In view of the fuel price hike, the government has rescheduled the fares of buses and minibuses at the long-distance, inter-district and metropolitan levels. According to the new decision, the rent of Rs 11 per kilometer has been increased, which has been effective from Thursday.
Road transport and bridges minister Sheikh Rabiul Alam announced the decision after a meeting with transport owners and workers representatives at the secretariat. He said the new fares have been fixed to keep the energy costs in line with fuel, keep the transport sector active and balance the passenger service.
According to the new rate, the fare of buses and minibuses in Dhaka and Chittagong metropolis has been increased from Rs 42 per kilometer to Rs 53 per kilometer. Similarly, the rent per kilometre on long-distance and inter-district routes has increased from Rs 12 to Rs 23.
The government said the decision will be applicable only for diesel-powered buses. The CNG-run transport fares remain unchanged. At the same time, if the price of fuel oil falls in the future, there is also an opportunity to reconsider the bus fares.
The minister also said that no decision has been taken yet on the coordination of the fares of rail and shipping. The decision will be taken after reviewing the cost and management structure of the related sectors.
On April 18th, the government announced an increase in fuel prices. According to the new price, the price of diesel was increased to Rs 15 per litre, octane 20 rupees, petrol to Rs 19 and kerosene to Rs 18. The new price came into effect from midnight on April 19th.
According to analysts, the impact of energy expenditure on the transport sector is directly affected by the cost of living in the general public. As a result, surveillance, prevention of excessive fare collection and conservation of passenger interests in the implementation of the new fare structure are now a major challenge.
The government has said that action will be taken if there are complaints of additional collection outside the fixed rent. After the implementation of the new fare, the concerned agencies have also been instructed to monitor the situation at the field level.