Eid travels: Soaring fares, ticket shortages force Savar holidayers onto cargo trucks

Priced out of buses, desperate travellers are turning to unsafe cargo trucks to reach their families

With Eid drawing near, the journey home has turned perilous for hundreds of low-income workers in Savar, who are clambering onto cargo trucks in desperation as soaring bus fares and vanishing tickets shut them out of safer travel.

As the holiday exodus gathers pace, a steady flow of workers has poured onto highways in a bid to reunite with their families.

But for many, conventional transport has slipped out of reach, forcing them onto unsafe alternatives.

Roksana Akter, a garment worker, said: “I couldn’t get a bus ticket, and even if I could, the fare was double. I have to go home with my family, so I’m forced to take a truck.”

Scenes along the Dhaka–Aricha and Nabinagar–Chandra highways showed hundreds of passengers packed onto cargo trucks heading both north and south.

Men, women, and children sat on tarpaulin sheets spread over goods, while some climbed aboard using ladders.

Many said they had no other option, as tickets were either unavailable or beyond their means.

A large number of garment workers from Savar and Ashulia are now relying on trucks and pick-up vans as their only affordable transport.

Savar Highway Police chief Sheikh Shahjahan said: “Travelling on open trucks or on top of cargo is extremely dangerous. Intense sun, dust, and fast-moving vehicles can cause serious accidents at any time.”

Despite ongoing enforcement, many continue to undertake these hazardous journeys, underscoring the perils of the Eid travel rush.