Commuters bear the brunt of fuel price hike

The city dwellers suffered from a sudden transport crunch on Saturday in the capital as most of the public transport went off the road apparently in the hope of getting an increase in fare after the latest fuel oil price hike.

The school and college-going students, office-bound passengers and other commuters lost their valuable time due to the unexpected public transport shortages.

Adding insult to the injury, the availability of ride-sharing services including Uber and Pathao was also rare along with rickshaws and other vehicles, leaving the passengers stranded on the road for hours.

A few buses plied on the road increasing the fare by 50 per cent which triggered frequent altercations between the passengers and bus conductors.

The commuters said they waited on the road for hours for the desired public transport but in vain. Even the ride-sharing service providers demanded additional money from the passengers, ignoring the listed fare. The rickshaw pullers also raised the fare abnormally taking scope of the situation.

The sector insiders said that most of the public transport will return to the roads once the fare is readjusted in accordance with the increased fuel oil price.

Meanwhile, Bangladesh Jatri Kalyan Samity urged the government to withdraw the decision of increasing the price of fuel oil at a time when the country’s common people are already passing a tough time due to the increase in the price of daily essentials.

“I have been waiting for hours on the road to go to the office but there is almost no public transport. The ride-sharing drivers have also increased the fare by Tk 50 from the fare cost listed in the application,” said Liton Hossain, a private service holder, after a failed negotiation with a ride-sharer.

Md Liton, a conductor of the Victor Classic bus was demanding Tk 5 more than the usual fare for any destination. He said, “If we demand the fare 50 per cent more than the previous fare, as per the increased price of fuel, the passengers shout at us and do not give the actual fare.”

“Most of the passengers are reluctant to pay even Tk 5 more for any destination. That is why most of the buses are not plying on the road. They are waiting for the new fare adjustment,” he added.

“The decision of raising the fuel oil price is irrational and against the interest of the people. The decision has been made following the IMF’s prescription, instead of considering the current global price. The price of fuel oil in the global market is gradually decreasing,” said Md Mozammel Haque Chowdhury, secretary general of Bangladesh Jatri Kalyan Samity, in a statement sent to the media on Saturday morning.

“The hiked price should be withdrawn immediately and fixed at the earlier price,” he demanded in the statement.