On 25th August 2025, Bikalpa – an Alternative in collaboration with Kayapalat successfully organized a press meet to address the issue of driving licenses for e-rickshaw drivers in Madesh Province. The event was attended by 25 journalists from various media houses. The session was facilitated by Mr. Diwakar Uprety, Founder and Executive Director of Kayapalat, outlining the relevance of the event to confront the challenges that threaten the sustainability and safety of the growing e-rickshaw. Uprety begin with presenting the data and infographics of the survey conducted with e-rickshaw drivers that highlighted the scenario of e-rickshaw in Madhesh Province. The data also indicated that out of 311 respondent, 70.7 % of e-rickshaw drivers do not have license.
Adding to this, Mr. Basanta Adhikari, Founder and Executive Director of Bikalpa an Alternative shared the objective of the event and the challenge faced by e-rickshaw drivers for not having driving license. He also shared the case story of Durga Sangraula, a mother whose young son hanged himself because his father, a city rickshaw driver, was imprisoned for three years following a tragic accident that resulted in the death of an elderly pedestrian. With no license to his name, the legal consequences were severe. Meanwhile, Durga worked abroad, leaving the child without parental support and highlighting the human dimension of policy neglect. He commented that the e-rickshaw is a transport system that now directly and indirectly supports the livelihoods of thousands. “City rickshaws have democratized transport for both drivers and commuters,” he noted, “but our systems haven’t evolved fast enough to keep up with this change.
Following this, the impactful video presentation punctuated the session. The video awared attendees on the rise of city rickshaws, their socio-economic significance, the increasing traffic management challenge, and the harsh reality that many operate without licenses. It advocated for replacing the current written test with a verbal exam, a shift that could open the door to greater licensing inclusivity.
Following the video, an interactive Q&A session invited journalists to pose pressing questions. Discussions ranged from allocating route to drivers to ensure traffic management, corruption involved in license issuing process, immediate regulatory reforms to long-term infrastructure strategies. After Q&A session, Mr. Abdhesh Kamat, Vice President of FNJ Dhanusha, gave a feedback, that the number of survey conducted was less compared to the number of e-rickshaw run at Madesh Province.
The event concluded with Mr. Haddis Kuddar, secretary of FNJ Madhesh Province thanking Kayapalat and Bikalpa an Alternative for the much needed initiation to solve the issue of e-rickshaw license. He urged everyone to raise their voice in this issue to sensitize the public and policymakers.
At the end, Basanta Adhikari thanked all participants for the active participation and insightful questions that made the discussion engaging and impactful. He also emphasized that the responsibility for addressing the city rickshaw dilemma is shared by policymakers, civil society, media, and the transport community alike.
As the event wrapped up, it was clear that the press meet had not only illuminated the issues but also sparked a broader conversation about inclusion, safety, and sustainable urban transport. The press meeting will pave the way for meaningful reform in the days ahead.
