Tourist vehicles do not suffer accidents

KATHMANDU, Dec 8

Public transportation vehicles suffer accidents almost every day. Over 500 individuals have been killed in accidents at different places after the Dashain festival. Passengers have to travel in psychological terror due to rising accidents. But vehicles used for transportation of tourists have been an exception at this time of accidents. That tourist vehicles plying in similar routes for decades do not suffer accidents show that the roads alone cannot be blamed.

 Transport entrepreneurs always cite the state of roads and the process of issuing license for the rise in accidents. But the tourist vehicles plying in the same roads and driven by drivers who receive license through the same process do not suffer accidents. Though public transportation vehicles comparatively operate at rural areas, they suffer accidents even on the major highways and black-topped roads. “We do not keep even a single passenger over capacity in tourist vehicles. There are no accidents as a result,” President of the Nepal Tourist Vehicle Association Ram Sharan Karki reasons. “We also send drivers and helpers to operate tourist vehicles only after training them properly,” he adds.

He says the drivers have been banned from speeding over 70 kilometer per hour no matter how good and broad the road is. “The speed is never above 40/50 km/hr at other places. Speed of tourist vehicles generally is slow and they do not overtake other vehicles as far as possible. Passengers are also not picked/dropped indiscriminately,” he elaborates.   

General Secretary of the Federation of Nepalese National Transport Entrepreneurs Association Saroj Sitoula concedes that unhealthy competition is the main reason for the problems seen in public transportation. “Tourist vehicles do not stop at any place apart for eating while carrying tourists. But public transportation vehicles compete unhealthily to pick passengers. There may have been more accidents of public vehicles due to that,” he reasons. Tourist vehicles cater to over 1 million domestic and foreign tourists every year. Over 1,500 small/big tourist vehicles operate across the country every day. “Other public vehicles travel a long distance at high speed. Tourist vehicles do not travel more than 300 kilometers a day on an average,” Karki points out.

Tourist vehicles are operating from Kathmandu to Pokhara, Sauraha, Lumbini and other places. They have expanded services across the country even through cars, vans, and micro-buses apart from buses. Passengers now have started to opt for tourist vehicles even paying a higher fare due to fear of accidents in public transportation vehicles. Tourist vehicle operators claim around 50 percent of their vehicles are filled by Nepali passengers. “Our vehicles are not empty even when there are no tourists,” Karki states. Tourist vehicles currently charge Rs 700 per person to travel to Pokhara from Kathmandu while public vehicles charge Rs 400.