Bangladesh
Bus Fare | Mobile Court 18 bus drivers fined Tk 42,500 for overcharging passengers
Dhaka, November 11: After the increase in the price of fuel oil, the government has increased the bus fare and listed the increased fare on all routes. However, most of the buses plying in the capital do not have that list. Passengers allege that drivers and supervisors are charging extra fares from them without posting lists. The Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) has conducted mobile courts at various points of the capital to stop the collection of extra fare on buses and has fined 18 bus drivers a total of Tk 42,500.
DMP Executive Magistrate Rafiqul Haque conducted a mobile court on the road adjacent to Kalabagan Police Box in the capital on Wednesday (November 10). DMP Executive Magistrate Dr Sanjeev Das conducted the mobile court at the Institution of Engineers in Shahbag. A mobile court of two executive magistrates of DMP in Kalabagan and Shahbag fined 18 buses Tk 42,500.
Buses going to Asadgate via Azimpur-New Market were stopped at Kalabagan signal. The executive magistrate stopped at least 25 vehicles and checked whether extra fare was being charged and whether there was a list of increased fare in the vehicles. At that time most buses did not put up the rental list. There was also evidence of buses charging higher fares than the one set up by government.
DMP's executive magistrate filed a case against the drivers of eight vehicles in Kalabagan on these allegations and fined them Tk 18,500. Ten buses were fined Tk 24,000 for charging more than the stipulated fare in the Engineers Institution area.
According to reports, many buses diverted their routes after learning of the mobile court's presence in Kalabagan. They did not enter Mirpur Road. The vehicles that were plying the route also returned the extra fare to the passengers before being caught by the magistrate.
