Up to false CRISIS

Commuters continued to suffer yesterday on the second day of BRTA's drive against “seating”, “gate-lock”, “nonstop” and other so-called special bus services as many owners kept their buses off the streets to artificially create a transport crisis in the capital.

Failing to get transport, many walked to their destination while some had to spend extra money for hiring CNG-run auto-rickshaws.

“They [bus operators] haven't plied their buses to artificially create a transport crisis, thinking that they would be able to take benefits from the crisis and continue charging passengers extra later on,” said a member of Dhaka Sarak Paribahan Malik Samity, wishing not to be named.

Recently, the Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA) and the transport owners announced that no public transport would operate in the city in the name of “special” services from Sunday.

The same day, the BRTA launched the drive against the unauthorised services.

Bus operators have long been charging passengers extra with these unauthorised services.

“The announcement came straight from the owners association but their own men are keeping their buses off the road,” said Rimon Hossain, one of those who suffered on the road yesterday.

“It seems we're nothing but toys of the government and the bus operators.”

The 21-year-old was looking for a bus near Asad Gate to go to his university in Uttara. He waited there for over an hour but did not get one. Frustrated, he walked to Farmgate only to discover that hundreds of others were waiting there for transport. Sometime later, he managed to get into a Dhaka Paribahan bus, which was heading towards Uttara.

This correspondent saw people standing on streets looking for buses in Farmgate, Jatrabari, Bijoy Sarani and other nearby areas throughout the day yesterday. Usually, these places remain crammed by vehicles.

Lucky Aktar and her daughter Tanima Aktar were among those people.

They had gone to Bangabandhu Medical College Hospital to see a doctor. Failing to get a direct bus to return to their home in Uttara, they came to Farmgate in a bus of Trust Transport Service. They, however, could not board the direct bus, which was overcrowded, and later got into a CNG near Farmgate.

Talking to The Daily Star, Assistant Commissioner of Traffic (Tejgaon) Adibul Islam said a fewer number of buses plied the city streets yesterday.

Commuters in the city have not suffered this way for the first time.

In February, people went through untold sufferings after transport workers and leaders enforced a baseless strike to protest a court verdict sentencing a bus driver to life imprisonment.

The punishment was handed down to the man in a case filed over the deaths of acclaimed filmmaker Tareque Masud, media personality Mishuk Munier and three others in a road accident.

In 2015, bus workers went on another strike in protest of sentencing a bus helper to one-month imprisonment by the BRTA and the alleged beating up of a bus driver by police.

Meanwhile, five BRTA mobile courts yesterday filed 119 cases against several bus operators and fined them Tk 3,60,500 for various offences, including running the “special” services and demanding high fares from passengers.

Wishing not to be named, the member of Dhaka Sarak Paribahan Malik Samity, told The Daily Star, “They [bus owners] thought nothing would happen this time. They thought they would be able to continue running the special services by slipping through the lax monitoring [by law enforcers] like they did in the past.”

He claimed that the association had no “direct control” over the bus companies, which is formed by individuals.

SOME COMPLIED, SOME VIOLATED

Some of the transport owners, who had been operating buses in the capital in the name of “special” services, yesterday charged passengers less than before while some others continued to charge them extra money.

“Raida”, which operates buses between Postogola and Gazipur via Rampura, continued to take high fares from passengers. Their lowest fare was Tk 15.

Asked, Sumon, conductor of one of the buses, said they were directed not to accept low fares from the passengers.

However, Shikor Paribahan which charged high fares on Sunday reduced its fare yesterday by Tk 5 from Tk 30 for a journey from Jatrabari to Mirpur-10.

Another bus from the company was seen taking just Tk 5 from a man who travelled from Shahbagh to Farmgate. The fare was much higher before.

Contacted, Abul Kalam, president of Sayedabad Bus Malik Samity, said bus owners were in the habit of charging passengers extra and it would take some time to discipline them.

“Law is utterly neglected in the transport sector. Passengers' right is being violated completely, people are being victimised and some corrupt people are making quick money through illegal means,” said Mozammel Haque Chowdhury, secretary general of Bangladesh Jatri Kalyan Samity, a platform of passengers.

When the fare was fixed, the number of seats and the “standing passengers” inside buses were not taken into consideration. In addition to that, bus owners added at least 10 seats to increase profit, he said.

“Now, when people will travel standing on buses, they [bus owners] will make more profit,” he said.

BRTA'S THREAT

BRTA Chairman Moshiar Rahman said route permit would be cancelled if any transport owner kept their buses off the street.

When a route permit is given, a bus company is directed to ensure smooth and comfortable journey of city commuters.

“Since the withdrawal [of buses] has caused sufferings of people, we'll cancel route permits of these companies,” he said adding they prepared show cause notices to be served upon some companies, including VIP Bus Service which did not operate any bus yesterday on its route -- Gazipur and Dhakeswari via Asadgate.

MAN BEATEN BY DRIVER'S HELPERS

Meanwhile, the helpers of a driver of a bus 'Jabale Nur' beat up a producer of private television channel, Channel 71, after he refused to pay them high fares yesterday.

A case was being filed, said Nazrul Islam, officer-in-charge of Mirpur Police Station.

Source: thedailystar