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The Bangladesh Jatri Kalyan Samity has proposed raising fares for long-distance buses by 8 poisha per kilometre and city buses by 10 poisha per kilometre following the recent increase in fuel prices.
It has also proposed a 5-poisha increase in launch fares per nautical mile.
The proposals were made in an urgent press statement issued on Tuesday by the organisation’s secretary general, Mozammel Haque Chowdhury.
The passenger rights body alleged that efforts are underway to favour transport owners in the process of revising bus and launch fares without ensuring representation of passengers.
It said government ministries and agencies concerned have held several closed-door meetings with transport owners, while passenger representatives have not been consulted.
The organisation also claimed that no transparent calculation has been made public showing how much transport operators’ costs have increased or how much of a fare hike would be needed to offset those additional costs.
It alleged that since the previous government, there has been a tendency to allow transport owners to benefit disproportionately from fuel price increases.
The organisation said fare decisions are discussed between transport owners’ associations and the government but are later presented as consensus decisions involving all stakeholders.
The Bangladesh Jatri Kalyan Samity called for transparency in fare revisions and urged the authorities to include representatives of affected passengers in the discussions.
Considering the impact of the fuel price hike, it proposed fare increases of 8 poisha per kilometre for long-distance buses, 10 poisha per kilometre for city buses and 5 poisha per nautical mile for launches.