Kathmandu, November 26

Meena Karki, 26, of New Baneshwor now extols the comfort of travelling by microbus. She does a clerical job at a private company in Maharajgunj and taking a New Baneshwor-Maharajgunj microbus is part of her daily life.

Until recently, Karki was forced to travel in overcrowded vehicles, often sitting on a rear-facing seat. She heaved a sigh of relief after traffic police launched a campaign to get the rear-facing seats removed from the microbuses.

“This is a commendable job of the law enforcement agency to cause the transport entrepreneurs to remove the rear-facing seats and it has relieved us of the troublesome travel experience in Kathmandu,” Karki shared. As per the new rule, making alteration in the colour, number of seats, structure, engine or chassis of the vehicle, except normal changes in spare parts, is not allowed.

Despite the prohibition on modification in the original form of a vehicle, transport entrepreneurs had added rear-facing seats without considering the safety and convenience of passengers. The entrepreneurs used to make at least four person sit on the rear-facing seats.

According to the Metropolitan Traffic Police Division, traffic cops have caused more than 2,500 microbuses to remove the illegally affixed seats in the past two months. Nearly 3,200 microbuses have been registered with Transport Management Office, Bagmati Zone.

“The removal of rear-facing seats from passenger microbuses is almost over. Affixing such seats is

not only unlawful but unscientific too. On-duty traffic cops have been carrying out inspection and monitoring of the vehicles to ensure its full implementation,” said SP Lokendra Malla, spokesperson at the MTPD.

It is also a part of ending sexual harassment against women on public vehicles. Traffic officials said riding backwards makes passengers motion sick. “It was not practical in terms of one’s health as well,” he informed.