Resurrect
Trolley
WHEN the 27-year-old trolley bus service in
the Kathmandu Valley was disbanded late last year, Kathmanduites were understandably sad
that one of the most visible and convenient means of mass transportation in the Kathmandu
Valley had come to an unjustifiable closure. It was even more unfathomable that the
trolley bus service was meted out a sudden death, when the need for electric vehicles was
considered greater than ever before what with all the problems associated with fossil fuel
based vehicles.The service, that started in 1975 with a grant assistance of Rs. 40 million
from the government of People’s Republic of China, had served the Valley people quite
well. Its assured service, unlike that by many other private bus or minibus operators,
meant those commuting on the Tripureshwor-Suryabinayak route had a largely reliable mode
of public transportation. By any yardstick, the only trolley bus service of the country
was an important means of transportation for the Valley-dwellers. Though this electric
means of transportation, run in a typically inefficient manner that is characteristic of
the way most public sector undertakings in the country function, was perennially in
financial straits, the announcement of killing it off surprised many people who could not
quite comprehend why such a drastic action had to be taken. If the management of the
service was inefficient as it certainly was, why wasn’t some options
considered—options like soliciting participation in running it from either the local
municipalities or the private sector or a combination of both. Participants of an
interaction organised the other day to discuss a study report on restarting the trolley
bus service were of one mind that the service must be revived. The argument in favour of
resuming its operation is naturally strong given that it is an environment-friendly system
and that it runs on domestically-produced hydro-power that substitutes the imported
expensive petroleum. Nepal’s successful experiment with three-wheeler electric
vehicles, the "safa tempos", now plying the streets of the Valley also adds to
that argument. Besides, as the study showed, 25 trolley buses are still in an operating
condition.What is now required is an investment of some Rs. 30 million rupees to resume
the service. The suggestion that it should be either privatised or operated by a syndicate
of the municipalities—Kathmandu Metropolitan City, Madhyapur-Thimi Municipality and
Bhaktapur Municipality—or with the joint participation of these municipalities and
the private sector, is a sound advice.The assurance by a National Planning Commission
member that the government planned to restart that trolley gives out hope that this proven
and tested means of mass transportation could again hit the streets. The service must be
resurrected. The following question, however, will not easily go away: why was it stopped
dead on its track without first hunting for alternative arrangements?
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