Half fare for students in all metropolises

Students in all other metropolitan cities, including Chattogram, will enjoy half fare in public transports from December 11 this year, declared bus owners on Sunday.

The announcement was made by Khandaker Enayet Ullah, secretary-general of Bangladesh Road Transport Owners Association Central Committee, at a press conference at Chattogram Press Club on Sunday. The students will enjoy the half fare from 7 am to 8 pm and they have to show their identity cards to get the facility, he said.

However, it won’t be applicable on government and weekly holidays and other holidays of educational institutions, said Khandaker.

“But the 50 per cent discount will not be applicable outside the cities”, he added.

Kafil Uddin Ahmed, senior co-president of Bangladesh Road Transport Owners Association, Khorshed Alam, president of Chittagong Road Transport Owners Group, Niaz Morshed Elite, joint secretary of Bangladesh Road Transport Owners Association-Dhaka, Golam Rasul Babul, secretary-general of Chittagong Road Transport Owners Group were present at the press conference.

Earlier on November 30, in the face of student protests, Dhaka Road Transport Owners Association decided that all the students in Dhaka Metropolitan area will get a 50 per cent discount from December 1.

On the other hand, as part of their continuous protests, students brought out a symbolic funeral procession at capital’s Shahbagh area on Sunday to press home their nine-point demands, including road safety.

Demonstrators from different schools and colleges took to the streets around 12:30pm carrying a symbolic coffin to realise their demands amid rain.

They, however, ended their protests after an hour with an announcement of gathering at the Central Shaheed Minar on Monday evening.

Students started their movement demanding half fare from November 8, after the government increased bus fares in line with the recent fuel price hike.

Later, their movement gained momentum as Naeem Hasan, a student of Notre Dame College, after being hit by a garbage truck of Dhaka South City Corporation was killed on November 24.

The situation intensified further when a Secondary School Certificate candidate of Ekramunnessa Boys High School, Mainuddin Islam, was killed by a bus of Anabil Paribahan in Rampura Bazar on November 29.

On November 3, the government raised the prices of diesel and kerosene by Tk 15 per litre, prompting the transporters to enforce an indefinite strike in the country on November 7 demanding a hike in bus fares.

Amid the worsening public woes caused by the transport strike, the Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA) raised the bus fares of intra-city and inter-district buses by 26.5 per cent and 27 per cent, respectively.