Kathmandu, 9 June: Dipendra Shrestha, a taxi driver in Kathmandu, uses various ride-sharing apps like Pathao and inDrive. Thanks to these apps, it has become much easier for him to find passengers. In the past, he had to wait at intersections for customers. Now, ride requests come directly to his phone, and he rarely has to drive without a passenger.
However, Shrestha has recently joined the protest being organized by transport entrepreneurs against ride-sharing companies. His concern is specifically about motorcycles carrying passengers. He believes that if motorcycles were not allowed to carry passengers, taxis like his could get more customers—even at higher fares.
“Our demand is that only black-plate taxis should be allowed to operate ride-sharing services,” says Dipendra Shrestha. “Motorcycles are already carrying passengers, and if private cars also start doing the same, our taxi business will collapse.”
Prakash Adhikari, a central leader of the Valley Taxi Entrepreneurs and Drivers Service Society, also says they are protesting to ensure that vehicles with private number plates are not allowed to carry passengers.
When asked, “Haven’t you yourself benefited from ride-sharing?”, he admitted that it was true. However, he questioned, “If vehicles with red (private) number plates are also allowed to carry passengers, then what’s the point of operating public transport vehicles?”
In cities like Kathmandu, Pokhara, Chitwan, and Butwal–Bhairahawa, two-wheeler ride-sharing services have gained significant popularity. As a result, ride-sharing platforms have posed a serious challenge to the monopoly of public transport and taxis.
Ride-sharing services have not even been around for a decade in Nepal, yet they have already transformed the lifestyle of people living in major cities. Instead of passengers having to walk to busy intersections to find transport, a new trend has begun where vehicles come directly to the passenger’s doorstep. Since public transport rarely arrives on time or reaches the destination as scheduled, ride-sharing has also helped save time.
Compared to taxis, ride-sharing fares are cheaper. For two-wheeler ride-sharing, the base fare ranges from Rs. 30 to Rs. 60, while the per-kilometer fare is around Rs. 15 to Rs. 25. Due to competition among ride-sharing apps, they also offer various discounts and benefits to riders, drivers, and passengers.
How many ride-sharing users are there?
There is no official data on how many people use ride-sharing services in Nepal. Experts in the field say that ride-sharing platforms often inflate their user numbers when presenting them.
In Nepal, several ride-sharing apps are currently in operation, including inDrive, Pathao, Tootle, ZoomZoom, Taximandu, Sahara, Sajilo, inDrive Nepal, and Yango. Among these, inDrive and Pathao are the most popular.
“Around 1 million people are estimated to be using ride-sharing services in Nepal,” said a businessperson who has been studying the sector.
According to major players in the ride-sharing market, there are an estimated 125,000 drivers and riders in the Kathmandu Valley alone. In addition, ride-sharing services are actively operating in cities like Pokhara, Chitwan, Butwal, and Bhairahawa.
“It’s difficult to give an exact number of users or riders because a single driver or rider often uses multiple apps,” one businessperson explained.
Across the country, it is estimated that there are around 80,000 to 90,000 trips per day through ride-sharing platforms.
Among them, Pathao holds the largest market share in two-wheeler rides, while inDrive is the top platform for four-wheelers. Other services like Tootle and ZoomZoom also operate, but on a smaller scale.
