Rise in the number of private vehicles makes traffic management difficult 

KATHMANDU, Nov 4: Registration of private four-wheelers in Bagmati Zone, with already congested roads, has doubled in one year, contributing significantly to traffic woes of the cities.

During the fiscal year 2014/15, 9,945 private four-wheelers were registered at Bagmati Zone while a total of 21,647 were added on the city roads in the fiscal year 2015/016, indicating a rise of 11,702 vehicles in just a year.

The data maintained by the Department of Transport Management (DoTM) also revealed that 1,803 private vehicles, including cars, jeeps and vans, are registered in an average every month in Bagmati Zone alone.

Registration of private four-wheelers has also doubled in one year across the country, not just in Bagmati Zone. According to the data, a total of 13,560 private four-wheelers were registered in 2014/015 across the country. The number doubled in 2015/016, with the registration of 28,361 new ones.

Stating that the frequent increase in the number of private vehicles is a matter of concern, Dr Rok Raj Pandey, spokesperson of the DoTM, admitted that inefficient public vehicles is one of the factors responsible for the increase in private four-wheelers.

“General public are not able to rely on public transportation and the number of mass transportation is not sufficient. That is one of the contributing factors for the increase in private vehicles,” said Pandey.

According to him, other factors, such as rise in purchasing capacity and increase in living standards, have also contributed significantly to the increase in the number of private vehicles. 

“Nowadays, private vehicles are not just luxurious goods, but have become necessity. Rise in the number brings various challenges for us. The obvious one is efficient traffic management.”

Not just four-wheelers, the number of two-wheelers in Bagmati Zone and across the country has been on the rise as well. According to the data, number of registration of motorcycles in Bagmati Zone is 55,844 and 64,927 in the fiscal years 2014/015 and 2015/016 respectively.

Likewise, the registration of two-wheelers nationwide was counted at 196,383 and 267,439 in 2014/015 and 2015/016 respectively.

Rise in the number of private vehicles has made traffic management very difficult. Various road widening campaigns of the government have bore little fruit to minimize traffic snarls as traffic volumes continue to grow, Pandey clarified.

Another challenge of growing number of vehicles, according to him, is the rising number of road accidents. Stating that road accidents is one of the major factors leading to deaths, Pandey said existing laws and policies should be amended and made more sterner and effective.

“We are holding discussions with stakeholders to amend the Transport Management Act 1993,” he said.

Pandey added that the government has brought various plans and policies to encourage the use of public transportation over private ones. 

“Firstly, we are striving to deter transport syndicates and make public vehicles more reliable. Mass transportation has been encouraged. Companies such as Sajha Yatayat promoting mass transportation have extended their operation to other districts as well. All of these are positive signs.”

 
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