Nepal’s transport sector has undergone rapid change in recent years. Today, transport accounts for around 12.5% of the country’s greenhouse gas emissions, a sharp rise from just a decade ago. This is because Nepal is overwhelmingly dependent on road transport. Nearly 98% of transport energy consumption comes from road vehicles, most of which run on imported fossil fuels.

Despite these challenges, Nepal’s policy direction is strongly oriented toward electrification. The government is promoting electric buses, trams, and other vehicles, with targets for 90% of private and 60% of public vehicle sales to be electric by 2030, supported by tax incentives and expanding charging infrastructure.

Kathmandu, the capital city of Nepal, is home to a significant share of Nepal’s population and sits in a bowl-shaped valley surrounded by mountains. This specific geography traps air pollutants in the city, contaminating the air that residents breathe every day. Since the 1990s, the air quality in Kathmandu has significantly deteriorated, due to growing population and rapid urbanisation that led to a rising number of road vehicles in the valley.

Despite this, mobility remains limited. Only around 20% of Kathmandu residents live within a standard walking distance of public transport stops. Unlike other capitals, there is no metro system, operational light rail, nor a bus rapid transit network.

It was within this context that electric mobility first took root in Kathmandu.

As air pollution worsened, the Nepalese government decided to phase out polluting three-wheelers. Instead, a new alternative emerged: the Safa Tempo. Battery-powered, locally assembled, and well-suited to the city’s narrow streets, these vehicles quickly became essential to Kathmandu’s transport system.

Within months of the diesel ban, hundreds of electric three-wheelers were on the road. By the early 2000s, the fleet had grown to more than 600 vehicles, supported by a small but expanding network of charging stations. The shift was remarkable: not just for its speed, but for what it represented. At a time when electric mobility was still a niche concept globally, Kathmandu had already built one of South Asia’s earliest examples of electric public transport. For years, they have been a vital part of daily life in the valley, operating through narrow streets and dense traffic, sustained largely by the perseverance of their drivers rather than formal systems of support. They demonstrated that electric transport could work in a developing urban context, long before it became part of national strategies or international climate discussions.

When Parbati decided to become a driver in 2003, it was not a typical career choice for a woman in Nepal. The transport sector was considered a male domain and women were significantly underrepresented, representing only 3.5% of transport workers. Social expectations, safety concerns, and limited access to training all contributed to keeping women out of the sector.

But Parbati saw things differently.

She enrolled in driving training alongside 16 others. Six of them were women.

Driving a Safa Tempo offered something she could not find elsewhere: control over her own income and time. Unlike fixed-wage jobs, which often struggled to keep pace with Kathmandu’s rising cost of living, being an owner-operator allowed her to earn directly from her work. She could decide when to drive, how long to work, and how to manage her finances.

Those earnings became the foundation of her household. They paid for rent, food, and her children’s education. They also covered the constant costs of

running a vehicle: battery replacements, maintenance, loan repayments.

Still, the job came with challenges. Long hours meant leaving home before dawn and returning late at night. Support from her family made a critical difference. Without it, she says, the pressures, both practical and cultural, would have been much harder to handle.

Today, the very system that facilitated Parbati’s career is under threat. The Safa Tempo fleet is ageing. Originally granted 20-year operating permits, many vehicles have already received a 10-year extension. That extension is now nearing its end, with only a few years remaining and no clear decision on what comes next.  

For drivers like Parbati who have spent their working lives behind the wheel of these vehicles, the question of what comes next is deeply personal. Replacing vehicles requires significant investment, yet access to affordable credit remains limited. Battery costs are high, and many drivers rely on informal financing or second-hand parts to keep their vehicles running. At the same time, the broader transport system is evolving, with new types of electric vehicles entering the market.

Recognising this challenge, the Nepal – Electric Transport (Sustainable Electric Transport for Nepal, SET4NPL), supported by the Mitigation Action Facility, is working to ensure that country’s shift toward electric mobility is both inclusive and sustainable. A key focus of the project is supporting women to participate in the next generation of electric transport.

For Parbati, this meant stepping into the next phase of her career.

When the project launched a training programme for electric microbus drivers, she applied – taking a decisive step toward the future of Nepal’s transport system.

The transition from a three-wheeler to a larger vehicle is significant. It requires obtaining a new licence, mastering different driving techniques, and building confidence to operate in more demanding conditions.

The training itself is intensive. Participants practice manoeuvres such as figure-eight driving, hill starts, and circuit navigation. For many, the experience is initially daunting. But over time, with guidance from instructors and support from peers, confidence grows.

Parbati has been an integral part of the Safa Tempo community and has encouraged others around her to join the second training cohort. Interest among women is growing and applications for the programme have increased, with many women learning about it through word of mouth.

This shows that women are ready to enter the sector if given the opportunity.

According to Parbati, one of the most significant outcomes of the programme has been the sense of community it has created. Women from different backgrounds have come together to learn, share, and support each other as they enter into the electric microbus sector. For younger participants, driving represents a new opportunity that can open doors to stable income and independence. For experienced drivers like Parbati, it is a continuation of a long journey toward recognition and respect in a field that has often excluded them.

As SET4NPL continues its work, the picture from the ground is encouraging. A growing community of women who are skilled, motivated, and ready to be part of Nepal’s electric transport future.

Parbati’s journey reflects a broader transformation underway in Nepal. From the early days of Safa Tempos to the emerging era of electric microbuses, the country’s transport system is evolving. The challenge now is to ensure that this evolution continues to include those who helped build the foundation.

At its core, Nepal’s transition to electric mobility is not only about more cleaner technology – it is about people. It is about ensuring that those who helped build the system, like Parbati, are not left behind, but instead drive the transition forward.