Thursday, December 26, 2019

Kathmandu to restart night buses

Kathmandu Metropolitan City – in coordination with the Department of Transport Management – is once again operating night buses in Kathmandu, though some 8 years ago, it failed to continue the service.
Spokesperson at the metropolis Ishwor Man Dangol confirmed that the metropolis is – after numerous failed attempts – planning to operate night bus also targeting the Visit Nepal Year 2020 (VNY2020) campaign.
The metropolis and the department – on June 10 – also said that they planned to start bus services before too but could not start. The department had – on the same day – hiked bus fares by 20 per cent without holding any proper discussion with the stakeholders. But the next day, Ministry of Physical Infrastructure and Transport ordered rolling back the hiked fare.
But the metropolis is planning to start the night bus service before Visit Nepal Year 2020, Dangol said, adding that it is planning to operate a round the clock inexpensive bus services from Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA) to Central Business District. “In its official gazette – issued on April 12 – the metropolis had directed public transport operators to run vehicles from 5 am to 9 pm between October 18 to February 12, and 5 am to 10 pm between February 13 and October 17 but the order has not been implemented.”
With its Rs 2.5 million and Finance Ministry’s Rs 2 million budget in 2012, the metropolis had operated 16 buses after 8 pm but due to a lack of proper planning, it couldn’t last more than six months.
The transportation sector is led by the private sector.

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