“I am used to these sorts of discomfort,” she answered nonchalantly. “Actually, it’s more than enough if I can travel without being harassed, which rarely happens. After all, I don’t have any option either.”
By and large, what she says is true. However, if the escalating number of lady scooter riders is anything to go by, there does, in fact, appear to be an “option”.
“It is almost every women commuter’s story in Kathmandu,” confirmed professional architect overseer Sushma Gauli. “If you’d asked me two years back, I would have recounted similar plights. But now I enjoy traveling. God bless scooters!”
Sushma believes this “tiny thing” has empowered her as a woman more than anything else ever has.
“Even though my hubby has his own car, it always felt a little awkward to ask him to go shopping every two days a week. Moreover, with a scooter I feel comfortable travelling anywhere at any time,” the Hero Honda Pleasure rider revealed.
The license to drive scooters such as TVS Scooty Pep and Honda Pleasure, has given women from high school age, to working professionals, to housewives, greater independence and confidence. Moreover, thanks to the installment system, and other finance policies, the scooter is no longer merely a dream vehicle.
“Compared with the sum I spent every day on public vehicles, I realized, in the long-term, buying a scooter cost me much less, not to speak of the comfort and time-saving,” 27 year-old Narayani Adhikari shared. “In fact, unlike what I had thought earlier, a scooter is far cheaper and affordable.”
The average cost of a scooter falls between sixty thousand, and one lakh fifty-thousand Nepali rupees, depending upon the brand and fuel displacement.
Narayani, a teacher at United School, Satdobato, is a resident of Nagarjun Heights’ Osho Tapoban. “Before I had my own bike, it always sent chills down my spine to go back to Tapoban as it is one of the most risky highways. And trust me, after five in the evening, the buses on that route are literally filled with drunkards. Now you can imagine a picture for yourself.”
“And obviously, that’s not all. Most depressing of all was irregular micro-bus fares; it wasn’t the same for any two weeks. With that, I also had car-sickness. So for me, a scooter is like a blessing. It has given me amazing confidence.”
Sushma Gauli sporting her Hero Honda PleasureBikash Karki/MyRepublica.com
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However, Narayani also gives another side of the story for those who choose a scooter thinking it will help with the avoidance of harassment.
“Well, harassment doesn’t necessarily end with a scooter. Actually, I’ve had enough harassment riding a scooter too,” she said, recounting the antics of micro-bus drivers and bike-riders alike.
She also points out the difficulties of riding a scooter during times of fuel shortage. “A scooter’s fuel tank hardly takes five liters of petrol. So, every two days I had to wait in a queue, along with bikes which have fifteen-liter tankers. I guess scooters should have different queues.”
“While a scooter has a charm of its own, half of it is reduced riding in Kathmandu,” Neetu Sharma, an 18 year-old student revealed. “Smoke and dust particles suck half the fun of riding.”
As with all things, down sides do exist. But all negativity aside, the scooter remains one of the best options allowing women greater ease with which to get around town. If you can relate with Samjhana KC’s story, perhaps it’s a high time you considered trying out this “option” known as a scooter.
bhushita@myrepublica.com
