New rate of fare for the four-stroke CNG-run auto-rickshaw comes into effect from today. The lowest fare has been set at Tk 25.
According to the revised fare, commuters will have to pay Tk 25 instead of current Tk 14 for the first two kilometres (km). Also, the charge for each subsequent km will be Tk 7 instead of Tk 6 and the waiting charge per minute will be Tk 1.25 instead of Tk 1.
The new fare has been agreed upon in a tripartite agreement signed on Jan 9 between the government, CNG Auto-rickshaw Owners’ Association and the workers’ organisation.
According to the agreement the government also re-fixed the daily deposit of the auto-rickshaw owner at Tk 600 from Tk 450.
The government warned of stern measures like cancellation of route permit and driving licence, if the owners and drivers of CNG-run auto-rickshaw violate the rules.
The deal also says the passengers should hand over those drivers to the traffic police if found charging additional fare, tampering meter or refusing to run on a short distance. In addition, passengers can inform the police control room over phone about violation of rules.
However, less than 5,000 of the total 12,000 auto-rickshaws have received ‘meter ok’ clearance from Bangladesh Road Transport Authority, sources said.
