Tuesday 29 July 2025 ,
Tuesday 29 July 2025 ,
Latest News
PreviousPauseNext
1 February, 2020 01:02:18 AM / LAST MODIFIED: 1 February, 2020 09:53:41 AM
Print

CNG 3-wheelers go neither by meter nor app

Faisal Mahmud, Dhaka
CNG 3-wheelers go neither by meter nor app

CNG auto-rickshaw operators of the capital had been handed a lifeline by the government in 2018, the era of Uber and Pathao, through the provision of app-based ride-sharing facilities. The Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA) included the provision in its ride-sharing guideline for CNG auto-rickshaws. The private ride-sharing service provider Obhai launched the CNG ride-sharing service.

Two years down the line, CNG auto-rickshaws are still plying with neither ride-sharing apps nor meters. They are plying only on a contractual basis.  These auto-rickshaws, which once dominated roads in the capital, are facing a slow death in the era of ride-sharing apps like Uber, Pathao, and Sohoz.

Failing to compete with app-based ride-sharing services, the CNG Auto-rickshaw Owners’ Association staged strikes on at least three occasions and submitted written demands to the BRTA to ban Uber, Pathao, and other ride-sharing facilities from Dhaka’s roads. Their demands led to public backlash on social media and public fora.

Zania Haque, an airline employee, wrote on social media: “Why not the BRTA close down CNG auto-rickshaw services? I never get them in time of need.” Mohammad Golam Morshed, an employee of a multinational bank, said he usually leaves office around 11pm. “Uber is like a life saver for me. Had there been no Uber, I would not have been able to reach home every day at that hour of the night. Ride-sharing apps have become essential for city life now,” he added.

Following the public backlash and having considered the business potential, a faction of auto-rickshaw owners and drivers have said they plan to join ride-hailing apps such as Uber and Pathao from this year. Shakhawat Hossain Dulal, secretary of Dhaka Auto-rickshaw Workers’ Union, said the union had already submitted a letter to the BRTA asking it to create a provision to include the auto-rickshaw among the modes of ride-sharing vehicles.

Dulal claimed their daily incomes had fallen by a third after ride-hailing apps like Uber and Pathao started operations in Bangladesh. “We have decided to join the services and had talks with a ride-sharing company on training the drivers,” he said. An app named Hellow Ride has already been developed to accommodate CNG auto-rickshaws in the pool of ride-sharing vehicles. Rinku Jamal, coordinator of Hellow Ride, said the app was created to help auto-rickshaw operators get more customers.

Jamal claimed to have already trained 100 drivers in how to operate the application on their mobile phones. Regarding the fare, Jamal said passengers booking rides via their apps will have to pay an extra Tk. 30, besides the fare set by the government. He also acknowledged that most CNG auto-rickshaws do not go by the meter and demand their own fares, which makes it difficult to estimate the actual fare through software.

“I believe if they follow the government-approved chart, it will be beneficial for them,” Jamal said.

At the beginning of 2019, the road transport and bridges ministry had enforced revised fares for CNG-run auto-rickshaws. As part of the initiative, only auto-rickshaws with recalibrated meters that had been checked by the BRTA were allowed on the city’s streets. CNG auto-rickshaws with recalibrated meters plied on the roads for a few months after that. Soon enough, however, the auto-rickshaws operators once again started charging fares on their own, refusing to comply with the government directive to charge as per the meters.


IK

 

Comments

Most popular  
On Bangladesh
  • Most Viewed
Video
  • Multiple mild to moderate cold spells may occur this month (01-01-2021) Courtesy: Independent TV
  • Economy of Bangladesh in 2021 (01-01-2021) Courtesy: Independent TV
  • Migratory birds have come to Jahangirnagar University (01-01-2021) Courtesy: Independent TV
  • 2020: A time that no one has ever seen before (31-12-2020) Courtesy: Independent TV
  • 2020: Big achievement Padma Bridge (31-12-2020) Courtesy: Independent TV
  • Multiple mild to moderate cold spells may occur this month (01-01-2021) Courtesy: Independent TV
  • Economy of Bangladesh in 2021 (01-01-2021) Courtesy: Independent TV

Copyright © All right reserved.

Editor : M. Shamsur Rahman

Published by the Editor on behalf of Independent Publications Limited at Media Printers, 446/H, Tejgaon I/A, Dhaka-1215.
Editorial, News & Commercial Offices : Beximco Media Complex, 149-150 Tejgaon I/A, Dhaka-1208, Bangladesh. GPO Box No. 934, Dhaka-1000.

Editor : M. Shamsur Rahman
Published by the Editor on behalf of Independent Publications Limited at Media Printers, 446/H, Tejgaon I/A, Dhaka-1215.
Editorial, News & Commercial Offices : Beximco Media Complex, 149-150 Tejgaon I/A, Dhaka-1208, Bangladesh. GPO Box No. 934, Dhaka-1000.

Disclaimer & Privacy Policy
....................................................
About Us
....................................................
Contact Us
....................................................
Advertisement
....................................................
Subscription

Powered by : Frog Hosting