Road Transport and Bridges, Railways and Shipping Minister Shaikh Rabiul Alam has said the minimum fare was increased considering public hardship.
He made the remarks in response to a question while briefing reporters about the launch fare hike after a bilateral meeting at the Secretariat on Wednesday afternoon.
The minister said launch fares were increased after bus fares following a rise in fuel prices. However, no decision has yet been made on whether train fares will also be increased.
He said there is strong pressure from the Railways Ministry to raise fares this time. Otherwise, losses will increase further. However, he said no decision has yet been made to increase train fares. He said the government is trying to keep the existing fares unchanged without increasing them.
He said the government is making every effort not to raise train fares. If fares have to be increased, the increase will be reasonable. However, no decision has been made so far to increase fares.
Regarding the launch fare hike, he said launch owners had demanded a 15 percent increase, considering the rise in fuel prices and management costs. However, considering the passengers, the fare was increased by 7.5 four percent.
Besides, the minimum fare was previously Tk32. It has now been increased to Tk35.
Shaikh Rabiul Alam said fare increases are not desirable. But due to the global situation, there was no alternative to increasing fuel prices. So, considering public hardship, the government tried to keep the minimum fare increase as low as possible.
He said the government did not allow anyone to create disorder in the name of fare increases or take advantage of the fuel price hike to act arbitrarily.
In response to a question, he said CNG prices have not increased. Therefore, there is no scope to increase fares for CNG-powered vehicles. If any information is found that someone is charging extra fares, necessary action will be taken.
FP/A
