Transport entrepreneurs demand fare adjustment, warn of fixing fares on its own if government does not listen

Kathmandu. Transport entrepreneurs have urged the government to immediately adjust the public transport fares. Issuing a press release on Friday, the Federation of Nepalese National Transport Entrepreneurs (FNNTE) has demanded that the Nepal Oil Corporation (NOC) fix the fuel fare in line with the hike in the prices of petroleum products.

Issuing a press release today, FNCCI general secretary Deknath Gautam said that the airfare will be adjusted once the price of aviation fuel increases.

The Department of Transport Management had on March 18 recommended the Ministry of Physical Infrastructure and Transport to increase the passenger fare by 11.335 per cent, hill freight by 14.295 per cent and Terai freight by 8.815 per cent, but it has not been implemented yet.

Entrepreneurs have said that they have to run their service at a loss of millions of rupees every day due to the current price hike. The federation has demanded the federal and provincial governments to adjust the fares as soon as possible as per the scientific method. The entrepreneurs have also threatened to fix the fare if their demand is not met.

“There is no alternative to shutting down the service or taking the fare by self-declaration based on scientific method,” the statement reads. u