She complains that after eight in the evening, the chances of getting a public vehicle are very slim. "Even when you find one, it is always too packed," she said, adding, "I don´t like to travel in a crowded vehicle standing." She said that women are likely to face abuses while traveling in crowded vehicles at night.
She also complained about the exorbitant fares charged by taxis.
Like Adhikari, most traders in the city center get ready to shut their businesses at dusk. Even restaurants and popular tourist destinations grow silent and become lifeless as the evening advances.
"That is because there aren´t much business activities in the capital in the night," said Laxman Aryal, executive officer of Kathmandu Metropolitan City (KMC).
After sun set, people in the metro keep inside, watch television, eat dinner and then go to bed. Aryal concedes that people are not much confident about security in the capital. He said that security is one of the major components but the city also lacks other attractions to keep draw people out of their homes at night. He said that a lot of improvements are needed to make the capital´s night life vibrant, which the metropolis alone cannot do.
To encourage mobility, the metropolis launched the night bus service in Kathmandu and Lalitpur. But transport entrepreneurs have decided to halt the service along the inner routes from this week. The service that began just ten months ago was expected to rejuvenate the night life in the capital. But entrepreneurs complain that the concerned authorities did not do anything to increased promote night life. "We cannot run the service for long incurring heavy losses," said Dharma Raj Rimal, Bagmati Zone coordinator of the National Federation of Nepal Transport entrepreneurs (NFNTE).
He said that the service will continue only on the ring road after this week. Rimal said that the indifference of the concerned authorities like KMC and Transport Management Division is the main reason why they are discontinuing the service. The entrepreneurs have been demanding additional incentives to continue the service. The government had provided Rs 4.5 million financial assistance to the entrepreneurs to run the service for six months.
"The metropolis had committed to start several initiatives, including revision of the night fare, setting up of night markets, ensuring security, among others, to make the service sustainable. But it has done nothing," added Rimal. KMC chief Aryal said that the service is necessary to ease the troubles of the commuters traveling at night and the office is working to persuade entrepreneurs to continue the service.
People fear to stay out after sun set. Not only alleys even the main streets go dark in the night. "The KMC does not have control of basic amenities, including electricity and security," former Executive Officer of KMC, Kedar Bahadur Adhikari, said. He said that the metropolis should continue to provide incentives to the entrepreneurs if it wants the service going.
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