Bangladesh’s transport owners have proposed raising bus fares by 20 paisa per kilometre after the government increased diesel prices by 20 taka a litre, setting up another rise in public transport costs just five months after the last fare increase.

The Bangladesh Road Transport Owners Association submitted the proposal to the Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA) during a meeting at its Banani headquarters on Monday evening.

Under the proposal, inter-district bus fares would rise to 2.43 taka per kilometre from 2.23 taka, an increase of nearly 9%. Fares for city buses would increase to 2.73 taka from 2.53 taka per kilometre, or almost 8%.

ASM Ahmed Khokon, additional secretary general of the association, said owners had proposed a formula under which fares would rise by one paisa per kilometre for every one taka increase in the price of fuel.

With diesel rising by 20 taka a litre, the owners are therefore seeking a 20-paisa increase.

BRTA will send the proposal to the relevant ministry, which will make the final decision, Khokon said.

The proposal follows the government’s decision to raise the prices of four major petroleum products by 20 taka per litre. Diesel increased to 135 taka from 115 taka per litre, while petrol rose to 160 taka from 140 taka. Octane increased to 165 taka from 145 taka and kerosene to 155 taka from 135 taka. The increases took effect on Monday.

The government last raised bus fares on April 23, after diesel prices increased by 15 taka per litre.

At the time, fares were raised by 11 paisa per kilometre. Inter-district fares increased to 2.23 taka from 2.12 taka per kilometre, while fares in Dhaka and Chattogram metropolitan areas rose to 2.53 taka from 2.42 taka. Minibus fares within the Dhaka Transport Coordination Authority area increased to 2.43 taka from 2.32 taka.

Transport owners had initially sought a much larger 28-paisa increase in April, citing higher maintenance costs and the depreciation of the taka. The government ultimately approved an 11-paisa rise. Road Transport and Bridges Minister Shaikh Rabiul Alam said at the time that the increase based solely on fuel costs would have been about 15 paisa, but the rate was reduced after discussions with stakeholders.

The April increase itself reversed an earlier reduction. In April 2024, the government cut inter-district fares by three paisa, to 2.12 taka from 2.15 taka per kilometre, after diesel prices fell. Dhaka and Chattogram city fares were similarly reduced to 2.42 taka from 2.45 taka.

Khokon said the association had not authorised any fare increase yet. His comments came amid reports that some operators had already raised fares by as much as 50 taka per passenger.

Any new fare will require government approval.

--