Driver on call in Kathmandu: get home safely in your own car

Most of us have stood outside a wedding hall, a family feast or an office party at eleven at night and done the same sum in our heads. A taxi gets you home, but your car stays behind in a car park across the city, and tomorrow morning you need it. Driving yourself when you are tired, or when you have had a drink, is a risk that is simply not worth taking.

A driver on call solves the whole problem. A licensed driver comes to you and drives you home in your own car. The car comes home with you, and nobody has to take a chance on the road.

The weeks around Dashain and Tihar are when this matters most. Family visits, feasts, tika gatherings, office get-togethers and late-night celebrations stack up, the roads are crowded, and many of us are tired from days of hosting and travel. It is exactly when a rested driver at the wheel of your own car makes the difference between a good night and a bad one.

• Going to a feast or a gathering? Arrange a driver for the ride home so you can enjoy the evening without watching the clock or counting drinks.
• Hosting? After a long day on your feet, let someone else take the car to drop guests or run the last errand.
• Heading out of the Valley to your village? A second driver on a long road is safer, and a rested driver is better on mountain roads.
• Coming back after the holidays? Early arrivals and late returns are easier when you are not the one navigating the traffic.

These dates fill up quickly, so ask a few days ahead instead of the same evening.

It is worth being exact, because it is not a taxi and not a rental.

• The driver comes without a car. They drive your vehicle, not theirs. If you need a vehicle as well, that is a different kind of booking.
• You stay in your own car. Your seat, your music, your child seats, your luggage, and the car ends the night in your own parking spot.
• It is booked by the trip or by the day. A single drive home, a hospital run, an airport transfer, a full day of errands, a long trip out of the valley, or a regular monthly driver are all things people ask for.

You do not need a party for this to make sense. The common reasons are:

• After a party, a feast or an event. The classic. A wedding, a bratabandha, a birthday, a team dinner: anywhere you may be tired or have been drinking.
• The airport. Early flights, late arrivals, and the parking worry that comes with both. A driver can bring your car to meet you or take you there and drive it back.
• Hospital visits. When you are worried and stressed, you should not be the one navigating traffic.
• A full day of errands or meetings. You work in the back seat instead of fighting for a parking spot in Putalisadak or Thamel.
• A long trip out of the valley. Sharing the driving on a long road is safer, and a rested driver makes a difference on mountain roads.
• Every day. Some families and small businesses book a regular monthly driver so the car and the schedule are always covered.

The booking is deliberately simple.

1. Tell us the job. Describe what you need in a sentence or two: where you will be, where you are going, and roughly when. You can use the form on the Driver on Call page.
2. We call you back. A coordinator phones you, usually within two hours, to confirm the details and find a driver who can take it.
3. A licensed driver comes to you. They meet you where you are and drive your car.
4. You pay the driver directly once the job is done. Najik does not take a fee from the customer.

The service covers Kathmandu, Lalitpur, Bhaktapur and Chandragiri. If you would rather see it than read about it, the driver hire page has a short film in Nepali that walks through the whole after-party scenario.

A good briefing makes the trip smooth. When we call you back, have these ready:

• Pickup location and time, and the best landmark if the venue is hard to find.
• Where the car is right now, and whether the driver should meet you there or at the venue.
• The drop-off address, and whether you want the car parked at your home or somewhere else.
• The car: make, model, and whether it is manual or automatic.
• How long you need the driver, if it is more than a single drive.
• Anything unusual: a child seat, luggage, a pet, a stop on the way, or a long wait outside.

• Check your car insurance. Some policies have conditions about who may drive. It takes a minute to read what yours says about a driver other than you.
• Keep valuables with you. As you would with any driver, take personal items out of the car or carry them.
• Agree on the plan before the trip. Route, stops, and the end time, so there are no surprises.
• Wear your seat belt, and make sure everyone does. The driver is there so you can relax, not so you can stop being careful.