“Bearing in mind the sharp fall in petroleum prices and a technical committee’s report, we are inching toward the decision to reduce existing fares by about 20 percent,” the source told myrepublica.com.
The government asked the Institute of Engineering (IoE) to evaluate the technical components which have a role in raising transport costs. The committee formed by the IoE submitted the report on January 10, 2009, with the recommendation that the fare be reduced to Rs 1.20 per km.
Despite a huge drop in petroleum products in the domestic market over the past few months, commuters are paying exorbitant fares due to the delay in fare revision in line with the declining price of fuel.
Worse still, transport entrepreneurs have been defying the government’s decision to reduce transport fares by 13 percent in two phases last month (6 percent and 7 percent), demanding scientific adjustment of fares incorporating other cost components along with fuel costs.
In reaction to the dipping international price of petroleum products, Nepal Oil Corporation (the state-owned oil monopolist) has dropped prices of petrol and diesel from Rs 100 and Rs 80 per liter, to Rs 77 and Rs 57 per liter, respectively, over four months.
The source said the fares would be dropped from Rs 1.42 per km to not more than Rs 1.15 per km. In a bid to exercise a system in fixing fares, the government has formed a scientific fare recommendation committee led by Bishnu Prasad Lamsal, joint secretary at the MoLTM to make the fare recommendation by January 28, 2009.
Under the system, fares will be fixed incorporating the cost of fuel, maintenance, salary of staff, lubricant cost, wear and tear, maintenance, depreciation of vehicles, cost of parts, loan interest, among others.
However, the committee have failed to establish the new fares within the time stipulated due to the irregular attendance of transport entrepreneurs in the meeting of the committee, of which entrepreneurs are also members.
However, transport entrepreneurs are maintaining their stance on a fare of Rs 1.30 per km during the seven rounds of committee meetings.
“Some issues like student concession, mileage of fuel per km, occupancy of vehicles and frequency of trips are still not settled so far as they (entrepreneurs) are not convinced of the logic mentioned in the technical report,” said the source.
The technical report has put the mileage of vehicles at 5 km per liter, 60 percent occupancy and 70 percent frequency of trips for the vehicles.
They have raised concerns that the report is mute on student concession. Students are a getting 45 percent concession on the fare.
Source said the entrepreneurs will stay with their decision.
prabhakar@myrepublica.com
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