Home-bound passengers for Eid have alleged the some workers of long-route bus services were charging them extra money for advance tickets.The country’s main railway station, Kamalapur Railway Station, was overwhelmed with crowds on Saturday. The scene of all the bus counters in Dhaka’s Kalyanpur, Gabtoli and Technical areas, however, was different.
Passengers of AK Travels were charged an extra Tk 100 for each ticket to Khulna, Satkhira and Jessore.
“The bus owners increase bus fares every year as common people become hostages ahead of Eid,” Rafique Ahmed, who went to Kalyanpur to buy a ticket to Rangpur, told bdnews24.com.
“We are often told that there is no ticket if we don’t agree to pay the extra money,” he added.
Abu Azad, a Khulna-bound passenger, at Shohag Paribahan counter, said he paid the extra amount for an advance ticket.
“There is no other way. We are at their mercy,” he said.
The staff of Hanif Enterprise claimed they did not raise any fare ahead of the festival.
But Delwar Hossain said he gave an extra Tk 200 for buying his ticket to Barisal.
Talking to bdnews24.com Shohag Paribahan Counter Manager Solaiman Hossain admitted charging extra money. “We used to take Tk 550 and Tk 480 from Khulna-bound and Jessore-bound passengers. Now we are taking Tk 620.”
He, however, said fare rise was due to a hike in oil prices. – bdnews24.com
