Kathmandu, March 22

If everything goes as per plan, the government will start equipping public vehicles in Kathmandu Valley with the global positioning system (GPS), a satellite-based system used to locate vehicles.

Following World Bank’s assurance for technical and financial support to introduce such tracking system in vehicles plying the country’s roads, the Department of Transport Management, in coordination with the World Bank, has begun a study to determine the appropriate GPS modality to be introduced in the transportation sector.

GPS is a radio-navigation system which functions through satellite signals. Once such system is affixed in vehicles, the receiver of the satellite signals can not only track the exact location of the vehicles but can also compute their velocity and time.

Earlier, the Ministry of Physical Infrastructure and Transport had given a nod to DoTM’s proposal to introduce the GPS tracking in vehicles. Following this, DoTM had approached the World Bank for necessary support to materialise the plan.

“Introducing GPS in transportation sector primarily intends to track vehicles. As this system not only locates vehicles but also tracks their speed and load, it will ultimately help minimise vehicle accidents,” informed Gokarna Upadhyay, spokesperson for DoTM, adding that both DoTM and World Bank are currently studying on the appropriate modality of this project.

As vehicles can easily be tracked once this system is fitted, Upadhyay said that it will also help control vehicle theft and other crimes committed using vehicles.

Once the GPS system is fitted in vehicles, the DoTM plans to introduce a public-accessible application through which they can track vehicles on their own and get information regarding the vehicle’s approach to bus stations and availability of seats in the vehicle, as per Upadhyay.

“We plan to complete the necessary study on this plan as soon as possible and start installing the GPS device on public vehicles (first in Kathmandu Valley) within this fiscal year,” he informed.

DoTM plans to equip the GPS tracking system in all vehicles across the country in the long run.

When asked what if vehicle owners uninstal such devices, Upadhyay said that DoTM can also track if such devices are uninstalled from vehicles.

Meanwhile, it is to note that the government’s earlier plan to instal embossed number plates on vehicles, whose primary motive is to track vehicles, has not been effective as the entire process to instal such high-tech number plates on vehicles has been halted since more than a year following a delay in verdict on the issue by the Supreme Court.