Amid the ongoing student protests, Bangladesh Road Transport Owners Association has announced to take half bus fare from students in all metropolitan cities of the country including Chattogram. Like Dhaka, students of other metropolitan cities will pay half bus fare from 8 am to 8 pm. Therefore, the students must carry their identity (ID) card with photographs, issued by their educational institution. Half fare will not be applicable for students on public holidays.
Following a 23 percent hike in the diesel price, the government increased the bus fare by 27 percent on November 7 under the request of transport owners. Since then, the students have been protesting across the country demanding half bus fare.
The initiative taken
by the owners association
is commendable
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The initiative taken by the owners association is commendable and they should now make sure that this decision of taking half fare from students is implemented. Students should make sure that they obey all the rational demands made by the bus owners. Students should always carry their ID cards if they want to get half fare.
It is really great to see that the bus owners have ultimately met the students' demand. The recent protest of the students was based on two demands, one was to half bus fare and the other was the safety of them in the public transports. While the government along authorities concerned took a sensible decision to reduce the bus fare by half, still no concrete initiatives were taken to safeguard students’ safety, especially of girls on public transport. The authorities should now look into this matter seriously and call for strict action.