Launch fares have now been raised following the increase in the price of all types of fuel oil. The fare will rise by 23 paisa a kilometre for the first 100 kilometres, and by 20 paisa a kilometre beyond 100 kilometres.
The road transport and shipping minister, Sheikh Rabiul Alam, confirmed the increase after a bilateral meeting at the Secretariat on Wednesday afternoon (September 23).
He said vessel owners had demanded a 15 percent increase, taking into account the rise in fuel prices, higher management costs and other factors, but fares had been raised by 7.54 percent with passengers in mind. The minimum fare, previously 32 taka, has been set at 35 taka.
The minister said: “A fare increase is not what we want. But in the global situation there was no alternative to raising fuel prices. So we tried to keep the increase to a minimum with the public’s hardship in mind. We have not allowed anyone to take advantage of the fuel price rise to act arbitrarily or cause chaos in the name of a fare increase.”
Launch owners had called for passenger fares to be raised after the fuel price rise. They wrote to the shipping minister, Sheikh Rabiul Alam, asking for fares per passenger per kilometre to rise by 51 to 60 percent — from the existing 2 taka 95 paisa to 4 taka 45 paisa for the first 100 kilometres, and from 2 taka 52 paisa to 4 taka 2 paisa for each kilometre after that — or, failing that, for the fuel price increase to be withdrawn.
Bus fares on long-distance routes and in the capital and other cities were raised earlier by 17 paisa a kilometre following the fuel price rise, a decision taken at a road transport ministry meeting on Tuesday (September 22).
By the government’s calculation bus fares should have risen by 20 paisa, but operators were asked to charge 3 paisa less in the public interest, making the increase 17 paisa a kilometre.
When diesel was raised by 15 taka a litre in April, bus fares went up by 11 paisa a kilometre. Before this latest increase, the bus fare in the Dhaka and Chattogram metropolitan areas was 2 taka 53 paisa a kilometre and the minibus fare 2 taka 42 paisa. On long-distance routes the fare for a 52-seat bus was 2 taka 23 paisa a kilometre, though many long-distance non-AC buses have cut their seats to 40 or fewer for comfort and charge more, and bridge and road tolls are added on top. With the new 17-paisa increase, bus fares will now be set afresh.
বাংলায় মূল প্রতিবেদন পড়ুন · Read the original Bengali report