Bangladesh Roads Minister Obaidul Quader takes public transport to go to office

Some bus commuters in Dhaka spoke to Obaidul Quader about their problems when the road transport and bridges minister took a bus ride to work on Thursday.

At 9:50am, he bought a ticket at the Farmgate bus stand and waited in a queue for a ride to his office, Bridges Division Public Relations Officer Walid Foyes told bdnews24.com.

The minister took a BRTC bus and got off at the National Press Club at 10:40am. "From there he walked to the Secretariat,” the official said.

The minister took time to speak to his fellow passengers during the journey. He was accompanied by his APS and a gunman in plainclothes.

“The minister didn’t tell anybody he would be travelling by bus. No members of the press were covering the incident.”

The minister did, however, post pictures of the bus ride on his Facebook wall.

“Many passengers were amazed to see the minister on the bus. One man even left his seat so the minister could sit, but the minister declined,” said an official of the ministry.

The minister spoke to many passengers on the bus and asked them to share their travel experiences with him.

“One passenger told the minister that fans hardly worked on public buses. With the help of the passengers the minister conducted an examination of the bus and found that only one of the 12 fans was working. The minister immediately called the manager of the Motijheel BRTC depot,” the official said.

The passengers also complained they had to wait for long periods at the Farmgate traffic signal during rush hours because of traffic headed from Asad Gate to Motijheel and Gulistan.

The minister assured them he would try to find a solution to the problem.

A few students alleged some bus services did not permit students to travel at half the fare.