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The government on Saturday increased the bus fares across Bangladesh following a record fuel price hike at the consumer level amid the volatility in the global market.
Long-haul bus fares were raised by 22 per cent from Tk 1.8 per km to Tk 2.2 while the fares in Dhaka and Chattogram metropolitans were increased by 16 per cent from Tk 2.15 per km to Tk 2.5.
The minimum fares in riding a bus or minibus in the cities have been kept unchanged at Tk 10 and Tk 8 respectively.
The new fares that will come into effect from Sunday were finalised at a meeting between Bangladesh Road Transport Authority officials and transport sector leaders at BRTA headquarters in Dhaka.
The fares of buses and minibuses running in Dhaka Transport Coordination Authority areas — Narayanganj, Munshiganj, Narsingdi, Gazipur, Manikganj and Dhaka districts — have been increased by 17 per cent to Tk 2.40 per km from Tk 2.05.
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The government on Friday night increased fuel prices which came into effect from Saturday midnight.
Diesel and kerosene retail prices were fixed at Tk 114 per litre while that of octane at Tk 135 a litre and petrol at Tk 130 per litre.
The fuel price hike comes at a time when people, particularly from the lower- and middle-income groups, are already struggling with the skyrocketing commodity prices. And, now the increased transport fares are going to make lives and livelihood more difficult.
In November 2021, the government increased diesel and kerosene prices by Tk 15 a litre. The prices reached Tk 80 a litre from Tk 65.
However, octane and petrol prices remained unchanged at Tk 89 and Tk 86 per litre respectively.
The Ministry of Power, Energy and Mineral Resources on Friday said the Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation had incurred losses of Tk 8,014.51 crore between February and July this year.
