Launch owners want 100% fare hike

Launch owners want the government to increase fare by 100 per cent, though the price of diesel hiked by 42.5%.

Launch owners have sent a letter to the Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority (BIWTA) demanding the hike on Sunday, chairman of the Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Passenger Carriers Association Chairman Mahbub Uddin Ahmed confirmed The Business Post.

Md Jahangir Alam Khan, senior information & public relation officer of the shipping ministry, said the secretary of the ministry will hold a meeting with the owners at the ministry on Monday noon to fix the fare.

Why owners want 100% hike?

Owners said they sought the hundred per cent increase, which they never sought before when price of the fuel increased in the past, as prices of some other components needed to operate launches have increased as well.

The current launch fare is Tk 2.19 per kilometre for maximum 100 kilometres distance and for the destinations more than a hundred kilometres, launch fare is Tk 2.00 per kilometre.

In the letter sent to the BIWTA the owners said they want the fare at Tk 4.60 per kilometre within hundred kilometres distance, and Tk 4.oo for more than 100 kilometres distance.

“After the price of USD increased in the global market, the price of lubricant has increased by 50%. Besides, price of propellers, engine’s spare parts, wielding rods and gas spray has also increased,” Mahbub Uddin Ahmed explained in the letter.

He also claimed that the launches are getting fewer passengers after the inauguration of Padma Bridge as the passengers prefer buses than the launches to save time.

“The passenger shortage and price hikes have increased our operation cost to 100%. We are struggling to keep the operation ongoing,” he said.

Asked, why they are demanding more hikes comparing to the bus owners, he said the two sectors cannot be compared as operation cost is much higher for a launch.

On Friday night government increased fuel prices amid the volatility in the global market. Diesel and kerosene retail prices were fixed at Tk 114 per litre while octane at Tk 135 a litre and petrol at Tk 130 per litre.

Following the fuel price hike, on Saturday night, the government increased long-haul bus fares by 22 per cent from Tk 1.8 per km to Tk 2.2, while the bus fares in Dhaka and Chattogram metropolitans were increased by 16.27 per cent from Tk 2.15 per km to Tk 2.5.

The fare of buses and minibuses running in Dhaka Transport Coordination Authority (DTCA) areas — Narayanganj, Munshiganj, Narsingdi, Gazipur, Manikganj and Dhaka districts — was increased to Tk2.40 per kilometre from Tk2.05 which is 17% more than the previous fare.