Himal Press 
KATHMANDU: Public transport fares have gone up by as much as 21.68% due to a steep rise in prices of petroleum products.
The Department of Transport Management (DoTM) said on Wednesday that public transport fares have been revised upward by 17.61% for passenger vehicles, 21.68% for cargo vehicles operating on hilly routes, and 15.75% for cargo vehicles operating on Tarai routes.
According to the DoTM, inter-provincial public transport fares have been revised under an automatic adjustment system based on a rise in market prices of diesel/petrol and the analysis of 13 other indicators.
The government revises public transport fares if fuel prices, one of the 13 indicators applied to determine fares, rise by 5% or more. It last revised the public transport fares on January 6 last year when the retail price of diesel was Rs 150.83 per liter.
Diesel is currently retailing at Rs 182 per liter in Kathmandu Valley and other major cities—a rise of 21.09%.
With the fresh revision in prices, deluxe bus fares from Kathmandu to Biratnagar (541km), the provincial capital of Koshi, will now cost Rs 1,852. Earlier, it was Rs 1,587.
Similarly, fares from Kathmandu to other provincial capitals, Janakpur, Pokhara, Butwal, Surkhet, and Dhangadhi will now cost Rs 1,306, Rs 761, Rs 921, Rs 2,150, Rs 2,347, respectively.
