BRTC bus fares halved for students from December 1

Road Transport and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader on Friday said Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina had decided to reduce fares of state-owned Bangladesh Road Transport Corporation (BRTC) buses for students by 50 per cent across the country.

He said the new fares would be effective from December 1. The government came up with the decision following students’ movement demanding half fares in public transports.

Quader at a press briefing at his residence in the capital also said the decision on half fares in private buses would be made on Saturday (today).

He said Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA) would hold a meeting with bus owners and operators on this.

On November 3, the government raised the prices of diesel and kerosene by Tk 15 per litre. Following that, it increased fares of intra-city and inter-district buses by 26.5 per cent and 27 per cent respectively amid the pressure created by transport owners.

Later, students from different educational institutions started demonstrating on the city streets demanding half fares in public transports. On November 20, students started demonstrations to press home their demand for half fares for bus rides, which spread further on Nov 23.