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Cheating in name of sitting service

Rlzanuzzaman Laskar
Sayedabad-bound Delwar Hossain was clinging to the doorpost of the bus. He barely managed to keep his balance and his legs were about to be cramped from standing on toes in the narrow aisle inside the bus.
Suddenly the bus made a sharp turn. Hossain, a senior citizen, went off balance and tumbled over to the passenger standing to his left. Together, they landed on another passenger nearby.
As Hossain struggled to get back on his feet, he yelled out to the helper of the bus, "What's the point of calling it a sitting service where you cannot even stand, let alone sit!"
"If you don't like the service, you can get off. We could use the extra space," answered back the teenage helper.
The arrogant remark made I lossain blush. He went speechless and remained that way for the rest of the ride.
Buses plying various routes in the city openly violate promises by taking in people above the
number of available seats as they are supposed to carry only seated passengers.
Commuters like Hossain are compelled to board such overcrowded buses run by rowdy and ill-mannered transport workers with a growing sense of disappointment.
"They tell the waiting passengers that an empty’ bus is about arrive. You eagerly wait as you see a bus wrapped in signs stating sitting service', 'direct' and time control' approach in the distance. Just when you get ready to get on the bus, you notice th at the bus is already crammed with people. By the time yop realise it, it is too late and you are already in. said Delwar Hossain, a resident ofMugdapara.
They overcharge passengers in the name of 'sitting' or 'counter services, but the services are as poor as local services. The helpers and drivers are also unqualified and incredibly ill-mannered," he said.
Shiuly Rahman, a regular passenger on Karwan Bazar-Uttara route, said she has to stand ali the way to Uttara in
these so-called 'sitting service' buses.
"It is quite inconvenient because some of the new buses imported from China do not have hand rails to hold on to and the aisles are very narrow. Another type of bus has the hand rails mounted so high on the ceiling that even a man of average height cannot reach those," she said.
According to Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA) officials, 'sitting' and 'direct' services are more like gimmicks that are offered by transportation companies and there is no specific law regarding this matter.
Majority of the bus services are doing brisk businesses while they deceive their passengers by using these catchy labels, said commuters.
As there is no effective and hassle-free mechanism in force in the country to report transport-related complaints, the helpless commuters do not bother protesting these types of activities.
As expected, sources at traffic department of police said they
never received any complaint about the so-called 'direct' or 'sitting' bus services.
The police officials however said that the offenders would be penalized on the spot if the allegation is proved.
"I'm never gonna get a seat in a bus during rush hours even if I waited for another five hours, so it does not really bother me. All I want is an affordable transportation to get home safe," said Moin Ullah Chowdhury, a regular commuter on Ramna- Badda route.
Ahsanul Huq, an HSC examinee and a regular commuter on Uttara-Dhanmondi route, said the bus services are horrible.
"The drivers are always rushing for their destinations and trying to squeeze in as many passengers as possible. They accelerate real quick and abruptly hit the breaks frequently. It is dangerous to ride these buses, but do we really have any alternative?" said Ahsan.
Sources at BRIA said trans port associations or their sponsors usually offer special monetary incentives to the transport
workers for carrying more passengers.
The BRTA, with its limited authority and manpower, have no capacity to monitor the bus services, the sources added.
"BRTA is aware of the problem. However, we lack both manpower and other resources to tackle it. The only authority that can do something about this is the traffic department," said an operations department official at BRTA.
Bus drivers and their helpers, however, explained the situation from a different angle.
"It's not that we enjoy watching people go through all this trouble. In fact, we used to discourage passengers from boarding the bus after all the seats get filled up," said Jalal Hossain, a bus driver running on Motijheel-Dhanmondi route.
"But there arc just too many people nowadays, and they need to get to their destinations in time. We are compelled to carry them. While it may be inconve nient for many, passengers should try to accommodate others,” he said.