Fare of Public Transport Services in Case of Dhaka City and in Comparison with Neighboring Countries

This paper represents the Public Transport fare in Dhaka city and its comparison with the neighboring countries context. Public Transport fare is guided by the need to recover the expense of operation and maintenance expenditure of rolling stock at a cost paid by the users’ revenue which is socially acceptable to the community and users and which does not penalize the most underprivileged segment of the population. The role of public transport in the economic development of a metropolitan area means that the price of fares must not chase away users. Various studies undertaken by the world Bank show that if spending on transport is more than 15% of a household’s income, public transport loses its appeal. An acceptable fare can then be examined on the basis of indices of what the poorest segment of people can pay by comparing the cost of daily return trip with the minimum household income.

A high fare could therefore constitute a factor of social exclusion as it would not allow the poorest in society to easily access the job market or public services which are usually located in city centers, while those with the least financial resources tend to live on the outskirts where accommodation is cheaper. There is strong link between mobility and income. The creation of wealth requires that earners be able to move about quickly and easily. The relationship between the number of trips made per day and per capita income is very significant.