Kathmandu Metropolitan City Launches Night Bus Service

Kathmandu. The Kathmandu Metropolitan City (KMC) is set to launch a night bus service starting today. Acting Mayor of KMC, Sunita Dangol, announced that the service will be inaugurated this evening at 7:00 PM from Pulchok in collaboration with Sajha Yatayat.

According to her, in the first phase, electric bus services will operate on routes from Lagankhel to Budhanilkantha, Budhanilkantha to Lagankhel, Thankot to the Airport, and the Airport to Thankot.

One route will cover 16 kilometers, passing through Lagankhel, Patan Hospital, Alka, Norvic, Maternity Hospital, Trauma Center, Bir Hospital, Kanti Hospital, Teaching Hospital, and Gangalal Heart Center before reaching Budhanilkantha. The KMC stated this is a north-south one-way route.

The east-west route, covering 20 kilometers, will run from Thankot through Satungal, Kalanki, Kalimati, Tripureshwor, Thapathali, Maitighar Mandala, Baneshwor, Minbhawan, and Tinkune to the International Airport. The metropolis informed that four night-time electric buses will operate on these two routes.

“We are launching the night public transport service because it is necessary to solve the problem of having to travel at high costs when public transport is not available after 8:00 PM,” said Acting Mayor Sunita Dangol. “We believe this will provide some relief to everyone who faces difficulties due to the lack of public transport and its alternatives.” She expressed confidence that this will also ease the burden on students and provide a safer environment for women and girls who have previously faced harassment during night travel.

She stated that the KMC is preparing to make the service modern, integrated, convenient, safe, reliable, and sustainable. Upon commencement, buses will operate from evening until 11:00 PM. Buses will arrive at designated stops every 20 minutes. The buses will be equipped with CCTV cameras, and municipal police will be deployed for security.