Transport syndicate set to extort Tk 832cr from Eid travellers: Jatri Kalyan Samity

A powerful transport syndicate has started extorting Tk 832.30 crore from over 1.5 crore Eid travellers as "tips," forcing them to pay exorbitant extra fares, according to a report by the Bangladesh Jatri Kalyan Samity.

The report, presented by Secretary-General, Md Mozammel Haque Chowdhury at a press conference at the Dhaka Reporters' Unity on Wednesday, highlighted widespread fare irregularities across road, rail, water and air transport, UNB reports.

Between March 20 and March 31, approximately 22.74 crore passenger trips will take place in Dhaka, driven by Eid shopping and travel to home districts. Of these, 1.5 crore people will leave Dhaka for their hometowns.

Despite government efforts to regulate fares, 98 percent of public transport operators are charging excessive amounts, the report states. Fare hikes are primarily attributed to inflation, extortion, employee Eid bonuses, and owners' profit motives.

Besides, the absence of passenger representatives in monitoring teams has made oversight ineffective. Jatri Kalyan Samity also presented figures for how much would be extorted from passengers using each mode of transportation, with long-distance buses and minibuses taking Tk 90 crore extra from 30 lakh passengers and city buses taking Tk 12 crore from 40 lakh trips.

The Bangladesh Jatri Kalyan Samity emphasised that the fare hikes are exacerbating the cost of living, encouraging corruption, and increasing road accidents.

To curb these issues, it urged authorities to introduce digital fare collection, ban cash transactions, use CCTV for fare monitoring, and improve transport governance.

Present at the press conference were newly elected Chairman Mohammad Zakaria, former election commission secretary Syed Ahmad, former Dhaka Transport Coordination Authority executive director Mahmudul Hasan Russell, and Mohammad Alauddin Masud.