buses falls, the situation worsens; passengers are then forced to board paying the extra money just to reach their destination.

Last September the government reset bus fares in the Dhaka and Chattogram metropolitan areas. Long-distance bus fares were raised from Tk 2.53 to Tk 2.70 per kilometre, and a minimum fare was also set. But passengers complain that the real fares are hard to match with those decisions.

Moumita, Nilachal, Thikana and other operators running from Gabtoli via Jatrabari to Signboard and Chattogram Road face complaints of overcharging. From Gabtoli to Signboard or Chattogram Road, Moumita and Thikana buses are reportedly asking Tk 50 to Tk 70. Victims complain that Nilachal is taking up to Tk 80 from passengers on the excuse of waybills.

Passengers say that after boarding they are asked where they will get off and then told a fixed amount. Even for a shorter distance there is no discount from that amount. When they protest, the assistant often says this is the fixed fare, but no satisfactory answer is given when they ask what that fixing is based on.

The bus that carries local passengers during the day becomes a sitting service after evening. Passengers complain this tendency is seen more after evening in the Gulistan, Jatrabari, Signboard and Chattogram Road areas.

Jamal Hossain, a resident of Signboard, said a Tk 10 fare is being charged at Tk 15 and a Tk 20 fare at Tk 25. If anyone speaks about the fare after boarding, they are misbehaved with instead. He said there seems to be no rule for fixed fares, and that people returning from work in the evening have few alternatives and have to wait for buses — transport workers take extra fares using that opportunity.

A local resident named Mohammad Bashir Ul Alam said he has to travel every evening paying Tk 40 to Tk 45 for a Tk 30 fare. Protesting does no good. The bus staff fix fares as they like, and there is no one to listen to passengers, he said.

Another fare complaint concerns the type of fuel. Passengers complain that after fares were raised for diesel buses, gas-run buses are also charging the same higher fares. Private employee Abdus Salam said he has to pay diesel fares even on gas buses; the fare from Signboard to Science Lab was Tk 25 before and is now Tk 30 to Tk 35. Paying extra every day, he asked whether there is no one to see this. In his view, for people commuting to work daily this extra fare becomes a large amount at month's end, and low- and middle-income people are hit hardest.

The waybill and checking system has become one of the main tools of fare irregularity. Passengers complain that fares are fixed in the name of taking accounts by stopping buses at various points; in many cases what is shown on the waybill matters more than where the passenger is going. Under the rules, the approved fare list is supposed to be hung in a visible place inside the bus, but many buses do not have it at all, and where it exists it is placed where passengers cannot easily see it. Arguments break out with assistants when anyone wants to see the list or know the fare calculation.

A police officer on duty in Gulistan said there are complaints that fare irregularities are continuing under the shelter of some influential people in the transport sector, and that the matter has been informed to higher authorities in writing. Bus owners' association leader Abdur Rahman said they have heard such complaints and that necessary action will be taken after looking into the matter.

Road Transport and Bridges Minister Sheikh Rabiul Alam said there is no scope to take even one paisa more than the fare the government set after adjusting fuel oil prices. No owner or worker who creates chaos in the transport sector by causing public suffering will be spared, and strict punitive action will be taken against them, he said.

Former Road Transport and Bridges Ministry official Abdur Razzaq said they want to see the minister's statement applied in practice, not remain only an announcement. In his view, to stop charging beyond the fixed fare, the fare list must be ensured in every bus and complaints of extra charging in the name of the waybill system must be investigated.

Passengers complain that although drives are conducted occasionally, the situation returns to its previous state after a few days. So regular monitoring, not isolated drives, is essential; they believe irregularities can be reduced with coordinated surveillance by BRTA, DTCA and law enforcement agencies. They also said the owners' association cannot avoid its responsibility in restoring discipline in the transport sector.

Daffodil University student Md. Sajib Khan said thousands of people travel every day from Gabtoli to Signboard and Chattogram Road, a large part of them office workers, labourers and students. Reaching a destination safely at the fixed fare is everyone's right. There should be no scope to charge extra on excuses such as fewer buses or evening having fallen. He expressed hope that the authorities concerned will this time come out of paper instructions and take effective steps on the road to stop fare chaos.