Afifa Jahan Pushpo

The metro rail has become a relief for the residents of the capital. Due to its ability to cover distances in a short time, it has quickly gained popularity. With a travel time of 20-40 minutes, people can commute from one end of the city to the other, marking a revolutionary change in public transportation.

However, complaints have arisen that some passengers are exploiting loopholes in the metro rail's ticketing system to evade fares. According to regulations, once an MRT pass is punched, a passenger is allowed to travel for a maximum of one hour. But some passengers are completing longer journeys by paying for only a partial distance.

For example, if a passenger wants to travel from Dhaka University station to Uttara North, the fare should be 90 BDT, while for MRT users, it is 81 BDT. Ideally, the passenger should purchase a ticket for the full fare. However, some passengers board the metro from Secretariat station and, instead of taking a direct train to Uttara North, first take a train towards Motijheel without punching their card. Since the fare from Secretariat to Motijheel is 20 BDT and from Motijheel to Uttara North is 100 BDT, the system records the journey as being from Secretariat to Uttara North, charging only 90 BDT instead of the actual 120 BDT. This systematic loophole allows them to unfairly save 30 BDT, which many have already taken advantage of.

This practice not only leads to revenue loss for the government but also creates confusion in determining the actual passenger load. Therefore, the metro rail authorities should take effective measures to prevent this fare evasion. Implementing technological advancements and modern travel control systems could help solve this problem.

I urge the concerned authorities to take prompt and specific actions to address this issue.

The writer is a student of The University of Dhaka.