KATHMANDU, JANUARY 19

Non-compliance with health protocol set by the government for public transport has worsened the situation of COVID-19.

Many public vehicles plying inside Kathmandu valley have been found to be flouting health protocols - carrying passengers beyond seat capacity and not managing facemasks and sanitisers - which has accelerated the infection rate.

Balaram Koji, who frequently commutes in public vehicles between Kamalbinayak in Bhaktapur and Bagbazaar in Kathmandu, complained that he had to travel in a jam-packed bus without any other option, irrespective of the infection risks. 'I faced more trouble when I returned home from Bagbazaar. I had to travel all the way home standing. I risked contracting the virus,' he lamented.

He accused the government authority of being reluctant to monitor whether public vehicles are following health safety measures.

The Omicron variant has taken its toll in the country lately. So much so, over 10,000 infection cases were reported in the past two days.

'Vehicles defying health safety measures have faced action,' said Sanjib Sharma Das, spokesperson for the Metropolitan Traffic Police Division.

'When the drive to take action against vehicles flouting health protocols started, 100 public vehicles defying the protocols faced punishment from January 15 till now,' he said.

A vehicle defying health safety measures faces a fine between Rs 500 and 1,500.

The division has urged the public to inform about non-compliance with health protocols by e public vehicles at its toll free number 103.

Though phone call was made available time and again in landline number kept in the website of the department for complaints in this regard, it was not used.

Passengers said they could not issue complaint as the mobile number of the information officer and spokesperson of the department kept in the website had also been removed.

Passengers have been compelled to pay higher transport fare than determined by the government in public transportation.

This problem has not been resolved since quite long.

Though there is a provision in the Transport Management Act and regulations that transport fare should be taken after providing tickets to passengers, it has not been implemented since 1993.

Only Sajha Yatayat provides tickets to short-route passengers.

Passengers complained that the department had been apathetic about implementing the provision of providing tickets in all the vehicles.

Passengers have been compelled to pay Rs 25 despite Rs 18 for a four-kilometre distance determined by the government and Rs 20 while travelling for only around two kilometres.

Conductors do not return Rs 2 though Rs 18 is the minimum transport fare. Passengers do not want to quarrel with conductors and drivers for Rs 2.

Consumer Rights Campaigner Roshan Pokharel said the department had assigned an employee with a vehicle to monitor public transport, but in vain.

A version of this article appears in the print on January 20, 2022, of The Himalayan Times.