Bus owners of Shariatpur have imposed conditions on the movement of Bangladesh Road Transport Corporation (BRTC) buses on Dhaka-Shariatpur route via Padma Bridge, drawing anger from locals. As per the conditions, BRTC buses cannot carry passengers to the district town, and the organisation can run a maximum of six buses on the route. The syndicate of bus owners and workers, which blocked BRTC buses in Shariatpur on Sunday, claimed that BRTC does not have route permits to ply the route.
Unfortunately, the decision was made at a meeting of the regional transport committee, chaired by Shariatpur Deputy Commissioner Md Parvez Hasan, at his office on Monday. The bus owner syndicates are barring people to get affordable services and the district administration. After the announcement of Padma Bridge’s opening, transport owners in Shariatpur prepared at least 250 new buses.
BRTC also started operating six of its buses on the route that day. But employees of the bus owners’ association stopped the vehicles at the municipal bus terminal and forced the passengers to get off. And so, BRTC buses have not been seen on the road for two days. Among the three private-bus companies, buses of Shariatpur Super Service do not have route permits to ply the road. Some 15 buses of the Shariatpur Inter-district Bus and Minibus Owners’ Association, which do not have route permits, are plying on the Dhaka-Shariatpur route. The syndicates said bus owners have sustained the transport sector, bearing losses. Now, the good time has come.
Fair competition is needed for better transport services for passengers on the route. However, the transport syndicate, notorious for protecting reckless driving, uneven fare hikes, and many crimes, has the guts to control the government and bureaucracy for their political connections. The government should be aware of these syndicates and establish government rules in the transport sector.
