Commuting woes in Kathmandu

For a city that is home to about 4 million people, the kind of public transportation system that we have in place is pathetic to say the least. Commuting in Kathmandu is indeed a nightmare for people who do not own their own two- or four-wheeler. Perhaps, the public transportation system in the valley only serves to remind us how we have failed to manage even the simplest of things in our country.



To start with, we can safely say that vehicles that have been brought into the valley to be used for public transportation purposes are faulty. At any given day, big buses like the ones that we used to once have under the auspices of Sajha Yatayat is a better option than three-wheelers and micro buses that are in use presently. In a valley that is woefully short of infrastructure such as roads and flyovers, they occupy less space while transporting more people. It is quite an irony that when the population of the valley was not even half of what it is now, we had such means of transportation while years later when the number of people here have gone up manifolds, we commute in mini- and micro-buses.



The unavailability of public vehicles in the evenings is the biggest pain that the people in the valley have to regularly endure. Post-7 PM – and it gets worse as the evening progresses – people find it almost impossible to find a public vehicle. That it happens in the capital city is simply atrocious. Then there is also the problem of sexual harassment that girls and women regularly complain about. It is simply unfathomable as to why we cannot reserve a certain number of seats for them. That would ensure that they can travel in dignity. Of course, then there is the problem of reach as well. The designated routes are simply not enough. With houses mushrooming in farmlands faster than one can imagine, it is only logical that we work toward extending the reach of public vehicles.



All said, of course, what we have suggested so far are steps that can be taken immediately. However, those are hardly solutions if we want to minimize commuting woes of the valley residents in the long run. For that, we need to first of all replace the tiny three-wheelers and micro buses with vehicles with far more capacity. It is also time we started giving thought on adding infrastructure such as roads (perhaps it a good time to begin the outer ring road project) and building flyovers. As the city expands further, a metro service would also become a must. However, for now, let us at least regulate and organize whatever is available at our disposal. With a little bit of willingness, that should not be too difficult to achieve.

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