In the wake of recent fuel price hike, the bus service operators in the city have increased the fare arbitrarily, sparking protests from the passengers.

The government formed a committee in the second week of the last month to assess the need for revising the bus fare and submit a report within 10 days, but it is yet to submit its report.

Several city bus services are now charging higher rate, leading to altercations between passengers and bus staffs. The additional fare ranges between Tk 1 and 2 depending on the distance.

The government had fixed the existing bus fare in 2003 -- Tk 0.72 per kilometre for 52-seat buses and Tk 0.75 for minibuses.

Two types of bus service, known as seating service and local service, are now operating in the city. Several seating services have now

raised the fare on the pretext of fuel price hike and the new rate is now almost double the rate charged by the local service.

But the transport owners claimed that they are not charging higher than the rate fixed by the government.

M Abdul Hamid Sharif, convenor of the Urban Transport Companies Association of Bangladesh, said, "The bus operators are not taking extra fare, they have only adjusted the fare according to the government decision."

A total of 1800 buses, including 180 CNG-run and 1620 diesel-run vehicles, are plying 34 routes in the city under the association, he said.

The government committee on the transport fare, headed by the then Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA) Chairman Farruk Ahmed, was formed by the communications ministry on June 8.

Dr MA Momen, the new chairman, said he is now looking into the

matter.

"The date of submitting the report has already been extended till July 8," he added.

The other members of the committee included representatives from the Bangladesh Sarak Paribahan Samity, Bangladesh Bus Truck Owners' Association and other related bodies.

Saiful Alam, general secretary of Bangladesh Sarak Paribahan Samity, said the committee members will take into consideration the price variation of the petroleum products, vehicle's model, distance and many other factors while refixing the fare.

He also said the committee would sit soon to take a decision on revising the bus fare.

Saiful also claimed that no Samity members operating buses on inter-district routes are taking extra fare.