Express bus service from Ratnapark to Suryabinayak has started in the Kathmandu Valley from Wednesday.
The Ministry of Physical Infrastructure and Transport started the express bus service from Ratnapark to Suryabinayak in collaboration with the Federation of Nepalese National Transport Entrepreneurs (FNNTE).
Physical Infrastructure and Transport Minister Prakash Jwala inaugurated the express bus service from Shanti Batika in Ratnapark.
Inaugurating the bus service, Minister Jwala said, “The express bus service has been launched with the aim of improving the transport services in the Kathmandu Valley. A 'dedicated' lane has been arranged for the express bus service. From Thursday, the express bus service will operate from 9 am to 11 am and 4 pm to 6 pm during office hours.”
The distance from Ratnapark to Suryabinayak is 13.4 km.
Uddhav Rijal, Director General of the Department of Transport Management, informed that 40-seater 25 buses have been allocated for the scheduled time. It takes about two hours to travel from Suryabinayak to Ratnapark by public transport during office hours.
Once the express bus service is launched, the journey of that distance will be limited to around 45 minutes.
There will be bus stops at 19 places including Ratnapark, Bhadrakali, Maitighar, Babarmahal, New Baneshwar, Shantinagar, Koteshwar Jadibuti, Kaushaltar, Gatthaghar, Chardobato, Sallaghari, Suryabinayak. The bus can pick up and drop passengers at these stops.
"Traffic management in the urban area is challenging, the improvement of the transport sector in the valley has been started", Rijal said.
The government on March 14 had decided to operate express bus service in the Kathmandu Valley to manage public transport services.
During office hours, these buses will ply the dedicated lane in the gap of every one kilometer.
Express buses will not stop at Maitighar, Baneshwar, Tinkune, Koteshwar, Jadibuti etc. even during traffic jams.
Inaugurating the bus service, Minister Jwala said in order to manage the public transport in the urban area and to instill confidence and trust in the public transport, the express bus service has been operated from Suryabinayak to Ratnapark in the first phase during office hours.
Laxman Lamsal, Minister for Labor, Employment and Transport of Bagmati Province, said that, with the launch of this bus service, citizens' trust and confidence in public transport will be boosted.
Acting Inspector General of Police Deepak Thapa stressed that the general public should be made aware to manage public transport and said that the police is committed to the safety of vehicles plying the 'dedicated lane'.
Stating that vehicles plying the dedicated lane will also be subjected to the same laws as other public transports, he urged them to follow the traffic rules and operate the vehicles.
