By A Staff Reporter
Kathmandu, Nov. 19: Ridesharing applications have become an innovative means of commuting, creating income opportunities for many. For a lot of people in the Kathmandu Valley, they have served as a viable and easy alternative to bothersome and exacting modes of transportation.

The vehicles associated with ridesharing applications until recently had been relied on third-party insurance for both the rider and pillion as it was not termed a ‘legal business’ by the prevailing law.
“We planned to introduce insurance scheme for riders and customers since the beginning but a lack of proper legislation barred us from doing so. But now that ridesharing has been legalised, we are able to offer insurance coverage,” said Asheem Man Singh Basnyat, regional director for Pathao, a ridesharing giant.

In 2020, the Bagmati State Vehicle and Transport Management Act, 2075, added a provision during an amendment and made ridesharing legal.
“Since the guideline for ridesharing is yet to arrive, we approached the insurance department in line with mandamus by the Patan High Court last year. The court had directed authorities to allow ridesharing to operate citing that formulation of laws was underway,” said Basnyat.

The ridesharing insurance is a compensation arrangement that gives a guarantee of reimbursement for specified loss, damage or death that occurs during the ride.
Pathao has stated to provide a compensation of Rs. 500,000 in cases of accidental death and permanent disability due to accident. Likewise, Rs. 100,000 will be provided in cases of OPD treatment and hospitalisation.

The customer or rider needs to claim the insurance by providing documents like medical and police report of the accident.
However, Pathao informed that riders and customers should abide by the rules if a customer is to claim it.
The rider should register with a genuine name, date of birth and other personal information. In addition, the rider should also be online and the insurance covers accidents from the time a ride stars until it ends.

“Authentic details during registration pave the way to claim the insurance. An individual availing the service through someone else’s application is not eligible to claim the insurance. It is applicable for all Pathao services,” said Basnyat.
Riders are also found picking passengers through verbal agreements rather than through the applications. Some riders also ask passengers to cancel the ride so that they do not have to pay the commission to the ridesharing companies. “Insurance cannot be claimed in such cases,” said Basnyat.

There are currently more than half-a-dozen ridesharing applications in operation but only Pathao has initiated a proper insurance scheme for its customers and riders.
Other ridesharing companies informed that they were planning to introduce insurance schemes soon.

“Some legal issues had stopped us from bringing insurance policies earlier. We are now visiting insurance companies for an agreement. We will introduce our insurance scheme at the earliest,” said Sixit Bhatta, co-founder of Tootle, a ridesharing company.
Riders and customers have also applauded the move saying that the insurance scheme ensures security during the rides.