Competition Issues in Public Transport

Anticompetitive practices not only harm consumers but negatively affect the efficiency of business enterprises. Existing laws and policies like Consumer Protection Act, 2054, Transportation Act, 2049 and Competition Promotion and Market Protection Act, 2063 prohibit anticompetitive practices, including in the form of syndicate. Realizing the need to discuss the plight of consumers and business people in view of the existing syndicate in the transport sector and also to identify the role that stakeholders can play to scrap syndicates, South Asia Watch on Trade, Economics & Environment (SAWTEE), ActionAid Nepal (AAN) and Forum for Protection of Consumer Interest (FPCI) jointly organized a talk programme on 'Competition Issues in Public Transport'.
     
Shedding light on the objectives of the programme, Ms. Ila Sharma said that though almost all the consumers have suffered from the syndicate system, they are yet to fight it. 

Presenting a paper, Mr. Jyoti Baniya, General Secretary, FPCI, said that the concerned ministries and regulatory bodies should be active in promoting consumer interest as per the guidelines of United Nations for Consumer Protection and also as per the existing laws and regulations like Consumer Protection Act, 2054. Likewise, Mr. Ganesh Prasad Dhakal, Director General, Department of Commerce, said that though it is the responsibility of the government to monitor and check anticompetitive practices prevailing in the market, the consumers should get united and put forth their problems in an effective manner

Mr. Khagendra Mani Pokhrel, Director General, Department of Transport, said that regarding syndicate, there are many shortcomings in the regulatory function of the government. He added that realizing the shortcomings, serious efforts are under way to rectify them.

Similarly, Mr. Bhola Nath Pokharel, market analyst, said that the government, instead giving in to pressures from transport entrepreneurs to allow them to form a syndicate, should initiate reforms to end such a practice.

Most of the participants of the programme expressed the view that anticompetitive practices like the syndicate system prevailing in transportation service sector not only affects day-to-day life of the commuters, but also has a negative impact on the overall economic growth of the country. Given  that Nepal is party to the Agreement on South Asian Free Trade Area (SAFTA), which is in the process of incorporating trade in services, as well as the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) Framework Agreement, which also covers services, Nepal is set to face the challenge of increased competition. Thus, transport entrepreneurs need to work towards enhancing their competitiveness instead of resorting to all sorts of anticompetitive practices which are not going to help them in the near future. The participants univocally asked the concerned stakeholders, especially the consumers, to make all possible efforts in order to pressurize the government to act effectively to scrap syndicates.       

The talk programme was attended by more than 75 participants, including businesspeople, transportation sector entrepreneurs, academicians, advocates, student leaders, consumer activists, civil society activists and representatives of political parties.