The Department of Transport Management (DoTM) on Wednesday started inspection of public vehicles that are more than 20 year old to enforce the government decision to take such vehicles off the Capital roads. 

The department in association with traffic police on Wednesday inspected old vehicles at major junctions in the Valley, including Old Bus Park, Ratnapark, Balaju Bus Park, Koteshwor, Baneshwor, Lagankhel, Jawalakhel and Bhaktapur area. 

“We found only one over-aged taxi being operated today [Wednesday], ” said Tok Raj Pandey, spokesperson for the DoTM. According to him, most of the over-aged vehicles have already been dumped. “It might be because, they were well aware of the government move,” he said. 

The Cabinet two years ago had approved the ban on operation of old buses, mini buses, micro buses, taxi and pickup vans bearing black license plates in the Capital. According to a rough estimate, there are around 2,500 vehicles more than 20 years old are running in the Valley. 

Metropolitan Police Traffic Division Spokesperson SP Lokendra Malla said they had already sent out a circular to the traffic police posts across the Valley to strictly implement the ban on old vehicles.

Anyone found running the outdated vehicles will be fined Rs 5,000 and the vehicle impounded, said the DoTM. Such vehicles are largely responsible for environmental degradation, such as air pollution and are more prone to accidents.

Such dilapidated vehicles also guzzle more fuel and have high maintenance costs. 

According to the DoTM, motor vehicle exhaust accounts for 40 percent of the air pollution in the Valley. In the first phase, motor vehicles that are more than 20 years old will be banned from operating in Kathmandu. The ban will be gradually extended to other major cities across the country, said the DoTM, adding that it aims to take old vehicles of the streets from across the country by mid-March 2018.