April 25: Sumi Tripathi, a permanent resident of Kavre currently living in Tripureshwor, has to urgently visit Ganga Lal Heart Care Centre in Kathmandu where her mother was admitted for treatment last Wednesday. Sumi rushed to the hospital to see her mother. It was already 7 pm, so she decided to use a ride-sharing application. 

Upon reaching the road, she saw a man sitting on a bike. Assuming him to be a Tootle or Pathao rider, she asked him for a ride in a hurry. The biker agreed and took her to Ganga Lal as requested. As soon as he started the bike, the rider raced at a very high speed. Tripathi asked him to ride slowly, but the driver kept his speed. As Tripathi had taken the ride offline, she couldn't make her complaint with the company.

The rise in offline use of ride-sharing service has heightened security risks. In recent times, ride-sharing companies have been making good business with the use of technology.

But due to the temptation of making more money, some riders have added security concerns when providing offline services.

Offline use of ride-sharing apps such as Pathao, Tootle, In driver and Lozoom, providing mobility services in Kathmandu Valley, has increased the security challenge. The offline use of ride-sharing apps has increased as riders can make more profit, and passengers can also travel at less expense.

Ahsimman Singh Basnet, managing director of Pathao Nepal Pvt, shared that his team cannot track riders when s/he takes passengers offline.

“Therefore, he is not our employee at that time,” he said, adding, “If there is an accident, we cannot take responsibility for it. So passengers should not go offline just because they can save some money or they are in a hurry.”

He said that a law should be implemented at the state level to control the riders who use offline contact while sitting at the crossroads. He said that the ride-sharing platform has a provision to provide accidental insurance of Rs 100,000 and death insurance up to Rs 500,000 while using their service online.

It is said that the number of riders and passengers using offline services is rising in Sundhara, Tripureshwor, Chabahil, Gongbu Bus Park, Koteshwor Chowk, Kalanki, Balkhu Chowk and other places during the evening and night.

It has increased as the rider does not have to pay any commission to the concerned company for taking the passenger to the destination through offline means.

"We drop passengers offline as we do not have to pay the commission," said a dispatched driver who did not want to be identified. For ride-sharing services, Pathao charges 20 per cent, Tootle and Lozoom charge 10 per cent, while In driver does not charge any commission.

Even though ride-sharing companies like Tootle and Pathao are registered with the company registrar's office, the government has been warning them to stop providing services.

Article 8 (1) of the Transportation Management Act states that private vehicles cannot be used as public transport. Article 12 of the same act has made provision that vehicles registered for one purpose cannot be used for another purpose, due to which even the Department of Transport Management has been calling such action illegal.