Bus fares to rise by Tk 50 on Dhaka-Khulna, southern routes over fuel price hike

After the increase in fuel oil prices, bus owners have decided to raise fares by Tk 50 per passenger on various routes from Dhaka to Khulna and other parts of the southern region.

According to bus owners' sources, bus owners of the concerned routes took the decision at a meeting on Monday morning. However, there is a risk of disputes with passengers in various places over implementing the decision until the Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA) fixes the new fare.

The owner of a bus company operating on the Dhaka-Khulna, Satkhira, Bagerhat and Pirojpur routes told The Business Standard, on condition of anonymity, that bus owners operating on these routes discussed the matter in the morning and decided to raise fares by Tk 50 per passenger. Regardless of where a passenger gets off, they will have to pay Tk 50 more than the current fare.

He said a bus travelling from Fulbaria in Dhaka's Gulistan to Khulna and returning to Dhaka requires about 140 litres of fuel oil. According to BRTA's calculation, an average of 28 passengers is assumed per trip. The decision to raise fares by Tk 50 per passenger was taken to offset the additional fuel cost.

The bus owners' representative said BRTA will determine the new fare based on how much fuel oil prices have been increased. It may take a day or two to take that decision. However, transport owners have already started incurring additional costs. As a result, they see no alternative to raising fares before the government decision comes.

He said once BRTA fixes the new fare, fares will subsequently be set based on the government-fixed rate per kilometre.

The bus owner said it would be better for both transport owners and passengers if BRTA gives a decision quickly. Because passengers are not always willing to pay extra fares without a government decision. This creates a risk of unnecessary disputes between passengers and bus conductors in various places.