E-Rickshaw, also popularly known as City Safari, or City rickshaw, have now become the chief paratransit vehicle in the major cities of Nepal. These e-rickshaw are eco-friendly, creating jobs for many Nepalis, and providing affordable local transportation service hundreds of thousand common people every day. Approximately there are around 200,000 E-rickshaw’s all over Nepal, and almost 80 percent of the e-rickshaw drivers do not have the driving license. Many of the E-rickshaw drivers do not have driving license because they are not educated. As per the government rules one must pass the written test to appear in the practical test. But for many uneducated e-rickshaw drivers, the written test seems to be the major barrier in acquiring driving license. In case of accident these poor drivers cannot claim for the third-party insurance and may end up in jail for their negligence and not being able to pay the compensation amount. Realizing the seriousness of the issue, Bikalpa has been advocating to solve the problem and ease the license process in Nepal. In June 2025, Bikalpa advocacy effort contributed to remove the provision of written test in Koshi Province which will ensure the livelihood opportunity of the e-rickshaw drivers and safety of the commuters. This has encouraged us to keep our effort and energy in Madesh and other Provinces.
In Madesh Province, to make our advocacy effective and impactful, we collaborated with the local organization named Kayapalat and the Nepal E-Rickshaw Workers Organization, Dhanusha. We started our advocacy with one-to-one engagement with policy makers. On 5th August 2025, Bikalpa in collaboration with Kayapalat handover the delegation paper to Chief Minister of Madesh Pradesh Hon. Satish Kumar Singh. While receiving the delegation, Chief Minister Singh stated that “The province government will take necessary legal steps to simplify the licensing process for the illiterate e-rickshaw drivers in Madesh Pradesh”. The issue was widely covered in the news and media which informed stakeholders on the issue.
23 August 2025, detail article published was published in leading national media named Kantipur regarding E-rickshaw management and license issue, which mentioned Bikalpa research and includes our data.
24 August 2025: On 24th August 2025, Bikalpa – an Alternative and Kayapalat collaboratively organized a Stakeholder dialogue to address the issue of driving licenses for e-rickshaw drivers in Madesh Province. During the event, Hon. Kaushal Kr Ray, Minister of Labor and Transportation mentioned that, Madesh Province will make sure to ease the licensing process within a month and half. Similarly, Hon. Sanjay Kr. Yadav, Minister of Forest and Environment urged to find alternative of written test as it relates to the livelihood of many people instead of demotivating them. At the end of the event, Bikalpa handed over the delegation letter to Hon. Sanjay Kumar Yadav, Minister of Forest and Environment, and Hon. Kaushal Kumar Ray, Minister of Labor and Transportation, Madesh Province.
25 August 2025: On 25th August 2025, Bikalpa – an Alternative organized a press meet to address the issue of driving licenses for e-rickshaw drivers in Madesh Province, where around 20 journalists from various media houses participated. The message of the press meeting was highlighted by more than half a dozen media which help to sensitize the larger audience and stakeholders on the issue.
On 2nd September 2025, Bikalpa Madesh Province Coordinator Diwakar Uprety handed over the delegation letter to Mayor Manoj kumar Sah of Janakpur, Madesh Province. During the meeting Mr. Uprety highlighted the challenge faced by e-rickshaw drivers in acquiring driving license and emphasized that the concern stakeholders must simplify the license process and provide essential support to manage it.
In September 2025, there was a political crisis in Madesh Province assembly that topple down the government and created a political vacuum for 3 months. Due to the political change and absence of the government in Madesh, We were compelled to minimize our advocacy efforts until a stable governing body is established. This affected Bikalpa project activities because now we must start the process again from the beginning. After the formation of new government in December 2025, we started reaching out the newly appointed authorities and restart the process.
On 8th January 2026, Mr. Diwakar Uprety, handover the delegation paper to Hon. Manish Kumar Suman, Minister at Ministry of Labor and Transport, Madesh Province. While receiving the delegation, Mr. Suman shared that he understands the sensitivity of e-rickshaw driving license issues which need to be solved from policy level. He also mentioned that he’s concerned and positive to address issues in nearest future.
