The fare should not be increased on the pretext of taking half the passengers in public transport

News Desk: The Bangladesh Passengers Welfare Association has demanded that the transport owners should not raise fares in any way on the pretext of the government's directive to take half of the passengers in public transport to deal with the upward transmission of corona. At the same time, it has been demanded to stop any kind of increase in rent. In a statement sent to the media on Tuesday morning, the organization's secretary general. Mozammel Haque Chowdhury made this demand.

A statement from the Passengers' Welfare Association said the decision to carry only half of the passengers on public transport would be a matter of paper, leaving everything open, including schools, colleges, offices, courts and businesses, in the interest of making a living despite the increase in corona transmission. If the rent is increased again on this pretext, the life of common people will be poisoned. Passengers will have to travel in crowds with increased fares like in the past.

Mozammel Haque Chowdhury said, “Passengers in public transport have decreased in the countries of the world due to the Corona crisis. The fare of public transport in different countries of the world including Nepal, Sri Lanka and Malaysia has not been increased. Although the fare has been increased by 70 per cent in 2021 on the instructions of half the passengers in the public transport of the country, we have an example of 100 per cent increase in fares in some places in the capital.

In such a crisis, on the pretext of increasing bus fares, the fares of Laguna, Tempo, autorickshaws and rickshaws were also multiplied. Which further exacerbated the crisis of declining incomes. Apart from that, there is a crisis of public transport in the whole country including the capital. At normal times, passengers have to travel in batches. The decision to carry half of the passengers in public transport will never be implemented with the image of keeping life and livelihood normal, ”he said.

The group called for strict adherence to the rules of hygiene to prevent infection among public transport passengers, drivers and assistants, use of hand sanitizer when getting on and off passengers, use of disinfectant in a passenger's seat after getting off and use of disinfectant before starting the vehicle.

Besides, Mozammel Haque Chowdhury urged the passengers to use private transport instead of using public transport to travel for treatment or examination on suspicion of coronary infection.

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