52.9 percent of passenger buses pay bribe to Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA) to update registration and certificate. BRTA collects 17 thousand 619 rupees per bus per month as a bribe outside the rules. In this way, the regulatory agency collects 900 crore rupees in bribes annually. In all, extortion, irregularities of BRTA and trade unions are illegally collecting 1 thousand 59 crores annually from the transport sector. Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB) reported these facts in a research report titled “Integrity in Privately Owned Bus Transport Business” on Tuesday (March 5). Muha, a researcher of the research institute at the TIB office in Dhanmondi of the capital. Nuruzzaman Farhad, Farhana Rahman and Mohammad Nure Alam presented this report.
The study was conducted on the basis of information provided by bus workers, workers, owners and passengers of 32 districts from May 2023 to February 2024. It has monitored 51 bus terminals in 32 districts. 696 passengers, 701 bus workers and 168 bus owners were interviewed. The study revealed that politicians are involved in the management of about 92 percent of the country’s largest bus companies. 80 percent of them belong to the ruling party.
ACC investigation into alleged bribery transaction in BRT The violence of brokers did not decrease even in the operation of ACC in BRTA ACC team undercover operation in BRTA The study also revealed that 60.5 percent of passengers complained of overcharging. Inter-district long-distance buses have to pay Tk 1,19, city services Tk 5,656 and inter-district regional buses Tk 1,133 as bribe to traffic and highway police. Besides, to keep buses at the terminal, a daily fee of Tk 105 per bus has to be paid. In the report, TIB says that the entire transport sector of the country is controlled by a few companies. Due to lack of cleanliness, workers are neglected and passengers are deprived of quality service. TIB has made 15 recommendations including proper implementation of National Sanitation Strategy to restore order in this sector. In response to the question whether this bribery transaction of BRTA reaches the ministry or not, the executive director of TIB said. Iftekharuzzaman said, a little democracy is prevailing here, sharing is taking place. It cannot be said where the particle is going. Extortion is being done on the road on the basis of party identity. Irregularities are happening in traffic highway police, city corporation. BRTA is failing in their responsibilities. He also said that it is assumed that the bribe taken in BRT is received by the officials of the organization. Since BRTA cannot be controlled, its partnership may be questioned. Dr. Iftekharuzzaman also said that the government is relatively powerless to the owner-worker conflict.
The biggest obstacle to government legislation is employer-employee tension. They are more powerful than the government, due to which the passengers do not get the expected service. He said, this account of extortion is very conservative. In reality, extortion is many times more than this. The share of this subscription goes to different levels. Since the sector is under the control of politicians, the control of subscription is also in their hands.
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