Kathmandu, 02 June: On Monday, public transport operators launched a protest against ride-sharing services, bringing transportation to a halt across the country. Although a few vehicles operated in the early morning, there was no public transport on the roads during peak office hours. As a result of the strike, commuters faced significant difficulties—some were forced to walk, while others had to pay high fares to use ride-sharing services.
Many complaints were reported against popular platforms like Pathao and InDrive, with users alleging that riders refused online requests and engaged in fare bargaining offline. Following these complaints, Nepal Police issued a public notice urging people to report any instances of “offline bargaining” by ride-sharing drivers.
Urging riders not to overcharge, the police requested the public to report any incidents of excessive fares to the nearest traffic police office or by calling the hotline number 103. Amid reports of increased ride-sharing fares during the public transport disruption, the ride-sharing company Pathao Nepal stated that there had been no fare hike on the Pathao mobile app beyond the standard rates.
The company stated via its social media that, in order to ease the inconvenience faced by passengers, Pathao had incentivized its riders through quests and bonuses on behalf of the company.
Pathao also urged passengers not to take offline rides to ensure safety and reliability.
“The Nepal Police has previously reported incidents of fraud, robbery, and abuse involving offline rides,” Pathao stated. “Since offline rides are not recorded in the system, they are not insured and pose a higher risk of various criminal incidents. Therefore, Pathao requests users to book rides only through the mobile app.”
Pathao also informed that in case of any issues, users can contact their 24-hour call center at 01–5970099 to file complaints related to Pathao rides.
Pathao’s Managing Director, Asiman Singh Basnyat, claimed that Pathao has not increased its fare.
“When passengers book rides through the Pathao app, the regular fare applies. No additional charges have been added,” he said. “If a nearby rider doesn’t accept the request and a distant rider does, the system might apply a pickup charge, which could make the fare appear higher.”
However, passengers have complained that ride-sharing app users have taken advantage of the transport strike to charge excessive fares.
Over 100 penalized for overcharging passengers
According to SP Deepak Giri of the Kathmandu Valley Traffic Police Office, more than 100 ride-sharing drivers from Pathao and InDrive have been penalized for operating offline and demanding excessive fares.
Giri stated that these actions were taken after reports of drivers exploiting the transport strike to charge high prices and engage in fare bargaining with passengers while operating offline.
Specifically, 6 drivers were penalized for overcharging, and 96 others were punished under the “other” category, which includes activities like offline operation and fare negotiations.
“This includes those involved in bargaining while staying offline,” SP Giri told Ratopati.
“Right to Free Movement Violated”
Consumer rights activist Madhav Prasad Timilsina has stated that transportation falls under the category of essential services and therefore should not be disrupted through strikes. He argued that such strikes have violated the rights of ordinary consumers and called for legal action against those responsible. However, he criticized the government for showing respect instead of taking action.
“With these unjustified and anarchic demands, the right of millions of citizens to move freely has been violated. Instead of taking legal action, the Home Ministry invited them to a conference hall and treated them with high regard,” Timilsina said. “This has only emboldened those engaging in such unlawful activities.”
He added that in a competitive market, service providers should focus on delivering quality services to satisfy consumers, something public transportation has failed to do.
“We are not receiving the level of service we pay for in public transport today,” he remarked. “This is the right time for the government to improve public transportation, but instead it is encouraging the wrong practices.”
He stated that instead of providing exemplary service during this time, many ride-sharing drivers resorted to offline bargaining and charged excessively high fares.
“Ride-sharing services today have become like taxis from 10 years ago. Riders sit at street corners and negotiate prices. Their services are not passenger-friendly,” he said. “When public transport operators went on strike, it was an opportunity for ride-sharing to offer better service — but they failed.”
He added that while ride-sharing initially ended the dominance of exploitative taxi practices, it now risks repeating the same problems unless properly regulated.
“There used to be taxi monopolies, which were broken by the advent of ride-sharing. However, the government now needs to regulate ride-sharing services properly,” he said. “Ride-sharing has provided essential services during the night and in difficult situations — so it should be allowed, but within a legal and structured framework.”
