Govt hikes bus fares-Fuel price spiral causes commotion all around

The government last night increased bus fares amid a chaos in the capital and across the country as transport operators had been increasing fares feverishly earlier in the day, a day after the former had hiked prices of fuel oil by a huge margin.The new rate of bus fare is Tk 1.05 a kilometre while the rate is Tk 1.08 for minibuses, according to a government handout distributed last night. On Mawa and Paturia ferry terminal routes, bus fare was increased to Tk 1.08 a kilometre while for minibuses the fare was increased to Tk 1.11 per kilometre, said the handout adding, the new fare goes into effective immediately.But the government has yet to officially re-fix the fares of goods carrying motor vehicles and launches.Meanwhile, operators of all modes of transport were in a frenzy of increasing fares immediately after the government's announcement of increasing fuel oil prices, resulting in heated debates and scuffles between passengers and transport crews.In the capital, bus fare went up by Tk 1 to Tk 5 on different city routes while the increase was by Tk 50 to Tk 70 on inter-district routes all through the day yesterday. Passengers got into disputes with bus crews as they were charging extra since early morning yesterday at all bus and launch terminals in the city.Different socio-political organisations, however, condemned the hike in fuel oil prices, saying the increase will make life more difficult for the people.The communication ministry held a meeting yesterday to increase bus fares. Chaired by the communication secretary, BRTA Chairman Sunil Kanti Boss, BRTC Chairman Shafiz Uddin Ahmed and other officials concerned were present at the meeting."The fare has been increased after a discussion with transport owners," added the government handout.But earlier in the day transport fares on different routes sky rocketed unabated as there was no government direction.In the city, human-haulers, buses and minibuses including the CNG-run ones were charging 15 percent to 30 percent more than usual all through the day. On Mirpur-Gulistan route, passengers locked in scuffles with bus crews as they asked for Tk 2 to Tk 5 more than the usual fare of Tk 12. While passengers argued for waiting for a government decision, crews said they had no alternative to charging extra since the hiked up fuel prices had already been in effect. The situation was the same on all routes throughout the day. The passengers, however, had no choice but to pay the extra amount.