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Bus owners call themselves poor, demand subsidy

Second round of BRTA-bus owners talks fails

Published : Sunday, 28 November, 2021 at 12:00 AM  Count : 513

A female student chanting full-throated slogan at Dhanmondi in the capital on Saturday demanding road safety, justice for the death of fellow student Nayeem Hasan and students' concession on bus fare.   	PHOTO: OBSERVER

A female student chanting full-throated slogan at Dhanmondi in the capital on Saturday demanding road safety, justice for the death of fellow student Nayeem Hasan and students' concession on bus fare. PHOTO: OBSERVER

The second meeting between the Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA) and the bus owners over fare concessions for students ended inconclusively on Saturday.
Amid heated protests by students demanding a 50 per cent discount on bus fares, the BRTA held a meeting with representatives of transport owners. However, no decision was taken finally regarding the demand during the two-hour long meeting at BRTA head office at Banani in the capital.
Transport owners refused to budge. Instead, they reiterated the demand for  subsidy to offer the concession to students, claiming most of the bus owners in Dhaka are 'poor.'
Rather, the bus owners asked the BRTA authorities to form a task force to determine their demand of subsidy at the meeting.
After the meeting, the BRTA urged agitating students to remain calm, saying it would take time to reach a decision on the issue.
BRTA Chairman Nur Mohammad Mazumder said, "This was a continuation of the talks held on November 25. Transport owners and workers have tabled many proposals. They wanted details of the number of educational institutions and students in Dhaka city."
"The issue of giving separate identity cards to students in case a concession
was granted also came up for discussion. There was a proposal to form a task force with officials from Education and Home ministries, BRTA and transport stakeholders to look into the matter," the BRTA Chairman added.
Meanwhile, Bangladesh Road Transport Owners Association Secretary General Khandaker Enayet Ullah said, "In Dhaka, 80 per cent of the bus owners are poor. They depend on one or two buses for their income. Their children also go to schools or colleges."
"The transport owners and workers are proposing a subsidy for this reason before deciding on the issue of discounted fares. We have to decide where the subsidy will come from," he added.
At the same time, students were protesting on the capital's streets once again to demand safe roads following the death of Notre Dame College student Nayeem Hasan, who was run over by a city corporation garbage truck.
According to the traffic police's control room, protesters from several colleges began occupying the streets of Asad Gate and Dhanmondi 27 around 12:00 pm on Saturday. A group of students also blocked the Uttara House Building area around 11:00am.
The government increased bus fares by 26 per cent under pressure from transport owners after a 23 per cent increase in diesel prices. Since then, the students have been protesting for half the bus fare. The death of Notre Dame College student Nayeem on Wednesday added a new dimension to the protests.
The demonstrations paralysed traffic system in Dhaka city on Thursday. They ended protest vowing to return to the streets on Saturday unless their demands, including justice for Nayeem and a concession on bus fares, were met.
Later on Friday, Road Transport and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader announced that Bangladesh Road Transport Corporation (BRTC) administered buses will charge half fare from students across the country and it will be effective from December 1 this year.








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