DIPANKAR ROY, Khulna

For Moniruzzaman Jamaddar, a resident of Damodar village in Phultala upazila, memories of student life in Khulna are inseparable from the once-vibrant bus services that connected the city with its outskirts.

The 59-year-old NGO official recalls how, in the early 1980s, he would travel nearly 23 kilometres daily to attend classes at Khulna City College and later at Khulna Commerce College.

“Buses would leave every five minutes from Phultala to Rupsha ghat and stop at more than 20 points. They were often packed with passengers,” he told The Daily Star.

For students, the fare was as low as one taka. “It was not just public transport -- it was part of our life,” he reminisced.

But all this is now a distant memory.

Khulna, a city of nearly 1.8 million people, now has no bus service. For the residents -- especially students and low- to middle-income groups -- the absence of city buses has turned daily commute into an expensive and stressful ordeal.

The gap has been filled by three-wheelers, including CNG-run and battery-powered auto-rickshaws and easy bikes. With fuel prices rising, fares have been increased by up to 20 percent in recent weeks, adding to commuters’ financial strain.

Residents say that travelling from one end of the city to the other now costs between Tk 150 and Tk 200 -- a sum many find unaffordable on a daily basis.

Dipa Banerjee, a student of Khulna Government Girls’ College, said, “The distance from Phultala to Rupsha ferry ghat via the dak bungalow is 26 kilometres. If I share an auto-rickshaw ride with someone, I have to pay Tk 70 for the journey,” she said, adding that had there been a city bus service, the fare would have been much lower.

“It is essential to introduce bus services from Phultala to Khulna city and on four to five other routes,” she said.

Akmol Hossain, a jute mill worker from Rupsha upazila, said, “The three-wheeler drivers’ union raised fares on April 5, citing fuel price hikes. I have to pay an additional Tk 10 daily to reach my workplace at Phultala from Rupsha after the fare was increased to Tk 70.”

According to Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA) documents, around 1,250 three-wheelers registered with BRTA operate on the Khulna-Phultala route.

WHY DID BUSES DISAPPEAR?

In the 1990s, more than 60 buses were run by private operators on various routes, including those from Rupsha to Phultala and Shahpur. Students from Jashore and even Narail used to travel via Phultala to BL College, Khulna Commerce College, and Khulna Government Girls’ College, say locals.

Many people from Fakirhat, Mollahat, Rampal, Mongla and other places in Bagerhat relied on these bus services to commute to the city.

“Back then, this was the main mode of transport for lower- and middle-income people,” said Rahmat Ali, who worked as a bus conductor for 15 years.

As recently as 2005, around 50 buses operated within the city, serving as affordable and reliable transport.

But things started changing rapidly after 2010 when CNG- and diesel-run three-wheelers hit the roads in big numbers.

By 2017, the number of city buses dropped to just five before completely going off the road in August 2018.

Meanwhile, in 2016, BRTC “It In

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