Yellow auto rickshaws to finally hit the streets
Process on for application from drivers
City Correspondent
Bangladesh Road Trans****t Authority (BRTA) is finally going to
invite
applications from drivers next week as part of its plan to distribute
5,000
more CNG auto-rickshaws.
Advertisements will be published for it in the newspapers any day
this
week, BRTA officials said.
The total number of CNG-run auto-rickshaws in Dhaka city will rise
to
around 18,000 with the latest addition to the existing fleet of 13,000.
The communications ministry on November 8 last year approved the
plan
to add 5, 000 more CNG auto rickshaws with a view to reducing the chaotic
situation in the CNG auto rickshaw sector and alleviating sufferings of
the
commuters in the capital city.
Humayun Ra****d Khalifa, director (Operations) of BRTA said, "Charge
for the application form has been fixed at Tk. 50. Application must be
submitted within one month from the date of publi****ng the advertisement"
If the number of applications crosses 5,000, the BRTA, as planned
earlier will go for lottery to distribute allotment letters of the
three-wheelers
It will help maintain transparency in the distribution process, the
official added.
Only the genuine driving licence holders will be allowed to apply
and
participate in the lottery. No one will be allowed to submit more than one
application.
Private companies will im****t the auto rickshaws. The winners can
buy
them from any of the im****ters.
The im****ter or seller will be responsible for installing meter in
the
auto-rickshaw and loading the memory software with government approved
fare.
The process will be monitored to prevent meter-tampering, officials said.
The registration process was supposed to begin within December last
year and the vehicles were expected to hit the city streets by January
this
year.
However disagreement over some of the terms and conditions from the
drivers' side delayed the process. There were some last moment changes in
the rules.
Earlier drivers were asked to submit a Tk. 20, 000 pay order with
the
application. The condition has been dropped to ease their burden, Khalifa
said.
The new owner also will have the right to sell the auto rickshaw
within three years of purchase in case of emergency.
It was decided earlier that the winners of the lottery would not be
allowed to sell their vehicles or hand over the registrations to anyone
else
before operating it for at least three years.
The rule was made to prevent sell of the three-wheelers at a higher
price on winning the lottery. In the past a section of unscrupulous buyers
sold auto rickshaws at double the original prices.
"The drivers will now be allowed to sell the registration in case of
emergency within three years", Khalifa added.
Currently the market price of an auto rickshaw is around Tk 2, 62,
500. Uttara Motors is the sole im****ter. Any motor vehicle im****ters are
now
free to im****t and sell CNG auto rickshaws at a government fixed price.
The new lot of auto rickshaws will be of yellow colour for making
them
distinctly different from the previous green ones.
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