Transport fares to go up by 5-10 percent
KATHMANDU, JAN 07 -
Public transport and cargo carrier fares are rising by 5-10 percent within the next two months. The Department of Transport Management is working to review the fares based on parameters such as inflation rate, price of spare parts and lubricants, fuel price and bank interest rates, among others.
As a part of the preparation, the department has started gathering information required from agencies concerned such as the Nepal Rastra Bank, Nepal Oil Corporation and customs offices.
“We will acquire the required information about the inflation rate, fuel price, increment in spare parts’ prices and bank interest rates within a week,” said Mohan Bhattarai, mechanical engineer at the department. He said the scientific fare determination mechanism put in place since 2009 also demands a revision in transport fares.
The mechanism says public transport fares have to be determined annually based on 35 percent contribution of fuel factors and 65 percent contribution of non-fuel factors. Non-fuel factors include bank interests for vehicle loan, price of spare parts, administrative costs and maintenance, among others.
As per the understanding between transporters and the department, the government can also review the fares if the fuel price fluctuates by at least Rs 5 per litre. Five months ago, the department, based on the same ground, had hiked transport fares by 3.75 percent and freight charges by 4.45 percent on the Tarai routes and by 4.50 percent on the Kathmandu-Pokhara-Narayanghat route.
An official at the department said the fares were likely to go up by up by 5-10 percent as per the preliminary estimation. “We will propose a certain percentage for approval from the Ministry of Physical Planning, Works and Transport Management based on the parameters such as consumer price index and annul increment in fuel charge,” the official added.
Transporters’ organiza—ions-Nepal Federation of Nepalese Transport Entrepreneurs, Federation of Truck Tanker and Transport Entrepreneurs and Nepal Metre Taxi Entrepreneurs’ Association-have been demanding that the government increase the fares.
An official said especially taxi operators were pressing for a fare hike as taxi fares have not been revised for the last 10 months.
The department had last raised taxi fare in March 2012 when the price of petrol was Rs 116 per litre. Currently, the petrol price has gone up to Rs 123 per litre.
Source: The Kathmandu Post
