Research + Business Blueprint · 2026

Kathmandu Mobility Platform

YatraSathi

Nepal's first Mobility-as-a-Service platform — not another vehicle rental, but the operational infrastructure for how Kathmandu moves.

EV-First Fleet P2P Sharing Tour Bundling Driver Marketplace Rust + Axum Backend SvelteKit Frontend Carbon Credits
01

Kathmandu Context

Kathmandu sits at the intersection of severe air quality failure and one of the fastest EV adoption curves on earth. 1.75 million vehicles. Roads built for a medieval city. A government mandate pushing electric. The conditions for a mobility platform don't get more explicit than this.

1.75M Vehicles in KTM Valley 80% are two-wheelers
73% New 4-wheelers are EV FY 2024–25 import data
#2 Global EV Market Share Behind only Norway
25% Air Pollution from Transport World Bank, KTM Valley
13,500 EVs Imported FY 2024–25 Up from 250 in 2020
1,200+ EV Charging Stations Expected to double in 2026

The Kathmandu Paradox

Nepal ranks second globally in EV adoption share — yet public mobility remains an afterthought. The government mandates all new taxis be electric from 2024. Bagmati Province targets 90% EV private sales by 2030. Over 90% of Nepal's electricity comes from clean hydropower. The infrastructure for a mobility transformation is being built right now — and no platform has moved to capture it.

Kathmandu's geography compounds every transport problem. It's a valley enclosed by hills, served by a road network designed for a fraction of its current load. The ring road backs up daily. Narrow lanes in Thamel, Patan, and Bhaktapur are impassable for large vehicles. Monsoons flood key arteries. This is not a liability — it is a precise design specification for something smarter than a generic car rental app.

The tourism dimension is equally compelling. Nepal received over 1 million foreign visitors in 2023, with that number rising. These travelers need reliable transport from TIA airport to heritage sites, trekking trailheads, and outlying districts. They are currently at the mercy of unregulated taxi touts or expensive hotel-arranged vehicles. There is no trusted, app-based, EV-first alternative.

Critical product design constraint: Kathmandu users are mobile-first but data-plan sensitive. eSewa and Khalti are the dominant digital payment rails — not cards. WhatsApp is the primary business communication channel. Any viable product must operate on 2G/3G connections, support the Nepali language, integrate with local payment infrastructure, and serve both international tourists and local users within a single, coherent flow.
02

Market Landscape

Nepal has 13 active vehicle rental operators as of 2025. Every one of them runs a driver-led, phone-first booking model confirmed over WhatsApp. None are building for the EV transition or the platform economy.

Player Model Strength Critical Gap
Travel Kendra Biggest Marketplace / aggregator 100+ providers, compare pricing No EV focus, no P2P, WhatsApp-dependent UX
Yes Sir Nepal 2016 Self-drive car rental First self-drive in Nepal, strong brand No app, manual booking, limited fleet, no EV
Self Drive Nepal Self-drive + guided Has a website and app presence 3-day minimum rental, no hourly, no P2P
SparkCar Car rental Urban-focused No differentiation, basic listing model
Easy Vehicle Rental Driver + vehicle hire Wide vehicle types (Hiace to buses) No digital payments, no tracking, no EV
Mountain Vehicle Nepal Luxury + off-road tourist High-end tourist segment Fully offline, no app, no scalability

The White Space Is Unambiguous

No operator in Nepal currently offers hourly EV rentals, peer-to-peer vehicle sharing, carbon tracking, native eSewa/Khalti payment, real-time GPS for tourist-driver matching, or demand-based dynamic pricing. The market is waiting for a platform company — not another fleet operator.

03

The Concept

YatraSathi is not a car rental company. It is a Mobility-as-a-Service (MaaS) platform — the Airbnb + Turo + Citymapper equivalent for Kathmandu, built around Nepal's specific operational realities.

"Yatra" (यात्रा) means "journey" in Nepali and Sanskrit. "Sathi" (साथी) means "companion." The brand carries warmth, locality, and the implication of a trusted travel partner — distinct from a corporate rental desk. That positioning is intentional and defensible.

The platform operates across four interlocking layers, each generating independent revenue while reinforcing the others:

Layer 1 · Core

EV Rental Marketplace

Hourly, daily, and weekly rental of verified electric vehicles — combining a company-owned seed fleet with P2P listings from private EV owners. Real-time availability, keyless entry via OBD dongle for P2P units, and dynamic pricing calibrated against demand, time of day, and route complexity.

