The New CNG Run-Auto Fare: Govt Must Ensure Enforcement At Any Cost

The government's declaration to cancel the license of CNG-run auto-rickshaw drivers and road-permit of these vehicles, if seriously implemented, may help to address the long-standing problem of excess fare being paid by the helpless commuters since 2002, when this vehicle was first introduced on the roads of capital Dhaka, although passengers and drivers of the said transports have expressed deep skepticism about the successful implementation of the newly-announced fares for CNG-run auto-rickshaws by the government from January next year.

This is for the fourth time that the fare of the CNG-run auto-rickshaw has been revised by the government since its introduction in Bangladesh. Though unfortunate, but from the very beginning, neither the owners nor the drivers have ever stuck to the approved rates. The complaint of higher charges by the drivers from the passengers and by the owners from the drivers has always been there.

The decisions, taken at a meeting on Thursday, with communications minister Syed Abul Hossain in the chair, re-fixed the fares and daily rents of auto-rickshaws plying on the roads of Dhaka and Chittagong, with effect from 1 January 2011. Senior officials of the Bangladesh Road Transport Authority and representatives of auto-rickshaw owners and drivers, along with others, were present at the meeting.

As per the revised fare, commuters will have to pay Tk 25 instead of current Tk 14 for the first two kilometres (km) while the charge for each subsequent km will be Tk 7 instead of Tk 6 and the waiting charge per minute will be Tk 1.25 instead of Tk one. The auto drivers will have to pay per day Tk 600 instead of Tk 450 per CNG-run auto-rickshaw to its owners as non-refundable deposit money.

The charges were last revised in April 2008, raising the fare for the first two kms from Tk 13.5 to Tk 14. The original fare fixed in 2002 for the first two kilometres was Tk 12 and Tk 5 for each ensuing kilometre, and the driver's daily rent to the owner was fixed at Tk 300. But, unfortunately, the drivers have always been charging minimum Tk 10-20 more than the fixed rates from the passengers on the plea that they have to pay at least Tk 200 more than the fixed rate as rent to the owners.

Md Mozammel Haque Khan, Secretary, Roads and Railways Division, told the reporters after the meeting that the government took the decision to revise the fare in response to the demands of the auto-rickshaw owners and drivers, and after taking into consideration the present market price, and also for the sake of passengers who usually complain that the drivers charge much more than the approved rates. What the Hon'ble Minister has said is nothing new. These complaints from respective parties have always been there and respective fares have also been raised in not too distant a past. But, what the government needs to see is how far the moves have been successful and whether they have gone in favour of the suffering commuters or not.

Currently, a person travelling in a CNG-run auto-rickshaw from Banani to Gulshan 1 has to pay minimum Tk 70 to 80 on normal days. Now, with the raised fare if the passenger has to pay minimum Tk 100, then the government move would only go in vain. In fact, most of the drivers and passengers have long forgotten the government rates as charging and paying higher fares have become the norm in this country.

A CNG auto-rickshaw driver observed that unless the government took effective measures to stop the owners of CNG  driven vehicles from charging higher deposit money from the drivers it would never be possible for them to run the vehicles as per the  government designated rates. He also noted that unless measures to ease the traffic congestion, withdraw the six-hourly closure of CNG filling stations and increase the number of auto-rickshaws in the city were taken on a priority basis, the success of the government measure rested on doubts.  

It is thus very important that the owners should not be void of conscience they must think of all the players in the game and not only about themselves. They must not give the vehicles to whoever pays the most. According to BRTA, there are around 30,000 drivers in the city and only 13,000 auto-rickshaws which has given rise to an unhealthy competition among the drivers to get the vehicles, even if it means paying higher deposits.

Besides, the government should take extra care so that like similar moves taken in the past, this time also, its efforts do not end up without bearing any positive result. In addition to implementing the new rates through a committee, headed by a senior BRTA official, and mobile courts, and cancellation of the driver's license and road-permit of the vehicle, the government should also introduce harsh legal measures for violating the fare rates or harassing passengers. And, in such cases, vehicle's owner registration may also be cancelled.