Kathmandu, February 9:

Despite 23 per cent cut in fuel prices over the past few months, taxi operators are yet to bring the taxi fares down.

Though the government has reduced petrol price to Rs 77 per litre from nearly Rs 100 a litre a few months ago, the commuters haven’t got any relief yet.

Besides that, tampering in meters of the taxis is rampant.

“If a person hires taxis on a same route daily, s/he is likely to see a fluctuation in fares every day,” said a commuter.

“I travel on the same route everyday and there is a noticeable fluctuation on the meter every time. The fares haven’t come down and meter tampering is still rampant,” said Mahima Upadhyay, a nurse.

However, taxi driver Dambar Thapa refused to buy the allegations. “We are no one to change the fares or fiddle with the meters. All we do is drive passengers to their destinations and collect our fares. We have to submit Rs 700 each day to the taxi owners,” Thapa said.

Nepal Meter Taxi Association (NMTA), a few months back, had formed a team to check the meters of the taxis.

However, long load-shedding hours have been hampering regular checks of the meters, as electricity is required to check mileage and rates.

“This should have been the responsibility of the Bureau of Standards and Metrology, Balaju. But the government agency concerned is not showing any interest. We, too, don’t want people to get fleeced. We will have to wait till the government decides on scientific fares,” Arjun Gautam, vice-president of NMTA, said.

Taxi driver Rameshwor Prasai regretted that they were being accused of cheating people.

“The government should fix standard rates and provide every taxi with distance and fare chart,” he added.