Despite a heavy reduction in fuel prices by the Nepal Oil Corporation (NOC), commuter and freight transport fares have been slashed by a mere 2 percent. The Department of Transport Management (DoTM) announced that the revised fares took effect on July 2, applying exclusively to public and cargo vehicles operating across two or more provinces.
The decision follows a massive price drop by the Corporation, which slashed petrol by Rs 20 per liter and both diesel and kerosene by Rs 30 per liter. With this adjustment, the price of petrol in Kathmandu has dropped to Rs 197 per liter, while diesel and kerosene stand at Rs 195 per liter. However, despite this heavy reduction, the automatic fare adjustment system yielded only a minimal decrease for passengers and cargo transport.
According to the department, the minor reduction is a direct result of previous adjustments. Back on April 25, when fuel prices soared, the department cap-adjusted fares by only 5 percent across the board to shield consumers, rather than implementing the full required hike.
Explaining the rationale behind the nominal 2 percent drop, a spokesperson for the Department of Transport Management said, "At that time, fares for passenger vehicles should have risen by 9.8%, hilly cargo transport by 12.9%, and Terai cargo transport by 14.3%. Because we capped the increase at just 5% in the Nepali month Baisakh instead of the full required rate, the current fare reduction appears minimal despite the heavy plunge in fuel prices."
The DoTM has applied the flat 2 percent reduction uniformly across all three categories -- passenger vehicles, hilly region cargo transport, and Terai region cargo transport. The Department maintained that the revision strictly adheres to the scientific automatic fare adjustment system based on current fuel market rates.
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