The previous fare of public buses has been restored as the government normalised the country's transport system from Tuesday.
Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA) allowed bus operators to sit their passengers next to each other from today.
The BRTA, however, set two criteria for the bus operators: every passenger must have a face mask and busses will not allow standing passengers.
Most of the bus operators started taking previous bus fare after getting permission for such seating arrangement, the FE correspondent found.
However, short-distance travellers had to pay much higher fares compared to the fares they paid before the pandemic began, they claimed.
Oliar Rahman, a state-run Bank employee, told the FE that he previously paid Tk 25 to go to Doinikbanglar Mor from Mohammadpur bus stop.
The fare was increased to Tk 40 from June 1 when the government started public transport after two-month lockdown.
Fare for routes namely Mirpur-Azimpur, Mirpur-Shahbagh-Gulistan, Farmgate-Mirpur-Airport and others also became normal, according to different sources.
However, people who ride buses for short-distance travel had to pay a higher fare.
Md Iqramul Hoque, who was going to Katabon from the National Press Club was charged Tk 15 for this short route, the FE correspondent found.
Galib Hosain, a bus conductor of Bahon Paribahan, said they are not allowing any standing passengers.
The lowest fare has been set at Tk 15 per 'way bill' for which a passenger had to pay the amount even if he or she travels two or three kilometres.
The bus and minibus fare was Tk 1.70 per kilometer within the Dhaka city, fixed by the BRTA in 2016.
Following the spread of the pandemic, bus operators were allowed to fill only half of the total seating capacity from June 1.
The fare was then raised by 60 per cent to Tk 2.72 per kilometre by the BRTA.
However, the fare returned to its previous state from Tuesday with its normal seating arrangements.
Khandaker Enayetullah, secretary-general of Bangladesh Road Transport Owners Association, said stern action will be taken against operators if found guilty of realising higher fare.
The bus operators have also been instructed not to allow passengers without facemasks, he added.
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