Layer 2 · Differentiator

Tour and Vehicle Bundling — Nepal-Specific

No global model offers this. Nepal's tourism context makes it possible to bundle a vehicle, a certified guide, a curated itinerary, and permit booking into a single checkout. A traveler going to Langtang can rent a 4WD, book a licensed guide, and secure their trekking permit — one platform, one payment. This is the feature no competitor can replicate quickly.

Layer 3 · Community

Driver Marketplace and Verified Local Guides

Experienced, background-checked drivers and certified guides list themselves as service providers. International visitors gain access to trusted, vetted locals; those locals gain structured gig income. Driver profiles include language proficiency, route specialties, and verified ratings — analogous to Airbnb Experiences, applied to Nepali mobility.

Layer 4 · Revenue Multiplier

B2B Fleet Management and Carbon Offset

NGOs, embassies, trekking companies, and hotels all maintain vehicle fleets. YatraSathi offers white-label fleet management with integrated carbon tracking. Every electric kilometer logged on Nepal's hydropower grid generates verifiable carbon offset certificates — sellable to corporate buyers or applied directly to client ESG reporting.

04

Startup Inspiration

These are the companies globally doing something structurally distinct — not just running a rental business. What is worth borrowing, and what demands localization?

Vay
Berlin, Germany · $131M raised · Grab invested $60M (2025)

Remotely driven EVs delivered directly to the customer — a human operator drives it to the pickup point, the customer drives themselves, the operator remotely returns the vehicle. Eliminates parking friction entirely.

YatraSathi adaptation: Deploy a simplified equivalent — trained vehicle delivery staff who bring EVs to tourist hotels, trekking departure points, or bus parks, then retrieve them. No remote driving required at Nepal's current stage, but the vehicle delivery model maps directly onto KTM's parking constraints.
Moovby
Southeast Asia · Community P2P Car Sharing

Peer-to-peer car sharing across Southeast Asia with owner verification, GPS tracking, flexible pricing, and embedded insurance. The most culturally comparable model — developing market dynamics, community-first trust architecture.

YatraSathi adaptation: The P2P EV layer. With 13,500 EVs imported in the past year alone, Nepal's private EV owner base is expanding rapidly. An insurance partnership with a local carrier unlocks passive income for owners and supply expansion at no capital cost to the platform.
Envoy Technologies
USA · Luxury EV sharing as hotel amenity

Turnkey EV sharing programs embedded in apartment complexes and hotels. The fleet becomes an amenity — hotels pay a monthly subscription, guests get seamless access. Revenue is B2B; the guest experience is the acquisition channel.

YatraSathi adaptation: Hotel Partnership Program — 5-star and boutique properties in Thamel, Lazimpat, and Jhamsikhel offer YatraSathi EVs as a branded guest amenity. Hotels carry the monthly fee; YatraSathi gains distribution without a marketing budget.
Whim (MaaS Global)
Helsinki, Finland · Mobility Super-App

Single subscription covering all urban transport modes — public transit, bikes, cars, taxis. One app, one payment, unrestricted movement. The original MaaS super-app, still the clearest reference model for what this category can become.

YatraSathi adaptation: Phase 2 vision — integrate Sajha Yatayat electric buses, electric rickshaws, and YatraSathi EVs into one unified trip planning and payment interface. Nepal's first genuine intermodal mobility app.
Kyte (Pivot Model)
USA · Delivered Car Rental

Started as a full P2P marketplace, pivoted to direct delivery of rental cars. Scaled back significantly in 2024 after discovering that delivery economics require density to function. A useful model — and a useful warning.

YatraSathi warning: Do not overextend geographically in the early phases. Start within the Kathmandu valley only. Build density, establish unit economics, then expand to Pokhara, then Chitwan. The temptation to launch everywhere at once is the primary failure mode in this category.
GoMechanic
India · Vehicle Service Marketplace

Online marketplace for car maintenance and repair in India. Solved a fundamental trust problem in the South Asian context — vehicle servicing is opaque, pricing is inconsistent, and quality is unverifiable. The platform introduced transparency and accountability to an unstructured sector.

YatraSathi adaptation: Phase 3 — YatraSathi Service, connecting EV owners with certified EV mechanics. This builds the ecosystem flywheel: more EV owners active on the platform generates service demand, which generates more P2P supply.
05

Platform Features

Three user types. One platform. Features built for Kathmandu's operational realities — not adapted from a Silicon Valley template.

