A proposal of Tk 5.0 per kilometre for a 20-kilometre metro ride from Diabari to Motijheel in Dhaka city awaits approval from the authorities concerned.
Sources say an MRT fare-fixing committee proposed the total fare for the 20.1 km mass rapid transit line-06 (MRT-06) at Tk 100 with a minimum of Tk 20.
The rate has been proposed based on the users' affordability, they add.
The proposal is being reviewed by Road Transport and Highways Division before placing it to Road Transport and Bridges Minister who will give the final nod.
The sources, however, cite that the fare policy may be changed from the minister's side.
Dhaka Mass Transit Company Limited (DMTCL), the owner of the metro rail, plans to open the Diabari-Agargaon 11.7-kilometre line by this December.
More than 92-per cent work in this part has been completed till now.
Overall progress in the work on the Tk 220-billion project is 80.10 per cent.
But the seven-member fare committee has been working more than 18 months since it was formed in September 2020 under the Dhaka Transport Coordination Authority.
The committee took more than a year to start working on fare calculation after its first meeting in December 2021 for not having any guideline to assess the fares.
The DMTCL later placed two proposals, prepared with the help of its consultants, based on two models -- affordability and operational costs.
It is learnt that the first proposal based on operation and maintenance costs recommended the total 20-km fare over Tk 160 when compared to other countries.
But the affordability model proposed the minimum and maximum fares Tk 20 and Tk 90 respectively.
The operating cost of the MRT lines usually is Tk 50 million a day.
The committee considered the affordability first by comparing fares of different modes of transport, including air-conditioned bus, in the country.
The fares of AC buses are, however, fixed by operators by their own assessment.
