Transport workers block Sayedabad to protest counter-based bus routes

Transport workers have blocked the Sayedabad Bus Terminal to demand the closure of ticket counter-based bus routes. The protest has blocked traffic on the Sayedabad Highway intersection since Monday afternoon.

Raida Paribahan buses had been parked diagonally across the road, blocking traffic. The transport workers chanted slogans opposing the counter-based service.

The protesters say they are not making enough money to pay for their vehicle on the counter-based routes and are unable to pay transport owners.

Rafiq, a Raida Paribahan worker, said they had not received their wages since the system was introduced.

“The bus staff have not been receiving any salary for the past week. The bus owners are also not receiving their deposits. Will the owners pay from their own pockets? The buses should continue running as they had before. If our demands are not met, no vehicle will be able to ply through Sayedabad.”

Pink buses were introduced on Feb 7 to bring order to Dhaka's disorderly public transport system. A section of bus owners and workers have been opposing the service since the beginning.

A group of bus workers also held a protest in the Sayedabad area of Dhaka last Monday, pressing for various demands, including the withdrawal of the decision to only allow passenger pick-ups at counters.

They blocked the highway intersection from noon to 2:30pm that day. This caused severe traffic congestion in Sayedabad and its surrounding areas.

That day, Rafiqul Islam Khokon, joint secretary of the Dhaka Road Transport Owners Association, told bdnews24.com that the workers of Balaka and Turag Paribahan were not cooperating in running buses using the counter system.

“They say their salaries are low. They say they have no leeway if service is only through counters. They get more money if they pick up passengers wherever they want. That is why they will not run buses using the counter system. If buses use the counter system, they will have to pay more in wages.”

Khokon said the protesters claimed they were being harassed by the police and also demanded the repeal of the Road Transport Act of 2018.

He said the bus owners met with workers at 3:45pm that day.

“We just spoke to the workers and reached a settlement. After that, the traffic started moving.”

The counter system for buses is used on several routes that run from Gazipur to various destinations in the capital via Dhaka’s Abdullahpur.

The initiative started with 2,610 buses, which are coloured pink. A total of 21 companies are operating these buses and e-tickets have been introduced to bring order to the system.

At the time of the system’s inauguration, DMP Commissioner SM Sazzat Ali said that it was the first step in improving Dhaka’s fragile traffic system and would eventually be introduced to all routes in phases.

“Foreigners arriving at Dhaka airport immediately notice our chaotic traffic system. The buses jostle and drive into each other like cattle. People troll us about this,” the officer said.