Fuel price hikes can’t mean a free-for-all on transport fares

Diesel price increases have always translated into hikes in transport fares. But why must they always be so indiscriminate and punishing for ordinary people? In the last five months, diesel prices have risen twice; this time it has gone up by Tk 35 per litre. This increases the cost of almost all kinds of transport—passenger buses, trains, launches, trucks carrying goods, covered vans and ships, all of which run on diesel.

So far, the government has decided on the increase in bus and minibus fares but not for air-conditioned buses or for goods-carrying trucks and covered vans. This has given the operators the license to charge whatever they want. But even before the government issued the gazette notification on transport fares, buses started to charge higher fares to passengers. Already they are charging an additional Tk 50 to Tk 200. Trucks and covered vans are charging even more arbitrarily. Truck owners have been reportedly charging an additional Tk 4,000 to Tk 6,000 on some routes. The increase in fuel prices also impacts the handling of import-export containers, as the machinery and vehicles that operate in depots are diesel-powered. Even launch fares have increased by 17 to 20 percent.

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Share the fuel-cost burden fairly

As we know, higher transport fares and fees run the risk of increasing inflation and a rise in poverty. At a time when inflation has already been high (8.26 in August) and wages rising at a slower pace, a rise in transport costs will lead to higher food prices and service fees, leaving an even bigger burden on ordinary people.

During a global fuel crisis and the prolonged conflict in the Middle East, fuel price increases perhaps were inevitable. In the transport sector, the government should have made it clear that operators could not capriciously raise passenger fares, freight charges, or service fees until receiving formal approval from the relevant authority and publishing of the revised fares.

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Managing Bangladesh’s latest fuel price shock

The government should now take control of the situation. It can do the math to determine fares based on the actual costs incurred by operators because of the fuel price rise. That way, operators will not be able to indiscriminately hike up fares and fees. Decisions should be coordinated between all the operators and the government should instruct transport authorities to charge the existing fares until the official revision.

Since the government does not set fares for certain services such as AC buses and goods-carrying vehicles, it could make it mandatory for these operators to justify proposed increases and, if officially approved, notify customers in advance. People should know about the newly approved fares, which should be published and displayed at terminals and online so that they are not overcharged. The government must anticipate immediate and long-term impacts of major decisions such as fuel-price increases on people’s lives. It must have clear rules, proper enforcement and transparent price mechanisms across the entire transport sector.