Transport operators, govt reach agreement

KATHMANDU, June 24 - After 14 hours of marathon dialogue, the government and transporters agreed on Tuesday to increase transportation fares by 28 percent for long haul routes.A source present at the discussion said agitating transporters are all set to call off the indefinite nationwide transport strike following fresh understanding with the government.
According to the source, both sides agreed to set the fare at Rs 12 for up to 5 km for short haul buses and microbuses to be increased by Rs 1 for every additional kilometer."We have tentatively agreed to increase fares by 7.5 percent for Kathmandu Valley over the rate set by the government, while 3.5 percent will be raised for long and medium route fares set by the government previously," the source added.

However, the source said the government and transporters are yet to reach understanding on how to implement the student concession provided by the government.
They have also agreed to increase current taxi fare to Rs 23 to Rs 24. At present, the fare is Rs 20 per kilometer with the flag down rate.Both sides also agreed to create an effective mechanism to set new fare rates through scientific system within two months. They also have reached understanding on taking measures to discourage misuse of student concession.Transporters have been staging strike from Sunday demanding a 35 percent rise in transport fares, 10 percent more than the rate set by the government. The Ministry of Labor and Transport Management (MoLTM) last week decided to increase the fares on public transport by flat 25 percent, taking the two-year-old rate as the base.