Pathao raises per kilometre bike ride fare by 25% in Dhaka

In response to the recent hike in fuel oil prices, digital services and ride-sharing platform Pathao has increased its per kilometre bike ride fare by 25 per cent in Dhaka, effective from Sunday.

The company increased per kilometre fare from Tk 12 to Tk 15, a 25 per cent increase in Dhaka, and the minimum fare has been increased from Tk 30 to Tk 50. Meanwhile, base fare Tk 25, per minute charge Tk 0.50, and insurance fee Tk 1 will remain the same, according to the Pathao statement sent to the Business Post. 

“Transport cost increases due to fuel price hike. Consequently, Pathao bike sharing service fare has increased,” said Pathao Managing Director and Chief Executive Fahim Ahmed.

The leading ride-sharing company fixed the fare after the government on Friday night increased the price of diesel by Tk 34 to 114, petrol from Tk 44 to 130 and octane from Tk 46 to 135, effective from midnight.

For Chattogram city, the fare for bike rides per kilometre has been increased from Tk 10 to Tk 12.5, fixing the minimum fare from Tk 30 to Tk 40. In Sylhet, the per kilometre rate went up from Tk 6.5 to Tk 8.5. The fees for other services will remain the same. 

Therefore, the fare for Pathao bike rides will increase by 16-18 per cent on average, according to the statement from Pathao.

“I have received a text message from Pathao today (Sunday), informing that riders have to pay Tk 15 for each kilometre of bike ride-sharing, which was Tk 12 earlier,” said Obaidur Rahman, a biker who uses both Pathao and Uber ride-sharing platforms.

However, the percentage of commission that the company takes from the riders (15 per cent) will remain the same.

After the fuel price hike was announced, motorcycle riders raced to fuel stations nationwide to try and fill up before the price rise went into effect. Some stations paused sales and sporadic protests broke out.

The 25 per cent bike ride fare increase by Pathao was met with discontent from the bike riders using the platform, who claim that they have already been suffering due to a shortage of passengers even before the fare hike.

“It is not possible for me to continue to use my bike for ride-sharing, as I use a 150CC bike which consumes more octane or petrol than any other bike,” Obaidur Rahman said.

A lot of bikers will leave the ride-sharing platform as their income will not be sufficient anymore, due to the recent fuel price hike and the subsequent fare hike from Pathao, the biker stated.

“Passengers on apps have already reduced drastically, even more so after the fare increase,” he added.

“Unlike the bus or public transport owners or drivers, bikers using the ride-sharing platforms do not have an association to raise our voice through, so the app companies charge whatever they want,” the biker said.

While visiting bus stops at Mohakhali in the capital, this correspondent found significantly fewer buses were on the road. However, commuters were still reluctant to travel using ride-sharing services, anticipating a higher fare.

The statement from Pathao also disclosed that the fare for their car sharing service will not increase; it will remain unchanged across the country.