In February 2026, Bikalpa team again visited to Madesh Province and meet diverse stakeholders including policy makers. During the visit, we met Hon. Chief Minister Krishna Prasad Yadav, Hon. Speaker of Madesh Province Assembly Mr. Ram Ashish Yadav, Secretary of Ministry of Sports and Social Welfare Mr. Ranjit Kumar Yadav, Chief District Officer (CDO) Mr. Prem Prasad Luitel, Traffic In charge of Dhanusha District Mr. Surya Bahadur Shahi and handover our policy brief and delegation with the aim to solve the existing problem related to e-rickshaw driving license in Madesh Province. Realizing the urgency of the issue, Chief Minister Yadav said that he had already prioritized this agenda and included it in his 100-day action plan for his tenure. During the visit, we also conducted the meeting with the members of E-rickshaw Drivers Association Dhanusha and collaborated with them to organize the awareness and stickers campaign.
After this, we did a regular follow-up with the concerned stakeholder and authorities. In 22 March 2026, Bikalpa team again visited Madesh province and organized different activities. On 23rd March We had a series of meeting with the policymakers of Madesh Province and handover our policy brief.
We did the meeting with Honorable Chief Minister Krishna Prasad Yadav; Minister for Home Affairs, Communication and Law, Fakira Mahato; Minister for Physical Infrastructure Development, Raj Kumar Gupta; and Minister for Health and Population, Jangilal Rai, to draw attention to resolving the issues related to e-rickshaw licensing.
Chief Minister Krishna Prasad Yadav said that he will consult with the concerned ministry to expedite the necessary procedures without delay, signaling strong political will at the highest level of provincial leadership. Minister for Home Affairs, Communication and Law, Fakira Mahato; stated that he is aware of the problem faced by e-rickshaw drivers and expressed a firm commitment to resolving the issue in close consultation with the relevant ministries.
On 24th March 2026, Bikalpa organized a press meet at the premises of the Federation of Nepali Journalists (FNJ), Dhanusha, Janakpurdham. The press meet aimed to highlight the growing challenges faced by thousands of e-rickshaw drivers in acquiring the driving license. The event received wide media coverage from both national and local media that helped to sensitize all the stakeholders and concerned authorities on the issue.
On 25 March 2026, Bikalpa organize the stakeholder dialogue in collaboration with Kayapalat and E-rickshaw Drivers Association Danusha to foster the dialogue on easing-up the E- rickshaw License in Madesh province. Diverse stakeholders from media sector, human rights, civil society members, government officials, elected representatives from local and province government, e- rickshaw drivers and association members, traffic and security officials were the part of this event. During the event, everyone felt necessary to remove the written test provision and solve the e-rickshaw driving license problem in Madesh Province. Chief guest of the event, Honorable Manish Suman, Labor, and Transport Minister of Madesh Province assured that the ministry is working on the report and will address the issue in coming future to ensure the livelihood opportunity of many low-income drivers and their family.
To amplify the issue and highlight our reform agenda in Madesh Province, Bikalpa regularly created visual contents that includes short video interviews with E-rickshaw drivers, E-rickshaw association members, Policymakers perception video with Commuters and case story that highlights the importance of e-rickshaw in daily lives of common people. These videos were published through Bikalpa social media channel with English sub-title. We also captured and published the videos of the stakeholder dialogue and press meetings, where diverse stakeholders gave their voice and support appealing the authorities to ease E-rickshaw driver’s license in Madesh Province. To amplify our message in Madesh Province, Bikalpa published around 3 dozen of videos that includes, shorts, reels, interviews, and commentary videos.
On April 6, 2026, the Ministry of Labour and Transport of Madesh Province formally directed the Department of Transport Management to revise the licensing system. The directive proposed replacing the written test with a practical-only examination for three-wheeled e-rickshaws, reflecting Bikalpa’s advocacy goals and securing the livelihoods of thousands of low-income drivers across the province.
This decision represents a significant policy impact. It directly addresses a long-standing structural barrier, enabling thousands of low-income drivers to access legal licensing, insurance protection, and safer working conditions. At the same time, it strengthens regulatory oversight and improves road safety outcomes for the broader public.
Building on this policy success, Bikalpa is committed to ensuring that reform translates into real-world impact. As Madesh Province begins issuing licenses without a written test, like the model implemented in Koshi Province, Bikalpa plans to roll out an E-rickshaw License Awareness Campaign. This includes conducting orientation sessions with students to mobilize youth engagement, collaborating with traffic offices to promote safe driving practices, and directly engaging with e-rickshaw drivers to support them through the licensing process.
Drawing from its experience in Koshi Province, Bikalpa will implement a multi-day awareness campaign, including driver interactions at traffic offices, “Safe Driver Campaign” initiatives, and continuous outreach through media and digital platforms. These efforts aim not only to inform drivers about the simplified licensing process, but also to promote responsible driving behavior and strengthen road safety culture.
