Launch fares have been increased following the rise in fuel prices, with the fare for the first 100 kilometres going up by 23 paisa per kilometre and the rate beyond 100 kilometres by 20 paisa.
Shipping Minister Shaikh Rabiul Alam confirmed the fare hike after a bilateral meeting at the Secretariat on Wednesday afternoon.
He said launch owners had demanded a 15% fare increase, citing higher fuel prices and operating costs, but the government had approved a 7.54% increase considering passengers’ interests.
The minimum launch fare has also been raised from Tk32 to Tk35.
“Fare increases are undesirable. But given the global situation, there was no alternative to raising fuel prices,” the minister said.
He said the government had tried to keep the minimum fare increase as low as possible considering public hardship and had not allowed anyone to act arbitrarily in the name of fare increases or by taking advantage of higher fuel prices.
Earlier, launch owners had sent a letter to the shipping minister seeking a 51–60% increase in fares per passenger per kilometre.
They proposed raising the fare for the first 100 kilometres from the existing Tk2.95 to Tk4.45 per kilometre and the rate for each subsequent kilometre from Tk2.52 to Tk4.02.
Earlier on Wednesday, the Road Transport and Bridges Ministry issued a notification raising bus and minibus fares by 17 paisa per kilometre.
FP/A
