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The advance sale of bus tickets for the upcoming Eid-ul-Fitr holidays has begun on Friday amidst the familiar refrains of long waits, premium charges and non-availability of tickets from holidaymakers.
Bus operators started selling tickets for May 29 to Jun 4 on Friday. Sources at several ticket counters in Gabtali, Mazar Road and Kalyanpur found that the demand is highest for tickets for June 2,3 and 4, reports bdnews24.com.
Bangladesh is likely to observe the Eid-ul-Fitr on June 5, depending on the sighting of the moon, resulting in the increased demand for bus tickets on the three days prior to it.
Bus authorities are believed to have reserved the front seats of vehicles seats for influential customers, creating a artificial crisis as a result.
Ashik Iqbal, an university student, came to the ticket counter at 3:30 am to buy a ticket to Ullahpara, Sirajganj. But when he finally got the ticket nearly five hours later at 8am, he was charged a premium.
“A ticket for a non-AC bus to Ullahpara costs Tk 300 which they charged Tk 420 today. Similarly, the price of a ticket for an AC bus has been increased to Tk 1,300, up from Tk 700,” he said.
Bus operators always raise ticket prices during Eid, complained another passenger Tamal Hossain. “They are charging Tk 590 for a ticket to Noagaon, which is usually sold for Tk 400. They always do this before Eid,” he said.
Some transport groups, including Nabil Paribahan, Desh Travels, and Shohagh Paribahan are selling its advance Eid tickets online.
Long queues were seen in front of the counters of SR Paribahan and Al Hamra Paribahan in Gabtali. But SR Paribahan is only selling its launch tickets, not the advance tickets for its AC-buses, according to customers.
After an ardous wait, Habibur Rahman managed to bag a bus ticket seat to travel to Bogura on Jun 2. “I came here at 3am but only got a seat at the back of the bus. I don't know what the point of coming here early was,” he said.
“I have been waiting for so long and now they’re saying they aren't selling the AC-bus tickets. They should have announced it earlier in which case I wouldn’t have taken the trouble to come here,” said Shuvo, another Eid holidaymaker.
Tickets are being sold simultaneously at counters and online, making it hard to maintain a serial, said SR Paribahan Manager Amin Nabi. The company cannot sell the AC-bus tickets in advance as its numbers are limited, he added.
"We’re selling the tickets for empty seats only. And three of our seven AC-buses are out of order. We’re not sure whether we’ll get those working before the Eid. We can move non-AC bus passengers to other buses in case of traffic congestions during the Eid holidays. But we can't transfer passengers of AC-buses to other non-AC buses. That’s why we are not selling advance tickets for AC-buses.”