Digital Nepal: Transport Dept. to Implement GPS Services

Nepal Government has been actively adopting new digital solutions part of its public services.

We heard about the launch of the Ministry of Health’s mobile-based healthcare services, Safa Hawa for clean air and many others.

Nepal’s transportation is another sector that has seen a revolutionary application called ‘Tootle’, a car-sharing app.

Continuing the trend, here is another announcement with regard to technology deployment in the transport sector.

In a recent move, Nepali Department of Transport Management (DoTM) informed that it is working on introduction of the Global Positioning System (GPS) services in the country’s transportation sector.

Through the implementation of GPS-based vehicle tracking system, the government is aiming to achieve improvement in regulation and effective management of Nepal’s transportation sector, says Lawanya Prasad Dhakal, Director General at DoTM.

“We have developed a concept paper on introducing GPS system in the transportation sector. We will hold detailed discussions with various stakeholders, including donor agencies on this paper and try to implement this system as soon as possible,” said Dhakal.

According to the official, the Government of Nepal is keen on approaching the World Bank for technical and financial support to implement the GPS vehicle tracking system.

As the World Bank had earlier showed interest to work together with the government to enhance the country’s transportation sector, we will coordinate with the World Bank to implement this system,” added Dhakal.

According to Dhakal, the new service will help the government to easily track vehicle movement and specific events that result in loss of time or lives on road.

“Through the system, we can easily detect vehicles violating traffic rules, their speed and other details. In a sense, the government can constantly monitor every vehicle through GPS,” adds Dhakal.

Besides, the GPS service will also give due boost to the operations in the transport business as by helping in predicting the delivery time of goods and tracking commercial vehicles.

The government is keen on implementing GPS services and also make them mandatory for all vehicles across the country.

Will have to wait to see to what extent that GPS services will fit in the Nepal transportation sector.