Kathmandu, October 11

Traffic police have taken action against as many as 1,132 public vehicles for overcharging passengers in the Kathmandu Valley in the past one week.

A monitoring team of the Metropolitan Traffic Police Division had found them overcharging passengers citing acute fuel shortage. A traffic police official said the unscrupulous transport workers were booked for not implementing the recently adjusted fares.

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

The DoTM, in presence of concerned stakeholders, transport entrepreneurs, consumers and the traffic police, had decided on September 9 to reduce public transport fares by 2.22 to 3 per cent effective from September 11.

“Revised transport fare for passengers to travel from New Baneshwar to Anamnager is only Rs 13, but transport workers continue to charge Rs 15. They ask us either to pay them the exact fare or forfeit the change,” said Sameer Thapa, a resident of New Baneshwor. He said the MTPD should slap a fine of Rs 200 on public vehicles if they are found overcharging passengers.

Navin Thapa of Koteshwor lamented that bus, microbus, tempo and taxi in the Kathmandu Valley were overcharging passengers even after the government introduced revised fares.

“The tempo fare for passengers travelling from Bansbari to Ratnapark is Rs 18. But a tempo driver demanded Rs 20. He returned me the change money only after I threatened to report the case to the police. Transport workers have been overcharging passengers taking advantage of the fuel crisis,” Thapa explained.

The Metropolitan Traffic Police Division said it has stepped up monitoring of public vehicles and has appealed to all to report it to the police if transport workers are found overcharging passengers. Officials informed that more than 70 per cent of public vehicles have been staying off the roads due to fuel shortage.