Mujibur Rahman Sharif, who lives and works in Dhaka, planned to travel home to his family in Barguna for Eid-ul-Fitr.
He said he found that ticket sales at Meghna Paribahan in Sayedabad had been suspended due to uncertainty over fuel supply. Later, he purchased four tickets from Shyamoli Paribahan at the Kalyanpur counter.
Although the normal non-AC fare on the route ranges between Tk 650-700, he said he had to pay Tk 1,200 per ticket. “In total, they charged about Tk 2,000 extra for four tickets from me.”
Mujibur also alleged the operator had issued a token instead of a ticket to conceal the additional charge.
“The actual tickets will have to be collected from the bus counter 30 minutes before departure by showing this token. Many others like me have fallen into this trap,” he said.
Some operators create an artificial ticket shortage by booking tickets through their agents before releasing them to the public. For Dhaka-Shatkhira route, the AC fare on Green Line was Tk 1,000 earlier. Now they are charging Tk 1,600. Other operators were selling tickets for Tk 2,000 to Tk 2,200 on the same route.
Srabonti Akter, a passenger
Like him, many passengers said they are being forced to pay Tk 200-800 extra per ticket at different bus terminals and on online platforms for long-distance routes from Dhaka ahead of Eid, significantly higher than the rates approved by the Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA).
However, Road Transport, Railways, and Bridges Minister Shaikh Rabiul Alam yesterday claimed he had received no complaints in the past week about transport operators charging extra fares.
The minister added that while fares generally do not exceed the official rates, in some cases, passengers may have to pay around Tk 100 more. “Rather, some operators are offering Tk 20-100 discounts to attract passengers ahead of Eid,” he said.
Earlier, on March 13, after visiting BRTC bus terminals in Gulistan, Rabiul Alam said that any transport operator charging even one taka extra would face punishment.
“There will be no shortage of oil for public transport during Eid journey. Fares will not increase,” he said.
However, the scenario at the different bus terminals in the capital — including Sayedabad, Arambagh, Kalyanpur, and Gulistan — tells a different story.
This correspondent spoke with more than a dozen passengers who alleged they had to pay additional fares.
They also alleged that ticket prices have been strategically increased: first citing higher demand ahead of Eid, and then using the rise in global oil prices amid tensions in the Middle East.
Despite the change in government, the practice of collecting extra fares during the Eid journey has remained much like in previous years, they lamented.
A passenger, Srabonti Akter, alleged that some operators create an artificial ticket shortage by booking tickets through their own agents before releasing them to the public.
“For Dhaka-Shatkhira route, the AC fare on Green Line was Tk 1,000 earlier. Now they are charging Tk 1,600,” she complained.
She added that other operators, such as Dhaka Line and Golden Line, were selling tickets for Tk 2,000 to Tk 2,200 for AC and sleeper coach on the same route.
Nazmul, a ticket seller at Green Line Paribahan in Arambagh, however, denied charging extra fares.
“Our fare is Tk 1,000 for economy class and Tk 1,600 for business class. We are not charging more than that,” he said.
Mohammad Sumon, a ticket seller at Shyamoli Paribahan’s Kalyanpur counter, said, “The BRTA-fixed fare for Dhaka–Barguna route is Tk 900. There is no question of charging Tk 1,200. However, during Eid, if someone willingly pays extra, we may accept it.”
A ticket seller from Taqwa Paribahan in Mirpur-10, requesting anonymity, said, “The fare is a little higher because there are fewer buses and demand is high during Eid.”
Saiful Alam, general secretary of Dhaka Bus Owners Association, said operators cannot charge fares higher than the BRTA-approved rates for non-AC buses while there is no fixed fare for AC buses.
He hoped the situation will improve and more buses will operate with the fuel rationing system being lifted since Saturday night.