Phase 1

Smart Vehicle Search

Filter by vehicle type, EV range, road type (sealed or off-road), price, and driver preference. Route-aware search validates whether the selected vehicle can handle the planned terrain.

Phase 1

Local-First Payments

eSewa, Khalti, ConnectIPS, and bank transfer built in natively. No Stripe dependency. Overdue reminders via WhatsApp API. QR code handover at vehicle pickup.

Phase 1

Route Intelligence

EV range validation against planned route. Charging station waypoints integrated into directions. Road condition overlays for monsoon alerts. Heritage zone and restricted access awareness.

Phase 1

Driver Trust System

Background-verified driver profiles. Language proficiency tagging. Route specialties — mountain, heritage, airport transfer. Verified star ratings with photo reviews. Earnings dashboard for drivers.

Phase 1

Tour Bundle Builder

Select destination and duration — the platform recommends vehicle type, licensed guide, and estimated permit cost. One-click booking of the full bundle. Nepal's structurally unique product advantage.

Phase 1

Offline-Resilient App

Core booking flows function under intermittent connectivity. Booking confirmations cached locally on device. SMS fallback for all critical notifications. API payloads optimised for 2G conditions.

Phase 2

P2P Vehicle Listing

EV owners publish their vehicle with an availability calendar. OBD dongle integration enables keyless delivery. Dynamic pricing recommendations. Insurance integration via partner API.

Phase 2

Carbon Dashboard

Real-time kWh consumption versus petrol equivalent. Carbon saved per trip. Cumulative offset certificate generation. B2B ESG reporting export in PDF and API formats.

Phase 2

B2B Fleet Portal

NGO, embassy, and hotel admin dashboards. Multi-vehicle booking. Cost centre tagging. Monthly invoicing. Driver assignment. Custom rate cards. White-label configuration available.

Phase 3

Dynamic Price Optimiser

Demand-based pricing calibrated against festival seasons (Dashain, Tihar), weather conditions, tourist arrival volumes, and local event calendars. Targeted at 15–30% revenue uplift during peak demand windows.

Phase 3

MaaS Integration

Connect Sajha Yatayat electric buses, electric rickshaws, and YatraSathi EVs into unified trip planning. Single wallet, intermodal journeys. Nepal's first genuine mobility-as-a-service product.

Phase 3

EV Service Network

Certified EV mechanics marketplace. Book maintenance for your electric vehicle. Builds loyalty among EV owners who then supply the P2P layer. The ecosystem flywheel closes here.

06

Business Plan

Platform model. Asset-light where possible. Four revenue streams, with B2B as the cash engine and P2P as the growth multiplier.

Revenue Streams

12–15%

Marketplace Commission

On every P2P booking and driver hire. Platform takes 12–15% of gross transaction value. Primary growth revenue stream as supply scales.
NPR 8K–25K/mo

B2B Fleet Subscriptions

NGOs, embassies, and hotels pay a monthly SaaS fee for fleet management. High margin, predictable ARR. The primary cash engine at early stage.
3–8%

Tour Bundle Margin

Mark-up on bundled guide, permit, and vehicle packages. Structurally unique to YatraSathi. High average order value per transaction.
Phase 2

Carbon Credits

Verified EV kilometres on Nepal's hydropower grid generate high-quality carbon offsets. Sold to international corporate buyers or applied directly to B2B ESG reporting.

Financial Projections (Conservative)

Year 1: 50 seed-fleet EVs plus 30 P2P listings. Target 200 bookings per month by month 9. Revenue: NPR 12–18M (~$90K–135K). Burn: NPR 20M. Raise: Seed NPR 30M (~$220K).

Year 2: Scale to 150 P2P listings, 10 active B2B clients, and hotel partnerships across 5 properties. Revenue: NPR 55–75M (~$410K–560K). First month of positive unit economics targeted at month 18–20.

Year 3: Expand to Pokhara. Launch MaaS integration. Carbon credit revenue begins contributing materially. Revenue: NPR 150M+ (~$1.1M). Series A readiness.

