Bus fares have been raised by 17 paisa per kilometre following the increase in the price of all grades of fuel oil. The decision was taken at a meeting of the road transport ministry on Tuesday.
After the decision, the fare on long-distance buses rises from 2 taka 23 paisa to 2 taka 40 paisa per kilometre. In the Dhaka and Chattogram metropolitan areas, the fare per kilometre rises from 2 taka 53 paisa to 2 taka 70 paisa.
After the meeting, member of parliament and labour leader Shamsur Rahman Shimul Biswas said strict action would be taken against anyone charging more than the government decision allows.
He said transport owners had proposed at the meeting that fares be raised by 20 paisa per kilometre. That was reduced by 3 paisa to 17 paisa. This may have an effect on the prices of essential goods, he said, but he called on the public to accept it.
Earlier, a notification was issued on Sunday (September 20) night raising the price of all grades of fuel oil in the country by 20 taka a litre. The new prices took effect from Monday.
Before the latest increase, diesel was selling at 115 taka, kerosene at 135, petrol at 140 and octane at 145 taka a litre. Under the new prices, diesel has risen to 135 taka a litre, kerosene to 155, petrol to 160 and octane to 165.
Transport owners proposed raising bus fares on Monday, after the government decision to raise fuel oil prices. They put a proposal to the Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA) to raise bus fares by 18 to 20 paisa per kilometre. The recommendation was made at a meeting of the fare adjustment committee at BRTA’s head office in Banani, Dhaka, on Monday evening.