BRTA recommends 18 paisa bus fare hikes in cities and 20 paisa on long routes

Following the increase in fuel prices, the Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA) has taken an initiative to adjust bus fares. The agency has recommended increasing bus fares in metropolitan areas by 18 paisa per kilometer and long route bus fares by 20 paisa per kilometer. It has also recommended keeping the minimum fare unchanged at Tk 10 for buses and Tk 8 for minibuses.

The recommendations were discussed at a meeting of the fare adjustment committee held at the BRTA office in Banani on Monday, 21 September.

A member of the committee who attended the meeting told Agamir Somoy about the recommendations. He said, “An increase of 18 paisa per kilometer has been recommended for city service buses and 20 paisa for long route buses. However, there is a proposal to keep the minimum fare unchanged.”

Sources concerned said transport owners had proposed increasing fares by at least 40 paisa. However, after discussions, the committee recommended a lower fare increase.

The BRTA will now send the proposal to the government. The Road Transport and Bridges Ministry will make the final decision. A gazette notification on the matter may be issued by Tuesday, 22 September.

On Sunday night, the government announced an increase in the prices of four types of fuel. The price of each fuel was increased by Tk 20 per liter.

As a result, diesel increased from Tk 115 to Tk 135, kerosene from Tk 135 to Tk 155, octane from Tk 145 to Tk 165 and petrol from Tk 140 to Tk 160. The new prices took effect from Monday.

A large portion of public transport runs on diesel. As the price of diesel increased by Tk 20 at once, bus operating costs have increased. The initiative to set new fares was taken considering the additional costs.

The meeting also took other operating costs of buses into account alongside fuel expenses.

Earlier in April this year, bus fares were adjusted after fuel prices increased. At that time, the price of diesel increased by Tk 15 per liter to Tk 115.

In a gazette issued on April 23, the fare for long route buses was increased from Tk 2.12 to Tk 2.23 per kilometer. The fare for buses in Dhaka and Chattogram metropolitan areas was increased from Tk 2.42 to Tk 2.53 per kilometer. The fare for minibuses in the Dhaka Transport Coordination Authority area was set at Tk 2.43 per kilometer from Tk 2.32.

Earlier, in August 2022, the price of diesel was increased from Tk 80 to Tk 114 per liter. At that time, long route bus fares were increased by 40 paisa per kilometer and metropolitan bus fares by 35 paisa per kilometer.

Later, after the price of diesel was reduced by Tk 5, the fare for long route buses was reduced from Tk 2.20 to Tk 2.15 per kilometer on August 31 of that year. The fare for buses in Dhaka and Chattogram metropolitan areas was reduced from Tk 2.50 to Tk 2.45 per kilometer.

In April 2024, the BRTA also took an initiative to adjust fares after the price of diesel fell by Tk 3 per liter. At that time, the BRTA recommended reducing fares for diesel powered long route and metropolitan buses by 3 paisa per kilometer.