Go-to-Market Strategy

Month 1–3FOUNDATION

Seed Fleet and Operations

  • Procure 10–15 EVs (BYD Atto 3, MG ZS EV, Tata Nexon EV — all available in Nepal)
  • Hire 5 trained, background-checked drivers
  • Hotel partnerships: target 3 boutique properties in Thamel and Lazimpat
  • eSewa and Khalti payment integration live
  • Soft launch: invite-only beta for Thamel-area tourist hotels
Month 4–6TRACTION

Tourist and Local Dual Track

  • Launch tour bundle product (KTM heritage, Nagarkot, Chitwan day trips)
  • Partner with 2–3 licensed trekking operators for vehicle and guide bundles
  • Open P2P listing to 20 vetted EV owners
  • B2B pilot: 1–2 NGO or embassy fleet management accounts
  • Target: 100 bookings per month
Month 7–12GROWTH

Platform Flywheel

  • Full P2P launch — open listing with OBD dongle insurance programme
  • Carbon dashboard live, first B2B ESG report generated
  • 5 active B2B corporate accounts
  • Media positioning: Nepal's green mobility startup (strong earned media angle)
  • Explore ICIMOD and World Bank mobility grant opportunities
  • Target: 250+ bookings per month, positive unit economics per trip
Year 2EXPAND

Pokhara and MaaS Integration

  • Launch in Pokhara — Nepal's second major tourism hub
  • MaaS integration: Sajha Yatayat bus API and electric rickshaw operators
  • First carbon credit sale to international corporate buyer
  • Series A fundraise targeting Nepal-based VCs and international impact investors
07

Tech Stack

Built in Rust — a language almost no Nepal startup uses, creating a performance advantage, guaranteed memory safety, and the ability to compile to WebAssembly for offline-capable features. Paired with SvelteKit for a frontend lean enough for Nepal's bandwidth constraints.

Why Rust? Nepal's server infrastructure is constrained. A Rust API handles 10x more concurrent users on the same hardware versus a Node.js equivalent, at roughly 5MB idle memory per service compared to 50–200MB. Running on local providers (CloudHostNepal, Vianet) or a small DigitalOcean droplet, this matters materially. Beyond performance: zero memory vulnerability classes by construction — a non-negotiable requirement when handling payment transactions.
Backend Language
Rust
Memory safety by construction, exceptional throughput, minimal binary footprint. Used by none of Nepal's competitors — a genuine and defensible technical moat.
Backend Framework
Axum 0.8
Built by the Tokio team. Async-first, composable middleware, native WebSocket support for real-time tracking. Tower ecosystem provides plug-in auth, rate limiting, and distributed tracing.
Frontend
SvelteKit 2
Compiles to minimal JavaScript. SSR out of the box. Fastest page loads of any major framework — critical for 3G users across Nepal. No virtual DOM overhead.
Database
PostgreSQL + SQLx
SQLx delivers compile-time verified queries in Rust. PostGIS extension for geospatial vehicle tracking. Strong consistency model essential for payment record integrity.
Cache / Sessions
Redis
Session storage, real-time vehicle availability, OTP caching. The Tower-sessions crate integrates natively with Axum with minimal configuration.
Real-time
WebSockets (Axum)
Live vehicle GPS tracking, driver location updates, booking status. Native to Axum — no additional infrastructure needed at early stage.
Mobile
Flutter
Single codebase for Android and iOS. Android dominates the Nepal market at 85%+. Dart is accessible for local developer hires. PWA fallback via SvelteKit.
Auth
JWT + OTP
JWT via the jsonwebtoken crate in Rust. OTP via Sparrow SMS — Nepal's local SMS gateway. No email dependency; Nepali users authenticate by phone by default.
Payments
eSewa + Khalti APIs
Nepal's two dominant digital wallets. Custom Rust HTTP client wrappers. ConnectIPS for bank transfer. No Stripe — not meaningfully supported in Nepal.
Maps
OpenStreetMap + MapLibre
Google Maps is prohibitively expensive at scale. OSM maintains good Kathmandu coverage. MapLibre GL JS is open-source, performant, and embeds cleanly in SvelteKit.
Background Jobs
Tokio Tasks
Rust's native async runtime handles scheduled jobs — reminder SMS, booking expiry, carbon calculations — without a separate job queue system at early stage.
Deployment
Docker + Railway / DO
Dockerized Rust binary (~10MB image) deploys to Railway or DigitalOcean. Minimal binary size means low hosting costs. CI/CD via GitHub Actions with cargo test.

