Bus operators across Bangladesh overcharged approximately 234,000 Eid travellers a combined Tk 5 crore 61 lakh 93 thousand on 26 out of 27 monitored long-distance routes, the Bangladesh Jatri Kalyan Samity (passenger welfare association) said Wednesday, exposing what it called a systemic breakdown of fare discipline during the festive travel season.

The finding covers only 27 of the roughly 850 long-haul routes operating nationwide during the Eid-ul-Azha holiday period, suggesting the actual scale of overcharging could be significantly higher.

In a statement, the organisation said the Bangladesh Road Transport Owners' Association had publicly pledged not to charge extra fares this Eid, a promise it described as having been flouted almost universally. “The anarchy of excess fare collection is continuing on city services and long-distance buses across the country.”

Monitoring data revealed sharp disparities between official and charged fares on major corridors. On the Dhaka-Khulna route, passengers in 51-seat buses paid Tk 1,000 against a legal fare of Tk 541. On the Dhaka-Patua­khali route, the official Tk 570 fare was collected at Tk 1,000. Travellers on the Dhaka-Shariatpur route paid Tk 500 against an authorised Tk 233.

Other notable overcharges included: Dhaka-Barisal (Tk 850 vs Tk 592); Dhaka-Madaripur (Tk 500 vs Tk 250); Dhaka-Bhanga (Tk 400 vs Tk 200); Dhaka-Faridpur (Tk 500 vs Tk 300); Chittagong-Gaibandha (Tk 2,200 vs Tk 1,100); and Chittagong-Bogura (Tk 1,800 vs Tk 1,000).

Inspectors also found that some 52-seat buses had fraudulently replaced their official fare charts with those applicable to 40-seat vehicles, a tactic that inflates the per-seat rate. Passengers boarding for shorter distances were also charged the full terminal fare.

Drivers and helpers told Jatri Kalyan Samity monitors that the absence of regular salaries and Eid bonuses for transport workers was a key driver of the overcharging.

The organisation noted, however, that excess fare collection appeared somewhat lower compared to the previous Eid-ul-Fitr, which it attributed to stricter government warnings and pressure from the owners' association.

Around 9.5 million passengers are estimated to have travelled out of Dhaka alone this Eid, with inter-district trips across the country potentially reaching 30 million.

The association attributed the recurring problem to years of deferred reform in the transport sector, including the absence of regulated driver wages, flawed fare collection mechanisms, and the fact that the government's Eid travel monitoring committee remains dominated by the very bus owners’ and workers' federations it is meant to oversee.

Low-income passengers, the statement noted, are being forced to travel in dangerous conditions on the roofs of buses and trains, and in open or goods-laden trucks to avoid inflated fares.

Jatri Kalyan Samity called for digitalisation of fare payment on public transport to eliminate cash transactions, enforcement of driver wages and bonuses, installation of CC cameras with e-prosecution capability on highways, and removal of the transport owners' association and workers’ federation from the Eid monitoring committee, leaving oversight exclusively with the government.