Staff Reporter :
Bangladesh Jatri Kalyan Samity on Sunday demanded that the government withdraw the 60 percent bus fare hike immediately to stop disorder over bus fare and harassment of the passengers.
The passengers’ welfare platform made the appeal through a press statement, signed by its secretary-general Mozammel Hoque Chowdhury.
The statement said the government announced 60 percent bus fare hike on condition that the bus operators will carry 50 percent passengers of the capacity and will follow health safety guidelines.
But none of the public transport are following the health safety guidelines, rather they are carrying extra passengers as done in pre-Covid-19 situation, it said.As a result, common people, who are already facing economic hardship due to Covid-19 situation, are enduring immense suffering in regards to transportation, and in many cases, transport workers and passengers are locking into altercation over the fare, it added.
The organisation also said when the government hikes bus fare, fare of other transport like human hauler, auto-rickshaw also doubles, causing further woes for passengers.
The organisation demanded reintroducing the previous fare.
Services of public transport, including buses and minibuses, resumed on June 1 after more than two months. The government had suspended the services on March 26 to contain the spread of the virus.
Following demands by transport leaders, the government hiked bus fares by 60 percent from June 1 on the condition that buses would carry passengers at half capacity and follow other health safety guidelines.