Sample Axum API Structure (Rust)

// main.rs — YatraSathi API entrypoint
use axum::{
    routing::{get, post, patch},
    Router, middleware,
};
use tower_http::{cors::CorsLayer, trace::TraceLayer};

#[tokio::main]
async fn main() {
    // Load .env, init tracing, connect PostgreSQL pool
    let pool = db::connect().await.expect("DB connection failed");
    let redis = cache::connect().await.expect("Redis failed");

    let app = Router::new()
        // Vehicles
        .route("/api/vehicles", get(handlers::vehicles::list))
        .route("/api/vehicles/:id", get(handlers::vehicles::get_by_id))
        .route("/api/vehicles/search", post(handlers::vehicles::search))
        // Bookings
        .route("/api/bookings", post(handlers::bookings::create))
        .route("/api/bookings/:id/status", patch(handlers::bookings::update_status))
        // Tour Bundles
        .route("/api/tours", get(handlers::tours::list_bundles))
        .route("/api/tours/build", post(handlers::tours::build_custom))
        // Payments (eSewa / Khalti)
        .route("/api/payments/esewa/verify", post(handlers::payments::esewa_verify))
        .route("/api/payments/khalti/verify", post(handlers::payments::khalti_verify))
        // Real-time tracking via WebSocket
        .route("/ws/tracking/:booking_id", get(handlers::tracking::ws_handler))
        // Auth (JWT + SMS OTP)
        .route("/api/auth/otp/send", post(handlers::auth::send_otp))
        .route("/api/auth/otp/verify", post(handlers::auth::verify_otp))
        // Middleware stack
        .layer(CorsLayer::permissive())
        .layer(TraceLayer::new_for_http())
        .with_state(AppState { pool, redis });

    axum::serve(
        tokio::net::TcpListener::bind("0.0.0.0:8080").await.unwrap(),
        app,
    ).await.unwrap();
}

Database Schema (Core Tables)

-- Core schema for YatraSathi
CREATE TABLE users (
    id          UUID PRIMARY KEY DEFAULT gen_random_uuid(),
    phone       VARCHAR(15) UNIQUE NOT NULL,  -- Primary auth
    name        VARCHAR(100),
    email       VARCHAR(200),
    role        TEXT DEFAULT 'renter',          -- renter|driver|owner|admin
    lang_pref   TEXT DEFAULT 'ne',             -- 'ne' Nepali | 'en' English
    created_at  TIMESTAMPTZ DEFAULT NOW()
);

CREATE TABLE vehicles (
    id            UUID PRIMARY KEY DEFAULT gen_random_uuid(),
    owner_id      UUID REFERENCES users(id),
    type          TEXT NOT NULL,               -- car|suv|bike|scooter|jeep
    is_ev         BOOLEAN DEFAULT TRUE,
    ev_range_km   INTEGER,
    plate_no      VARCHAR(20) UNIQUE,
    listing_type  TEXT DEFAULT 'p2p',          -- p2p|fleet|hotel
    hourly_rate   NUMERIC(10,2),
    daily_rate    NUMERIC(10,2),
    location      GEOGRAPHY(POINT, 4326),     -- PostGIS
    available     BOOLEAN DEFAULT TRUE,
    verified_at   TIMESTAMPTZ
);

CREATE TABLE bookings (
    id            UUID PRIMARY KEY DEFAULT gen_random_uuid(),
    renter_id     UUID REFERENCES users(id),
    vehicle_id    UUID REFERENCES vehicles(id),
    driver_id     UUID REFERENCES users(id),   -- nullable if self-drive
    tour_bundle   JSONB,                         -- bundled itinerary if any
    start_time    TIMESTAMPTZ NOT NULL,
    end_time      TIMESTAMPTZ NOT NULL,
    total_amount  NUMERIC(10,2) NOT NULL,
    payment_method TEXT,                        -- esewa|khalti|cash
    status        TEXT DEFAULT 'pending',       -- pending|confirmed|active|done|cancelled
    carbon_saved_kg NUMERIC(8,3),               -- calculated post-trip
    created_at    TIMESTAMPTZ DEFAULT NOW()
);

