A writ petition has been filed with the High Court seeking an order to stop leasing or renting Bangladesh Road Transport Corporation (BRTC) buses to government ministries and organisations and return them to public transport services.
Advocate Md Mahmudul Hasan Mamun filed the petition as a public interest litigation, naming the cabinet secretary, secretaries of the Road Transport and Bridges Ministry and Finance Division, and the BRTC chairman as respondents.
The petition said BRTC buses are designated for public transport services under Sections 5 and 22 of the Bangladesh Road Transport Corporation Act, 2020.
However, the petitioner alleged that the buses are being leased or rented to government ministries, statutory bodies and local authorities for the transport of their officials and employees, which he claimed is beyond the corporation’s legal mandate.
The petition also referred to Article 3 of the BRTC Bus Leasing Policy, 2007, which states that only experienced commercial transport operators are eligible to lease buses. It also cited Article 5(17), which prohibits transferring leased buses to third parties.
According to the petitioner, leasing BRTC buses to government organisations violates the policy.
The petition further argued that keeping buses purchased with taxpayers’ money away from general passengers and allocating them for government officials’ transport goes against citizens’ rights to equal protection of law under Articles 27 and 31 of the Constitution.
It also raised economic arguments, saying that when government institutions rent BRTC buses, state funds are merely transferred from one public sector to another. The petitioner claimed this disrupts the circular flow of money in the economy and limits the fiscal multiplier effect.
The petition said hiring buses from private transport operators for government transport needs could create employment opportunities and increase economic activity.
The petitioner claimed that the use of a large number of BRTC buses for government officials’ transport has reduced public transport availability for ordinary passengers, particularly women and students, causing daily difficulties.
The writ seeks a rule asking why the leasing or renting of BRTC buses to government and autonomous organisations should not be declared illegal and stopped.
It also seeks directions to immediately withdraw all BRTC buses being used for official transport and restore them to regular commercial routes for public use.
