Gandaki suspends ride-sharing regulations for a month

POKHARA: The Gandaki Province Government has suspended the implementation of the Ride-Sharing (Regulation and Management) Rules, 2025, for a month, as requested by the federal government.

The federal government reached a six-point agreement with transport entrepreneurs, who have been launching a nationwide transport strike for the past few days, on Monday evening. In the agreement, the federal government expressed a commitment to write to the provincial government to suspend ride-sharing to address the concerns of transport entrepreneurs.

“The decision comes in response to protests by transport entrepreneurs, who are opposing the new regulations intended to regulate app-based ride-sharing services in line with the Supreme Court directives and provincial authority, Kamal Kumar Adhikari, coordinator of the talks team of the Gandaki Province Government, said in a statement on Tuesday.

The regulations, issued under Section 13(4) of the Gandaki Province Vehicle and Transport Management Act, 2019, were published in the provincial gazette on May 15, 2025.

“The ride-sharing services have been operational in Nepal since 2016. It has created employment for thousands of youths and promoted self-employment. However, the absence of clear regulations has led to revenue losses for the government and concerns over passenger safety and fare consistency. The provincial government brought the regulations to address these gaps by ensuring passenger safety, setting maximum fare limits, and establishing a grievance redress mechanism, while also embracing innovation and consumer choice,” the statement added.

Although the regulations received widespread support, transport entrepreneurs submitted a two-point memorandum to the provincial Ministry of Physical Infrastructure Development and Transport, demanding withdrawal of the regulations. In response, the ministry formed a five-member high-level dialogue committee led by a secretary and invited transport organisations for talks.

“Transport entrepreneurs, however, countered with a seven-point demand and initiated a public transport shutdown beginning May 30, 2025. On June 1, the dialogue committee issued a public call for renewed discussions. Following this, on June 3, the Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers formally requested the suspension of the ride-sharing regulations to restore normalcy and resolve the ongoing strike,” it added.

Among others, transport entrepreneurs are opposing a provision in the regulations to allows the use of private four-wheelers for ride-sharing services.

The provincial government has said that it would engage in negotiations with transport federations and related organisations to reach a consensus on the regulations during the period.