Abstract
Electric Vehicles (EVs) are somewhere misnamed as ‘elsewhere polluting vehicles’. But this is not true in case of Kathmandu. In Nepal, mostly electricity is being generated by hydropower and it is much more cleaner than electricity generated by diesel plants or coal. Thus, EVs running on the streets of Kathmandu are the true electric vehicles with zero emission. Air pollution has become a major environmental threat for Kathmandu residents. The ambient level of particulate matters frequently exceeds the national as well as international guidelines. Studies have shown that vehicles are the major contributor of particulate matter and as a whole air pollution in Kathmandu. Vehicles are responsible for about 67 percent of the total particulate matter load in the valley. So, major challenge for the air quality management for Kathmandu is to reduce the emission from vehicles.
Kathmandu valley is suitable for EVs for different reasons. Choking air pollution in the busy streets due to vehicles is the primary reason. Low speed and capacity to travel short distances by EVs are other reasons that can be suitable in Kathmandu as it has short travel distance (cross section of valley is only about 20 to 30 km) and low traffic speeds. Currently, there are about 600 three wheeler EVs (popularly known as ‘Safa Tempos’) plying in the streets of Kathmandu as the public transportation. These vehicles are providing service to more than 120,000 commuters everyday and there are five private EV manufacturers involved in the business. On top of this, three wheeler EVs are popular among commuters due to its environment friendliness. But there is much more scope of these vehicles provided favourable policy directions. Trolley bus system can be expanded on the wide roads of Kathmandu valley, three wheeler EVs can go within the city area in narrow streets as mass transport system. Similarly, for private use, small cars, electric bicycles could also be used. Although these EVs have advantages over reducing urban air pollution, it is not getting attention from the concerned sector as expected and its growth is not taking momentum.
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