March 25: Clashes between taxi operators and Pathao erupted on Monday (March 22) after some taxi drivers attacked a Pathao rider claiming that their customer was snatched by Pathao.

On Tuesday, Pathao stopped its service citing a problem in the app. On the same day, the Metropolitan Traffic Police Division called both parties for a discussion. The division informed that the two sides reconciliation have reconciled  after a meeting between the representative of Valley Taxi Entrepreneurs and Taxi Service Society and Pathao at the division.

“Once the taxi operator apologized, both parties have agreed to operate their service with dignity,” said chief of the division SSP Janak Raj Bhattarai, “Since then, there has been no problem.”

Although the branch said that there has been an agreement between the two parties, the conflict between Pathao riders and taxi drivers is still going on.

It has been a few years since the ride sharing business started in Nepal. However, the taxi operators are angry that their job has been taken away, which has further escalated the dispute.

Last year, Patan High Court issued a verdict directing the government to regulate the business. Even though the Department of Transport Management has made a draft for the ride sharing business and sent it to the Ministry of Physical Infrastructure and Transport, no law has been made yet.

Bishnu Chauhan, central member of the Valley Taxi Entrepreneurs and Taxi Service Society, said that unpleasant incidents could happen at any time if Pathao is not regulated immediately.

Although the taxi driver stated that the conflict was raised due to the Pathao, there has been widespread protest against the incident saying that the taxi drivers do not go by the meter and charged high fare. The ‘I am with Pathao’ campaign is also running on social media.

Stating that he had repeatedly victimized by taxi drivers, former Foreign Secretary Madhurman Acharya, in support of Pathao wrote on Twitter, “There are some things that cannot be stopped. Ride sharing is like that. It is a need of time, and it continues somehow.”

The marketing manager of Pathao Suraksha Hamal said that the regulatory body has banned the use of Pathao clothes, and stickers. Although she did not say which body has banned the wearing of Pathao marked clothes, she said that the service has been operational since Wednesday. Despite the problems on Pathao app on Wednesday, the app has been running normally since the evening.