The plan to issue permits to operate taxicabs to earthquake survivors has been put on hold once again due to upcoming local elections.

The government had intended to award taxi licences by lottery to those who lost their homes in the Gorkha Earthquake as part of a relief package.

New taxi licences were issued for the first time in 15 years in 2015, making them highly prized items.

The government had decided to issue new taxi licences in a bid to expand livelihood opportunities for locals of earthquake affected districts besides increasing the number of taxis in Kathmandu for the convenience of travelers.

 Accordingly, the Department of Transport Management (DoTM) called for applications and was inundated with 149,000 requests for the 1,500 permits on offer.

“We were planning to hold a lottery a few weeks ago. However, the plan had to be cancelled as local elections are being held in mid-May,” said Rup Narayan Bhattarai, director general of the DoTM. 

According to him, the DoTM will need at least 300 police personnel to conduct the lottery.

While security agencies have stated that it won’t be possible to make such an arrangement before the election, the Ministry of Finance too has stated that it cannot provide funds or spare officials.

The DoTM has now aimed to hold the lottery at the end of May. However, that too seems unfeasible with the government deciding to hold the polls in two phases, on May 14 and June 14.  

Meanwhile, earthquake survivors have filed an application at the Transport Management Office, Bagmati to hold the lottery on time.

The highest number of new taxi applications, 25,000, have come from Sindhupalchok district. Locals of Rasuwa district submitted the lowest number of 2,990 applications.

There are currently 8,500 taxis on the streets of the Kathmandu Valley including the 2,850 new taxi cabs registered last year, according to the DoTM. As of mid-2015, there were 5,650 taxis in the Capital.

The government opened registrations for new taxi cabs in 2015 for the first time in 15 years.

The Ministry of Transportation and Physical Infrastructure has repeatedly planned to issue permits for new taxis in Kathmandu, but it had to back down following strong opposition from taxi entrepreneurs and their associations.

Among the 2,850 new taxi permits issued last year, 1,850 permits were provided to regular applicants while 500 permits were set aside for earthquake survivors and affected families.

Another 500 permits were allotted to companies willing to operate deluxe and super deluxe taxis.

As per DoTM statistics, there were 7,500 taxis in Kathmandu in 2000 when the Valley’s population was estimated at 1.3 million.

The Capital’s population, including the floating population, is expected to have exploded to around 4 million today.

The introduction of new taxis in Kathmandu has made life easier for travellers who were compelled to travel in uncomfortable and old cars even though they have to pay much more than for other means of public transportation.  

Meanwhile, 3,500 cabbies in the Valley have installed electronic billing machines in their vehicles under a government initiative to end the tendency of charging arbitrary fares.

Under the system, passengers will get a receipt at the end of the journey which will state the distance covered by the vehicle, the registration number of the taxi and the fare. 

The National Bureau of Standards and Metrology said more taxis were being fitted with the receipt system.