The Tempo is a very common method of getting around, particularly in urban areas of the Third World. This machine is not indigenous to Nepal alone but is common throughout the Indian sub-continent and South East Asia.

In essence a Tempo is a three-wheeled vehicle for carrying either people or small loads of goods within urban areas. Engines vary, although Nepal has banned the diesel engined Vikram Tempo from the Kathmandu valley on account of the fact that the pollution effect is too great for the people of Nepal to bear. Those 650 Vikram tempos now pollute towns outside the valley. There are LPG, two-stroke and electric versions. Ideally we should be looking towards electricity for the future of these vehicles but I believe there are significant problems with these in the present circumstances.

When the Nepalese Government banned the use of the diesel, Vikram Tempo they offered subsidies to the owners to purchase diesel powered micro-buses from India instead of the Nepali produced electric Safa Tempo. Electric tempos are not popular, as their performance is not as good as other forms of power in terms of journey times etc. If the Government of Nepal is not going to promote electric tempos it is very difficult to expect the people to do so.

Another factor, which does not lend itself to electric tempos, is the unreliable electricity supply to Kathmandu. Demand far exceeds supply to the extent that large areas of the city are subjected to power cuts on a daily basis. If safa tempos cannot recharge their batteries they have to lie idle, and if they can they are perhaps taking away the supply from a much more needy aspect of Kathmandu life.

Despite government policy regarding the roadworthiness of vehicles on the roads of Nepal and in particular of Kathmandu, there seems to be little done to ensure that vehicles conform to standards and guidelines. Thus, many of the tempos’ emissions exceed WHO guidelines, adding to the misery of the people with regard to the quality of the air that they breathe. Respiratory disease is very serious in Kathmandu and the pollution from vehicles is a contributory factor, which cannot and must not be ignored.

Why pick on tempos? Everybody uses tempos, the local population and tourists alike. Tempos come in various forms. They are all three-wheelers with a handlebar steering system linked to the single front wheel. The more up-market version, which tends to be more prevalent in the tourist areas, but not entirely, is designed to carry two or three people. In Nepal these tend to be black and yellow, unlike some parts of the world where they are very highly decorated. Black and yellow tempos were recently banned by the Nepalese Government but were still in abundance several months after the ban came into force!

There are blue and green ones, which seem to run on similar lines to a bus service. They are square backed and have a bench seat down each side. These are used almost entirely by the local population. I have counted as many as nineteen alighting from one of these vehicles at its destination! These can also double up as light goods vehicles transporting goods from one part of town to another – particularly handy in the areas where most of the streets are too narrow for any other form of transport.