FROM PAGE 3

Azizul Islam, a passenger of Sraban Paribahan, said, “I had to pay Tk 10 extra to go to Matuil from Gulistan.”

“Bus staffers forced me to pay a much higher fare. The people are now in serious trouble as we were already under pressure due to the constant increase in our daily expenditure with the same income,” he said.

When asked about additional charges, Md Mizan, driver of Moumita Paribahan, said, “We have not received any fare chart yet. Hence, we are taking fare from passengers Tk 2.50 per kilometre.”

This correspondent visited Gulistan around 8:00am yesterday and saw a scarcity of buses during office hours. Service-holder Rafiqul Alam said he had to reach Gulistan on foot from his home to get a bus as he did not get any bus after waiting for 30 minutes.

Mamun, the helper of a Shikar Paribahan bus, said they are not bringing out all of their buses on the road fearing loss as people do not want to accept the new fare.

“We are now waiting for the fare chart from the government,” he said.

Meanwhile, mobile courts set up by Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA) filed 15 cases against buses in Dhaka and Chattogram for overcharging yesterday.

The courts also realised Tk 32,500 as fines from the 15 vehicles, a BRTA official confirmed to this newspaper. A total of 12 mobile courts conducted the drives on the first day of the hike, said the official wishing anonymity.

Moreover, the courts fined 93 vehicles of Tk 2.6 lakh for violating different traffic-related rules. Two vehicles were dumped and two brokers were given jail terms, he said.