Fuel Price Hike Pushes Bus Fares Up by 17 Paisa per Km

Bangla Press Desk: The government has revised bus fares for both city and long-distance services, raising rates by 17 paisa per kilometre, a day after prices of all types of petroleum fuel increased by Tk 20 per litre.

Under the new rates, per-kilometre fares for buses operating in the Dhaka and Chattogram metropolitan areas have been set at Tk 2.70, up from Tk 2.53, while long-distance bus fares will rise to Tk 2.40 per kilometre from Tk 2.23.

A gazette notification is expected to be issued by the Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA) shortly in this regard.

BRTA officials said the fares were determined based on buses with 52 seats and minibuses with 30 seats. However, on long-distance routes, many operators reduce the number of seats in 52-seat buses to provide greater comfort. In such cases, fares may vary.

Transport owners yesterday proposed a 20-paisa-per-kilometre increase in bus fares following the rise in diesel prices.

According to BRTA sources, a meeting on the proposed fare adjustment was held yesterday at the authority’s Banani headquarters, with leaders of transport owners’ and workers’ organisations in attendance.

Bus fares were last adjusted on April 23, following a Tk 15-per-litre hike in diesel prices. The revision increased fares for both inter-district and metropolitan bus services by 11 paisa per kilometre.