Kathmandu, August 27

Despite the government’s warning that action would be initiated against transport entrepreneurs charging fares higher than the authorised limit, private bus operators continue to cheat commuters.

The authorities took action against more than 200 vehicles for overcharging passengers in the Kathmandu Valley in the past one week. “We made the bus entrepreneurs return the overcharged fare to passengers on the spot and directed them to display the fare list inside the vehicles,” said an official at the Department of Supply Management and Consumer Protection.

During the monitoring carried out by the department, it was found that most of the bus operators did not display the fare list.

The authorities have stepped up monitoring in the market and transport sector following the directives from the prime minister. The DoSMCP has also appealed to the commuters to be aware of transport fare rate.

The Department of Transport Management had adjusted public transport fares in September last year following drop in the prices of petroleum products, but transport workers seem to be reluctant to implement the new fares.

The DoTM, in the presence of concerned stakeholders, transport entrepreneurs, consumers and the traffic police, had decided to reduce public transport fares by 2.22 to 3 per cent effective from September 11.

Minimum fare for the distance of up to four kilometres is Rs 13. “As per the revised transport fare, a passenger needs to pay only Rs 13 to travel from Anamnagar to New Baneshwor, but transport workers charge Rs 15.

The distance is less than four kilometres. They ask us either to pay them the exact fare or forfeit the return,” lamented Nita Kumari Mahato. Commuters face similar problem of getting cheated by tempo and taxi too.