Public transport fares hiked again

KATHMANDU, JUL 19 -  

The government has hiked public transport fares for the second time in four months. The Department of Transport Management (DoTM) increased the fares this time around by 3.75 percent, effective Wednesday.

The fares have gone up in the range of Rs 1-Rs 61, depending on the distance travelled. With this, the fare for Kathmandu-Sanfebagar (900 km) via Dhangadhi-Sitagathi has increased by Rs 61. The fare for this route was Rs 1,628 earlier.

The government had increased the fares by 4.54 percent and the taxi fares by 8.19 percent in March. 

There has been no change in the taxi fares as the last petrol price hike was not more than Rs 5 a litre.

The DoTM has also increased freight charges by 4.45 percent in the Tarai routes and by 4.50 percent in the Kathmandu-Pokhara-Narayanghat route. Truckers will now charge Rs 4.34 per tonne-per km in the Tarai roads and Rs 9.78 per tonne-per km in the hilly route--Kathmandu-Narayanghat-Pokhara.

On March 20, the department increased the freight charges by 5.26 percent per tonne-per km for Tarai routes and 5.29 percent for the hilly routes. 

The new fares were introduced after the Ministry of Physical Planning, Works and Transport Management endorsed it. 

The DoTM had proposed the fare hike two weeks ago after mounting pressure from transport organisations--National Federation of Nepalese Transport Entrepreneurs and the Federation of Truck Tanker and Transport Entrepreneurs.

Department officials said vehicles providing deluxe services were allowed to charge 20 percent extra, only if such vehicles have the department's permission to do so.

Every time there is a hike in fuel prices by Rs 5 per litre, transport entrepreneurs rush to the department demanding an increment in the fares. However, they have failed to implement a number of directions issued by the government on customers' convenience and road safety.

“We will soon start monitoring to check possible wrongdoings by transporters,” said B Sarad Adhikari, the technical director at the DoTM. He said a six-member committee under him that will include three representatives from transport federations have also been formed to carry out inspections.

Source: The Kathmandu Post