Free Parking for Electric Vehicles in Kathmandu

Update 2024: This provision has been removed in the latest Arthik Ain of Kathmandu Metropolitan City.

Did you know that you can park your EV for free at any Kathmandu metropolitan parking spaces? Kathmandu Metropolitan City (KMC) has waived off all parking charges for EVs, both 2 wheelers and 4 wheelers, in a bid to promote electric vehicles within the city. This provision for free parking is included in the Kathmandu metro’s local gazette as well under Schedule 11, Section 7, page no. 89.

This provision has been in the gazette for a few years now but it has not been publicized much and only a few EV users know about this. For those of us who've been driving in the valley we all know parking rates are atrocious and you don't always get parking space on time even when we are willing to pay, sometimes having to wait for half an hour for an errand that takes less than ten minutes. Parking on the road is a big no-no and can always result in your vehicle being either impounded or the wheels locked by the traffic police for illegal parking. Given these circumstances this is a huge relief for the Kathmduites who are 'electrically' inclined when it comes to their vehicles.

This can be seen as progressive move by the metro’s current management and is timely as well since Kathmandu city regularly features on the list of most polluted cities around the world every year. Electric vehicles can help reduce air pollution as they emit no tailpipe emission making the air cleaner unlike their gasoline counterparts.

Where can you park your EV for free?

This is applicable at all the parking spots that are under tender/contract with KMC and are for both two wheelers and four wheelers. These are the listed areas for parking mentioned in the Kathmandu metropolitan’s local gazette:

1. New Road
2. Dharmapath
3. Kantipath
4. Durbarmarg
5. Tripureshwor
6. Ratnapark
7. Bhotahiti
8. Keshar Mahal
9. Lainchaur

You can confirm with the parking attendant on duty if the parking space has been acquired through a tender with the Kathmandu metropolitan or if it is a private parking space (belonging to a mall, business, multiplex, etc.) Private parking spaces can charge you as per their parking fees set by the business.

However, parking attendants might not always agree to let you park for free at some or most of these parking spaces and you might have to talk to them for a few minutes before you're allowed to park for free. EV owners have often shared their experiences and frustrations on social media about how they have to launch into a discussion more than a few times to get to use this facility. They often feign ignorance when it comes to this particular provision about free charging for EV on the local gazette. If you are charged for parking when parking your electric vehicles, you can raise a formal complaint with the Kathmandu metropolitan city office or contact this number: 9851051610.

This is a great initiative from the metro in a country like ours where the whole EV industry and its policies have been fickle due to various players in the policy making positions changing things year on year as they see fit. This small benefit available to us must be used wisely as this is one of the few good things about owning an EV in the capital. Let us not misuse this opportunity and if you know someone who has an EV and is still paying for parking in the metropolitan area, share this article with them!