Travellers allege bus operators are charging them higher for advance tickets for Eid

Advance sales of bus tickets for travels from Dhaka to the northern and southern parts of Bangladesh for Eid-ul-Fitr travel have begun amid allegations that operators are charging fares higher than normal.

Kazi Mobarak HossainSalahuddin Wahed Pritom and bdnews24.com
Published : 3 July 2015, 05:34 PM
Updated : 3 July 2015, 06:05 PM

Travellers gathered at the bus counters in Dhaka from early in the morning on Friday, the first day of advance ticket sale, to book seats.
 
Many alleged that the bus operators charged them the fare for up to the terminus though they would go halfway.
 
Bus companies, however, have their argument for charging up to the last stop.
 
They said they sold tickets at less-than-the-government-fixed fare in normal time but now they were charging the travellers the fixed rates.
 
Like the previous years, Gabtali bus terminal experienced the greatest rush of ticket-seekers on Friday.
 
Private hospital executive Nawab Ali, who came to Hanif bus counter at Gabtali’s Balurmath to buy tickets for Thakurgaon, said: “They (bus operator) are selling tickets worth Tk 600 at Tk 850.”
 
Ali said he had to pay the fare for Baliadanga though he would go up to Thakurgaon.

Dhaka University student ‘Arnab’, who bought tickets from Hanif bus counter at Kalyanpur, also alleged hefty ticket prices.
 
He said bus operators were charging passengers Tk 650 instead of Tk 480 for a ride to Jessore.
 
Hanif’s Manager (North Zone) Md Wahiduzzaman told bdnews24.com: “We’re selling tickets at the fares written on them. But the fares for the last stop are being charged  irrespective of wherever the passengers get down.”
 
The Eid holidays are from July 17 to 19.
 
Readymade garment factory employee Golam Rabbani stood in a long queue at Hanif counter at Ashulia since early in the morning.
 
He made no attempt to hide his joy on getting his hands on the tickets around 11pm. “I asked for five tickets but got three. I’ll go home this Eid.”
 
Not all those on the queues were as lucky as Rabbani; many of them found the counters had run out of tickets before they reached them.
 
Suhrawardy Medical College physician Manjurul Haq alleged the bus operators had created an ‘artificial crisis’ of tickets to profit more later on.
 
But Shyamoli bus service Counter Manager Montu Kumar Ghosh denied the allegation.