No more than 15 paisa hike per km: Jatri Kalyan Samity on bus fares

The Bangladesh Jatri Kalyan Samity has proposed increasing
bus fares by 15 paisa per kilometre following the recent hike in fuel prices,
while alleging that influential leaders of transport owners' associations are
attempting to push through a higher fare increase in coordination with the
government.
In a statement on Sunday night (19
April), the organisation's Secretary General Mozammel Haque Chowdhury claimed
that a "secret meeting" was held at the BRTA headquarters, avoiding
key stakeholders and the media, to discuss raising fares.
Referring to previous adjustments,
Mozammel said that when fuel prices were reduced by Tk3 in three phases, bus
fares were lowered by 3 paisa per kilometre, and similarly reduced by 2 paisa
when prices dropped by Tk2. In line with this precedent, he said, the latest
Tk15 per litre increase in diesel prices justifies a proportional hike of 15
paisa per kilometre.
He warned that any fare increase beyond this level,
facilitated through bureaucratic influence, could trigger public backlash and
erode the government's popularity.
He also urged the prime minister to
intervene to prevent what he described as attempts to grant undue advantage to
transport owners' associations.
















