BRTC bus service for port city students to resume today

Ever since schools started this week, Jayeeta Talukdar, a tenth-grader at Chattogram city's Dr Khastagir Government Girls' High School, has found it difficult to get to school in jam-packed public vehicles during rush hour.

"It was easier last year [before the pandemic] after BRTC launched a bus service for students in January," she said. "We could travel anywhere for Tk 5 and finding a seat wasn't difficult as the service was dedicated to students."

Unfortunately, for her and more like her, the service had to be stopped once the lockdowns hit.

However, with educational institutions open once more, the Chattogram District Administration and Bangladesh Road Transport Corporation (BRTC) have announced they are going to resume the service from today.

A total of 10 double decker buses will be used for the service, said sources inside BRTC.

Only school and madrasa students will be able to ride the buses -- after showing their institutional ID cards to staffers -- when traveling to and from their campuses, the sources said. Initially, the buses will operate on two routes in the city in the morning and afternoon.

A student will have to pay Tk 5 for each trip. There will be two boxes on each side of the buses, called honesty boxes. Students will put their fare into these boxes on their own and get down to their respective destinations, said BRTC officials.

Contacted, Mahmud Ullah Maruf, additional deputy commissioner (Education and ICT) of Chattogram, said, "BRTC will operate the service while the district administration will oversee it."

"Nobody except the students will be allowed to use the service and we will take strict action against the driver and helper if any such allegation is found to be true."

BRTC officials said all buses have been fully prepared for the operation. BRTC's Chattogram Bus Depot Manager Abdul Latif told The Daily Star that during the students' movement demanding safe roads in 2019, the prime minister pledged to launch a bus service for the benefit of the students.

In light of that commitment, the service started in port city in January last year, he said.

Hailing the resumption of the service, guardians expressed their gratitude to the authorities for coming up with such a timely initiative.