Eid Bus Fare Hike: Passenger Welfare Association's Demand

Bangladesh Passenger Welfare Association has demanded an immediate halt to the chaos of extra fare collection on buses, which they claim has led to a "death march" on the roads. They assert that bus owners' associations broke their promises not to charge excess fares during the holy Eid-ul-Azha. The association is calling for measures to ensure safe and uninterrupted Eid journeys for the poor, laborers, and general working-class people.

In a statement sent to the media on Monday, Md. Mozammel Haque Chowdhury, Secretary-General of the Bangladesh Passenger Welfare Association, accused the Bangladesh Road Transport Owners Association of failing to uphold their commitment. This commitment, made by various district and unit branches of the bus owners' association, was to refrain from collecting extra fares on buses during the upcoming holy Eid-ul-Azha.

Notably, due to the inability to afford extra fares, laborers from Chattogram were traveling to Naogaon in trucks loaded with rods at a lower cost. Tragically, the truck overturned near the eastern end of the Bangabandhu Bridge in Tangail, resulting in 17 deaths and 10 serious injuries. Separately, two individuals died from lightning strikes on the roof of a train in Ghorashal, Narsingdi.

The organization highlighted that every Eid journey sees millions of hardworking individuals, including laborers, working people, day laborers, construction workers, and those in the informal sector, forced to travel on train roofs, bus roofs, and in open trucks or on top of goods-laden trucks to save money. The association lamented that the state repeatedly fails to ensure safe and unhindered travel for these people, whose hard work and sweat strengthen the economy, during the two major Eid festivals each year.

He urged the concerned parties to uphold the bus owners' association's promise and adhere to the government's strict directives to end the anarchy of extra fare collection during Eid journeys. Simultaneously, this organization, dedicated to protecting passenger rights, has appealed to the general public to avoid overloading passengers on roads, railways, and waterways during this adverse Eid season. They also advised passengers to refrain from traveling on bus roofs, goods-laden truck roofs, open trucks, or train roofs, thereby risking their own lives and those of their families. Furthermore, passengers are urged not to board buses and launches that are unfit for travel.