THE Bangladesh Road Transport Authority鈥檚 hasty decision to cancel its order on enforcing a meter-based fare for CNG-run auto rickshaws, as stipulated in the Road Transport Act 2018, is yet another case of poor governance that has been plaguing the public transport sector. On February 10, the BRTA sent a letter to the Dhaka Metropolitan Police, reminding them to file cases under the Act against the auto-rickshaw drivers if they are found to charge more than the meter reading. Demanding the cancellation of the order, on February 16, the auto-rickshaw drivers blocked major sections of the capital, causing immense suffering for people in Dhaka. In response, the BRTA quickly cancelled the order. The DMP similarly issued a press release saying that they will not impose any fines on the auto-rickshaw drivers for charging fares more than the meter reading. Instead of addressing the concerns of the drivers, quickly cancelling an enforcement order indicates the continued hold of transport workers and leaders on the sector and demonstrates the government鈥檚 lack of political will in bringing some order to the sector.
The Act prohibits drivers from charging fares beyond the meter reading, stipulating for violators a maximum fine of Tk 50,000, or six months鈥� imprisonment, or both. In practice, since 2015, the auto-rickshaw drivers have rarely been following the meter reading. When asked about the hasty decision to cancel the order, a BRTA official sought to say that the police could still file cases against the drivers for overcharging as the 鈥榣aw is always there.鈥� The BRTA must acknowledge that the law without enforcement is just a piece of paper. The agitating workers鈥� concerns, particularly with regards to the amount of fine for overcharging is justified. For an auto-rickshaw driver, particularly for the drivers who have to share their daily income with the owner of the vehicle and pay speed money to extortionist syndicates, the fine as stipulated in the law is disproportionate and unjust. Passengers are the ultimate victims of this broken and chaotic system because they have no place to seek redress when they are overcharged.
Since the enactment of the Road Transport Act in 2018, it has remained a case of enforcement failure while irregularities continued in the public transport sector. The government should, under the circumstances, sit with all stakeholders concerned and review the law to address the concerns of the transport workers, in this case the auto-rickshaw drivers, to revise the meter fare, taking inflation into account. Cancellation of an enforcement order only empowers the transport sector leaders, who had been unduly influencing the policy decision and it neither addresses the concerns of the auto-rickshaw drivers nor their passengers.
