On the second day of Eid travel, Wednesday, heavy traffic jams on highways surrounding the capital caused significant delays for Eid holidaymakers, while passengers in several areas reported being charged higher bus fares.
Air tickets were sold out, ferries were overcrowded, and even travellers with train tickets struggled to board, underscoring the mounting pressure across all modes of transport.
On the day, passenger numbers at Dhaka’s bus terminals were low in the morning but surged by midday.
Mohammad Farhad, a resident of Mirpur, Dhaka, said he could not buy tickets for his family’s journey to Satkhira.
“None of the counters had tickets. Brokers outside promised availability, but the staff inside said there were none,” he said.
He added that paying extra to brokers would likely mean being forced onto local buses, making the long journey more difficult.
Many passengers also complained about rising fares. Anowar Hossain, heading to Jhikargacha, said ticket prices had jumped from Tk550-Tk600 to Tk960 for chair coaches.
Another traveller confirmed significant fare increases, forcing passengers to pay much more.
Despite the issues, officials said terminal syndicates have decreased, and theft has been lower this year due to police and Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) presence.
Transport officials say the number of travellers is lower than in previous years. Transport workers reported losses due to low passenger numbers.
Sohel Mia, an employee of Rizvi Enterprise, said, “Vehicle costs are not covered. Yesterday we spent Tk50,000, collected only Tk40,000. If this continues, we may suspend operations.”
He added that he had 25 years of experience and had never seen terminals so empty during Eid.
Ticket shortages also reflected operational delays. “Advance tickets cannot always be sold if a vehicle hasn’t returned from its previous trip. Traffic jams delay buses, frustrating passengers. We will arrange new vehicles, but costs are not covered,” he said.
While bus terminals are less crowded, highways tell a different story.
Dhaka-Aricha Highway saw traffic jams stretching nearly three kilometres at Hemayetpur, Ullail, Genda, and Savar Bazar. Similar congestion was reported on the Nabinagar-Chandra and Abdullahpur-Ashulia routes.
Shafiul Alam, travelling from Hemayetpur to Rangpur, said it took one and a half hours to reach just the Ashulia bypass.
The worst congestion was reported on the Dhaka-Tangail Highway, where traffic backed up over 5km in multiple sections. Despite extra police deployment, vehicle and passenger pressure continued to cause severe delays.
Drivers warned that after 1pm, with around 40 per cent of Gazipur factories closing, traffic pressure would multiply several times.
Air travel was also heavily affected. Domestic flights to Syedpur, Jashore, Chattogram, and Rajshahi were fully booked from 17 to 28 March. Fares have surged several times, adding new strain on passengers. Cox’s Bazar routes are less crowded before Eid but demand is expected to spike afterwards.
Ferry services from Dhaka faced similar congestion. Overloaded launches depart continuously for various ghats and immediately return with more passengers.
On Bhola-Laxmipur and Bhola-Barishal routes, launches are packed with no room to board. Even at the ghats, passengers face long waits due to limited buses and auto-rickshaws, often paying double or triple fares.
Rail travel maintained its usual festive frenzy at Kamalapur Station. Passengers with tickets still struggled to find seats, many standing, while others boarded trains on the roof. Trains departed on time but overloaded.
Amid this chaos, the Nilsagar Express, travelling from Dhaka to Chilahati, derailed near Santahar, Bogura, with nine carriages leaving the tracks. Around 50 passengers were injured, and train services on northern routes have been suspended.
