For the past several years, especially before and after the Eid festival, the biggest transportation crisis for the people of northern Bangladesh has been the availability of tickets.
Yesterday, a reader’s opinion on this issue was published in The Daily Ittefaq. It stated that residents of Panchagarh, Thakurgaon, Dinajpur, Rangpur, Nilphamari, Kurigram, Lalmonirhat, Gaibandha, and Bogura regularly travel to the capital Dhaka and other parts of the country for livelihood, medical treatment, or education.
However, during festival seasons, obtaining even a single bus or train ticket for ordinary passengers from this region has become almost as difficult as winning a war.
It is true that technology has advanced, but the modern online ticketing system has now become a source of extreme suffering rather than comfort for ordinary people.
Even during normal times, such problems are not entirely absent. However, during Eid, Puja, or other major holiday seasons, the crisis turns like an epidemic. Within just a few minutes of ticket sales opening, almost all tickets disappear from the online servers.
Yet immediately afterward, the same tickets are seen being sold at double or triple the price through black marketers, brokers, and unauthorized channels. Trains such as the “Panchagarh Express,” “Ekota Express,” “Drutojan Express,” and “Nilsagar Express” are inseparable parts of daily life for the people of northern Bangladesh.
Unfortunately, technical weaknesses in the online ticketing system, difficulties accessing servers, payment failures, and incidents where money is deducted without ticket confirmation are causing severe confusion among passengers.
Less educated people in rural areas, in particular, are constantly being deceived due to the complexities of this technology.
This chaos and disorder are not limited to trains alone; the same situation exists in long-distance bus services as well. There is often a major discrepancy between the fares displayed online and those charged at ticket counters.
Charging extra fares during holidays has seemingly become an unwritten rule. The lack of transparency in information has made the crisis even worse.
Taking advantage of this situation, certain dishonest groups spread various rumors and create an artificial shortage of tickets. Yet public transportation is not merely a commercial service; it is deeply connected to people’s lives, healthcare, education, and livelihoods.
This mismanagement of the ticketing system is not just an administrative failure—it goes against the civic rights of millions of people.
To free the people of northern Bangladesh from this crisis, the administration must take effective measures immediately. First, server capacity must be increased. Online servers need to be made stronger and more modern to handle excessive user pressure.
Second, black market activities must be suppressed. There is no alternative but to take legal action and ensure punishment against broker syndicates and illegal ticket sellers.
Third, simple-language guidelines and awareness campaigns for purchasing online tickets should be introduced for the convenience of rural people. Fourth, information centers should remain operational around the clock at every railway station and bus counter so that the number of unsold tickets remains publicly visible.
Finally, it can be said that if the authorities are not sincere about this issue, the travel suffering that has become the fate of the people of northern Bangladesh will never end.
We hope the authorities concerned will immediately work toward resolving this ticket crisis. Consideration must also be given to increasing the number of public transport vehicles according to demand during these times and ensuring discipline and safety on roads and highways.
