By Indira Aryal

Kathmandu, Jan. 23: Kathmandu Valley’s public transportation is all but pleasant to most passengers thanks to over-crowded vehicles, uncomfortable seats, rude behaviour of the helpers and untimely services. 
After hearing complaints relating to transportation services, Metropolitan Traffic Police Division (MTPD) has started monitoring and evaluating the public transportation services inside the Valley in coordination with different Transport Federations and Organisations.
"In the last 12 days since the campaign started, 3,342 public vehicles have been supervised and asked for necessary changes,” said Senior Superintendent of Police of MTPD Bhim Prasad Dhakal.
After receiving complaints from the public about the Valley’s transportation, SSP Dhakal himself travelled by various public vehicles for a whole day just to monitor the services they have been providing to the public.
Over-crowded public vehicles, no limit in picking up the passengers, lack of proper operating schedule and bus stops, uncomfortable rides and untimely services are some of the complaints from the public to the traffic police.
SSP Dhakal said, “After I observed the public transportation for a whole day, I came to the conclusion that there should be an immediate change in the public vehicles.”
So, a seven-member joint committee including MTPD has been formed to monitor and evaluate the public vehicles. The committee will evaluate and ask public vehicles to bring changes within a week, if needed, SSP Dhakal said.
He said that ensuring safe, timely and quality public transportation facilities for Valley's citizens has become a motto of MTPD now.
He said, “I am committed to bringing changes in the Valley’s transportation services as soon as possible and that is my commitment to Valley’s citizens.” The meeting between different transport entrepreneurs and MTPD has come up with a 19-point commitment to monitor and evaluate public transportation.
SSP Dhakal said that all 40 traffic units in the Valley had been working every day to bring changes in public transportation.
Kamal Pokharel, secretary at All Nepal Transportation Workers’ Association and one of the members of the committee, said that they had been working to assist in the campaign launched by Traffic Police. “We support the positive changes which are initiated by Traffic Police and are helping in the monitoring of the public vehicles,” Pokharel said.
Arjun Gautam of Federation of Nepal Transport Entrepreneurs said that the public transport owners had been terrified by traffic rules and regulations. “They are taking actions and charging fines without any warning, and we can’t operate the business like this in the future,” Gautam said.
“Entrepreneurs are discouraged by high charge by traffic police this time. We are supporting them in their campaign, so there should be coordination between traffic police and the drivers,” he said.
SSP Dhakal said that traffic police were not taking any action against vehicle operators at this time because they had given a week’s ultimatum to change the condition of their vehicles if they were operating in bad condition.