The Bangladesh Road Transport Owners Association has called a 72-hour nationwide transport strike, starting at 6 am on Tuesday (August 12), and ending at the same hour on Friday (August 15).
During the strike, all buses and trucks across the country will be off the roads. The action is intended to press an eight-point set of demands, including amendments to the Road Transport Act 2018.
The announcement came on Friday after a meeting at the Bangladesh Transport Workers Union office in Jashore, where the Bangladesh Road Transport Owners Association’s General Secretary, Saiful Alam, made the declaration.
Association leaders allege the Road Transport Act, enacted under the former Awami League government, is being applied in a way that unfairly targets transport workers and owners. They say some provisions, notably sections 98 and 105, are overly punitive.
They added that repeated calls to revise the law have gone unanswered, prompting the decision to launch the strike.
The demands include extending the economic lifespan of commercial vehicles to 30 years, allowing older vehicles to operate based on fitness certification, and withdrawing a proposed doubled advance income tax. Other demands include extending the maximum import age for reconditioned commercial vehicles to 12 years; returning vehicles impounded after accidents within 72 hours; introducing a scrappage policy for expired vehicles; creating separate lanes for three-wheeled vehicles on highways; speeding up the issuing of driving licences.
Leaders argue that if the government aims to tackle pollution, it should focus on emissions and roadworthiness rather than vehicle age, saying older vehicles can be environmentally compliant with proper maintenance. They have also called for a halt to the current crackdown on older vehicles.
On the tax issue, they claim the doubled advance income tax in the budget is unrealistic and places severe pressure on small and medium-scale owners. They say many vehicles are registered to banks or leasing companies, preventing actual owners from offsetting the tax — a situation they call discriminatory.
The association warned that further, more severe actions could follow if the demands are not addressed.
Friday’s meeting was chaired by Khulna Division President Anisur Rahman Liton and attended by Bangladesh Transport Workers Federation Central President Abdur Rahim Box Dudu and Barishal Division Owners-Workers Unity Council General Secretary Yusuf Ali.
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