Staff Reporter :The fare of CNG-run vehicles, including bus and auto-rickshaw, is likely to go up from September 1 as an impact of revised gas price, announced by the government on last Thursday.Several bus drivers of Mirpur-Motijheel and Gulshan-Gulistan routes, said on Saturday that bus fare would rise from Tuesday [September 1].In this situation the passengers are apprehending that they may be charged more than the fare fixed by the Bangladesh Road Transport Authority [BRTA]. General Secretary of Bangladesh Road Transport Owners’ Union Khondakar Enayet Ullah Khan yesterday said that the new fare would be decided after discussing with the government.On the other hand, the commuters of capital city Dhaka have long been complaining that the auto-rickshaw drivers have been charging excess-fare in absence of a monitoring system. Usually, most of the auto-rickshaw drivers charge almost three-time higher than the normal fare during peak hours. Now, the passengers will have to face hard situation on the street for increasing fare. “We will charge passengers extra fare from September 1 in line with the latest gas price hike,” Faruk Mohammad, driver of a CNG-run auto-rickshaw, said yesterday.When contacted, Dhaka Metropolitan CNG-run Auto-rickshaw Malik Samity Oikya Parishad President Barkat Ullah Bhulu on Saturday said that the extra fare would be set after discussing with the owners and other authorities concerned.Passengers also categorically blamed the BRTA for failing to install digital meters in the CNG-run auto-rickshaws while the drivers do not show any interest to carry passengers as per meter reading. In the BRTA fare chart updated in 2011, Tk 25 was fixed for the first two kilometres in case of auto-rickshaws, Tk 7 for each subsequent kilometre and Tk 1.25 per minute for stand-by. But it was never followed by the drivers. In January 2013, bus-fare was fixed Tk 1.55 per kilometre while Tk 1.45 for non-AC buses. Besides, the government also fixed Tk 7 for seating service buses and Tk 5 for local service buses as minimum fare. But there were widespread allegations that the passengers were charged Tk 10 as the minimum fare even when they travelled a short distance. Now, it would increase more in the name of CNG price hike, the passengers apprehended.”We are monitoring the situation. If the drivers charge more than the fare prescribed officially, the commuters can seek help from the traffic police officials working in that area,” Md Moslem Uddin, Joint Commissioner (traffic), Dhaka Metropolitan Police, said yesterday.
