Drives against charging passengers extra fare from tomorrow

Staff Correspondent: General Secretary of Dhaka Road Transport Owners' Association Khandaker Enayetullah said drives will be launched against sitting service in Dhaka public transport on Sunday in a bid to stop the charging of excessive fare.

The drive will be inaugurated at Asad Gate in the capital at 11:00am and five vigilance teams will conduct the drives.

Enayetullah said this while talking to reporters after a meeting between Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA) and Dhaka Road Transport Owners' Association at the BRTA head office in the city on Saturday afternoon.

We will conduct the drive in the capital’s Asad Gate, IDB Bhaban, Airport, Institute of Engineers and Jatrabari areas tomorrow, he said.

The general secretary of Dhaka Road Transport Owners' Association said action will be taken if anyone charges extra fares from passengers, and the fare chart, as fixed by BRTA, must be hung at a visible place inside every bus so that all can easily see it.

He said the decision is being implemented to bring all the passenger buses under a discipline in the capital.

About the delay in implementing the decision, Enayetullah said it was not possible to execute the decision on the stipulated date as the association leaders could not sit on Friday with BRTA due to Pahela Baishakh public holiday and weekend.

"We sat in the meeting with BRTA today. So, our previous decision will be enforced from tomorrow," he said.

On April 4, Khandaker Enayetullah announced that no public transport will operate in Dhaka city in the name of sitting service, gate-lock or special service from April 15 at a press briefing held at the Institute of Engineers, Bangladesh (IEB) in the capital.

Road Transport and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader said both owners and workers are happy with the decision taken in this regard. The capital’s bus owners will have to charge the passengers fares set by the government.

Action will be taken against those who will be seen not to comply with the decision, Quader added.

risingbd/DHAKA/Apr 15, 2017/Nasir/Amirul