Some 639 buses and 550 human haulers had been plying the city streets on four routes by rotation determined by the owners and workers' organisations.

The number of city bus came down to 350 as against the required number of 900 after the traffic department of Chittagong Metropolitan Police (CMP) rearranged the routes to streamline the traffic movement.

Under the new arrangement the number of routes was raised to 12 and the buses were evenly distributed in all the routes, covering almost every corner of the city roads.

The owners, who got their transports on the routes with fewer passengers, have kept their vehicles off the routes, saying the association leaders entrusted with the responsibility of furnishing the Road Transport Committee (RTC) with the list of buses of different routes favoured some owners with busy routes for money.

They resent distribution of same number of transports in all the routes.

Earlier, the owners preferred to ply their transports on the route No-10 (Kalurghat to Patenga Sea Beach), route No-2 (New Market to Kalurghat via Sholashar gate No-2) and route No-7 (New Market to Bhatiari), they said.

As per the new arrangement 185 buses were fixed for these three routes as against the minimum requirement of 300, they said.

Now some 100 buses are plying on these routes while owners of other routes have stopped plying their transports due to lack of passengers, said bus driver Mostafa Kamal.

Only 150 buses, out of 454, are plying on nine other routes, sources said the sources.

On the other hand, most of human haulers, numbering around 550, are keeping off the roads as the owners were not invited to RTC meeting to discuss the new arrangement, sources said.

"There was no fixed route for city buses while the human haulers were plying on four routes with route permit of Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA)," said Human Hauler Owners and Workers' Association President Prof SM Aby Tayyab.

He said they can't accept new arrangement after cancellation of their route permits.

He said it will force them to take a three-year fresh route permit each for a fee of Tk 1645 which they obtained only one or two months ago spending the same amount of money.

"Only 30 human haulers were fixed, later the number was raised to 50, for Kalurghat- Sea-Beach route where some 200 plied earlier," he said.

"Such a plan ignoring the demand of the routes is causing the commuters to suffer in the busy routes when the human haulers plying on the routes with less passengers count loss," he said.

City Bus Minibus Human Hauler Association President Md Zakaria refuted the allegation of favouring or depriving anyone of coveted routes.

"A few owners who did not get their desired routes came up with the allegations", he said.

Lokman Hakim, Lineman Secretary of the association, said many of buses are not plying now fearing seizure by traffic police as they have no required documents, including licenses, fitness certificates and route permits.

Abu Sufian, DC (Traffic) of CMP, said RTC made the arrangement of routes at a meeting in presence of the representatives of the bus owners and workers associations.

"We won't allow movement of vehicles without required documents and certificates or in violation of rules to streamline the traffic movement," he said.

Referring to the suffering of the commuters, Sufian said situation will be normal within a few weeks when the public transports start plying after necessary repair work with required certificates.