Project File Structure

yatrasathi/
├── backend/                   # Rust / Axum API
│   ├── src/
│   │   ├── main.rs
│   │   ├── handlers/         # Route handlers
│   │   │   ├── vehicles.rs
│   │   │   ├── bookings.rs
│   │   │   ├── tours.rs
│   │   │   ├── payments.rs    # eSewa + Khalti
│   │   │   ├── auth.rs        # OTP via Sparrow SMS
│   │   │   └── tracking.rs    # WebSocket GPS
│   │   ├── models/           # SQLx query models
│   │   ├── middleware/       # JWT auth, rate limit
│   │   ├── services/         # Carbon calc, dynamic pricing
│   │   └── config.rs
│   └── Cargo.toml
│
├── frontend/                  # SvelteKit 2
│   ├── src/
│   │   ├── routes/
│   │   │   ├── +page.svelte   # Home / vehicle search
│   │   │   ├── vehicles/
│   │   │   ├── tours/
│   │   │   ├── booking/
│   │   │   └── dashboard/    # Driver + owner dashboards
│   │   ├── lib/
│   │   │   ├── api.ts         # Rust API client
│   │   │   ├── payments.ts    # eSewa/Khalti SDK wrappers
│   │   │   └── map.ts         # MapLibre / OpenStreetMap
│   │   └── stores/           # Svelte reactive stores
│   └── package.json
│
├── mobile/                    # Flutter (Android + iOS)
├── infra/                     # Docker, GitHub Actions CI/CD
└── migrations/               # SQLx DB migrations
08

Risks & Mitigations

Risk Severity Mitigation
Regulatory uncertainty — Nepal transport law moves slowly; self-drive EV licensing remains undefined High Launch with the driver-led model first. Engage the Nepal Automobile Dealers Association for advocacy. Begin early dialogue with DOTM to shape the self-drive regulatory framework rather than wait for it.
EV charging gaps — outside the KTM valley, charging infrastructure is thin Medium Hyperlocal launch within the Kathmandu valley. Route engine surfaces range limitations proactively. Partner with NEA charging stations for preferential access agreements.
Trust deficit — Nepali users are cautious with new platforms; P2P depends on owner confidence High Heavy offline verification processes. In-person vehicle inspection before listing. Mandatory insurance prior to P2P activation. Driver badge system. Community advisory board composed of respected local figures.
Rust developer shortage in Nepal — limited local talent pool Medium Hire 1–2 senior engineers remotely from India or globally. Develop 2–3 junior Nepal developers in-house. Use the Loco framework for Rails-like conventions, reducing the Rust learning curve significantly.
Power infrastructure risk — load shedding affects EV charging schedules Low Nepal has largely resolved load shedding since 2018 through hydropower expansion. Monitor NEA communications. Integrate real-time charging station status into the platform map.
Competitor replication — Travel Kendra or a well-funded entrant pivots into this space Medium Moat is built through network effects (driver trust badges, P2P listings), tour bundle partnerships, and long-term B2B contracts. Rust infrastructure means structurally lower operating costs — better margins even if a competitor copies the feature set.
EV import duty reversal — government adjusts tax policy High P2P model means YatraSathi does not own the vehicle fleet — owners carry the policy risk. Revenue diversification across B2B and tour bundles insulates the platform against EV-specific policy shifts.
09

Dev Roadmap

Two sprints. Eight weeks. Ship the core booking flow first — everything else is post-traction.

Sprint 1WEEKS 1–4

MVP — Book a Vehicle

  • Rust/Axum project scaffold with PostgreSQL and Docker
  • User auth: phone number plus OTP via Sparrow SMS
  • Vehicle CRUD and basic search — type, date, location
  • Booking creation with eSewa payment integration
  • SvelteKit frontend: search to vehicle detail to checkout
  • Admin panel: manage listings, view bookings
Sprint 2WEEKS 5–8

Trust, Maps and the Second Wallet

  • Driver profiles with verification workflow and route specialties
  • MapLibre and OSM integration — live vehicle location pins
  • Real-time booking status updates via WebSocket
  • Khalti payment integration alongside eSewa
  • WhatsApp notifications for booking confirmations and reminders
  • Rating and review system
  • Basic tour bundle builder — destination, vehicle, guide suggestion
  • Flutter Android app wrapping the core booking flow

What Exists at Week 8

A working platform where someone finds an EV, books it, pays with eSewa or Khalti, tracks their driver on a map, and leaves a review. Sufficient to run a real beta with hotel partners in Thamel. P2P listings, carbon dashboard, B2B portal, and dynamic pricing follow once there are real users generating real data.

The Argument for Moving Now

Every significant mobility market across South and Southeast Asia had a window — 18 to 24 months where the conditions were right and the competition was absent. That window always closed faster than founders expected. Nepal's EV transition is not a future event: 73% of new four-wheelers sold last year were electric, the government has mandated EV taxis, hydropower delivers clean electricity at low cost, and no platform has been built to serve this market. YatraSathi on Rust and SvelteKit, with a local-first design philosophy, is not a rental app with ambitions — it is the infrastructure layer for how Kathmandu moves in the decade ahead.