Coronavirus sends chills down bus operators’ spine
Bus operators are bracing for bumpy roads ahead in the wake of India's ban on entry of foreign nationals until April 15 and people avoiding travel within the country over apprehensions centring the coronavirus outbreak.
"We have not seen any significant change yet but we see a trend of passenger slowdown as people have started trying to avoid non-essential travel," said Faruk Talukder Sohel, managing director of Shohagh Paribahan, a major inter-city bus operator with a 100 bus-strong fleet.
The flow of passengers has dropped 10 per cent over the past one week.
"The worst effect is going to be on our trips to border checkpoints (where passengers shift to buses on the other side) after suspension of tourist visas by India. Our seats have become almost vacant from tonight (yesterday)," he said.
On March 11, India said that it was suspending visas for all short-term foreign visitors -- regardless of their nationality or recent travel history -- until April 15, a lockdown aimed at preventing the import of coronavirus into the country.
On March 7, the Institute of Epidemiology, Research and Disease Control (IEDCR) urged people arriving from countries with coronavirus cases to avoid public transport and crowded places.
A day later, Bangladesh confirmed its first three cases of coronavirus. The affected people, aged between 20 and 35, include two who returned home from Italy recently. The other was a family member of one of those two.
Many people have already started avoiding public buses in the city and some long-distance travel.
Road is the main mode of transport in Bangladesh, accounting for 87 per cent of 195 billion passenger-kilometres in 2018, according to a Planning Commission document.
Waterways carried 8 per cent and train transported the rest, showed the estimate.
On a regular day some 5,000 buses leave for various districts from Dhaka and an equal number return loaded to full capacity, according to bus operators.
Besides, more than 6,000 public buses operate within Dhaka city.
Suvenker Ghosh Rakesh, managing director of Shyamoli NR Travels, which operates buses on all five international routes with India, said the coronavirus effect started to have an impact on their businesses a few days ago.
Buses operate on five cross-border routes: Dhaka-Kolkata-Dhaka, Dhaka-Agartala-Dhaka, Dhaka-Sylhet-Shillong-Guwahati-Dhaka, Agartala-Dhaka-Kolkata-Agartala and Dhaka-Khulna-Kolkata-Dhaka.
"And from tomorrow [today], no bus would be going to India. This is the peak season," he said, adding that Shyamoli's international services have already been hit by issues centring the national registry of citizens in India.
He, however, said Shyamoli's domestic operations were yet to be affected. Although some have cancelled tickets, others have snapped them up, he added.
Although their service is yet to be affected, they are very much fearful about it, said Mosharref Hossain, general manager of Hanif Paribahan.
"If the situation deteriorates, people, especially those from the countryside, would stop coming to Dhaka and thus our business would seriously be affected," he told The Daily Star yesterday.
A Bangladeshi official working in an international organisation said their office had directed them to avoid crowds and advised limiting movement.
"I had a plan to visit a southern district to join a programme there but cancelled it as I had to use public transport to go there," he said, wishing anonymity.
However a top official of Dhaka Road Transport Owners Association said the effect of coronavirus was still not visible.
Asked about their preparations, he said, "So far we have no preparation in this regard."
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