Kathmandu, September 22

If you are planning to leave Kathmandu Valley this Dashain, make sure that you secure your tickets on time. This is because transport entrepreneurs are taking advance booking of bus tickets from the public starting tomorrow (September 23).

With this, transporters have said that long-route travellers for Dashain this year can now book their bus tickets from all ticket counters across the Valley.

“Though a bit late, advance booking of bus tickets for Dashain will start from Friday. Transporters will do their best to remove hassles faced by commuters in the previous years and assure that everyone is able to get tickets,” Sarad Sitaula, general secretary of Federation of Nepalese National Transport Entrepreneurs Association (FNNTEA) said, adding that the federation itself will conduct inspections along major routes to ensure that travellers are facilitated.

FNNTEA is the umbrella organisation of domestic transport entrepreneurs. According to Sitaula, travellers will get to book their bus tickets from ticket stations in Sundhara, Gaushala, Koteshwor, New Bus Park and Kalanki, among others.

However, Sitaula said that the dilapidated condition of roads in different routes due to landslides can create problems for commuters this Dashain. Moreover, transporters had delayed  announcing the advance booking of bus tickets this Dashain demanding that the construction works underway at Narayangadh-Mugling road section be temporarily halted to ensure smooth vehicular movement. Transporters agreed to announce advance bookings once they got assurance from Ministry of Physical Infrastructure and Transport (MoPIT) to ease vehicular movement in the Narayangadh-Mugling road section.

Meanwhile, Department of Transport Management (DoTM), transportation sector regulatory body, has warned transport entrepreneurs not to overcharge passengers during Dashain and maintain transparency while issuing bus tickets. “Transporters have committed not to overcharge commuters. In case any such case related to overcharging of passengers is found, the guilty transporter will be fined Rs 5,000 on the spot,” Basanta Adhikari, spokesperson for DoTM told The Himalayan Times, adding that the department has deployed its monitoring team in major bus routes.

Adhikari also informed that DoTM has set up ‘Help Desks’ in 12 major areas of the Valley to facilitate Dashain commuters.

“Such help desks comprise of DoTM officials and police. Commuters can register complaints at these help desks if they are cheated by transporters.”