Kathmandu, January 8
There’s a good news for people tired of travelling in overcrowded buses in the Kathmandu Valley.
Together with Swoyambhu Transport Company Private Limited, Mahanagar Transport Company Private Limited is making preparations to launch from January 29 a fleet of luxury buses along Ring Road that will make travel much more comfortable than it is now.
These buses will have trained, polite and SLC graduate hostesses aged 18-25 years to serve passengers.
Vice-Chair of Mahanagar, Santosh Khatiwada, says they have already announced vacancy for the positions.
Mahanagar says it will offer attractive salary to its staffers. Khatiwada says they are looking for efficient staff, saying salary and facilities shall not be a problem.
Khatiwada told Onlinekhabar: In the first phase, we will operate 39 buses along the Ring Road. “On the basis of feedback from passengers, we will operate buses along inner roads also.”
GPS tracking and wi-fi
All buses of the company will have GPS tracking system. After downloading the vehicle trapping app, passengers will be able to find the exact location of these buses.
This technology will be new for Nepali passengers. These buses will provide free wi-fi. Talks are afoot with Nepal Telecom to equip these buses with wi-fi, according to Khatiwada. These buses will have television sets to break the monotony of travel.
Other features
Tata’s Premium brand Ultra buses will have 32 seats. These buses can carry 70 passengers. In the middle of the bus, there will be a hydraulic door. Khatiwada says passengers will have breathing space as the buses are spacious.
Most of the buses operating in the valley stink, for want of cleaning. But Mahanagar aims to clean these buses every day. For this, the company has built a garage in four ropanis of land at Banasthali, according to Khatiwada.
We have built a well on the garage premises where we will wash our vehicles inside and out every day, says Khatiwada.
He says with the entry of these buses, people will lessen the use of private vehicles and board public transport. This will bring down congestion on Kathmandu’s roads, Khatiwada claims.
According to Khatiwada, Delhi’s roads became less congested after the launch of Metro Bus. The same can happen here, he says. We want people to board Mahanagar’s buses leaving behind their private cars and bikes in the garage.
Our plan is to operate 100 buses in the Kathmandu valley, he says.
Despite luxurious services, we will not charge more than government-sanctioned rates, Khatiwada says. In the first phase, the company will issue tickets to passengers, he informs, adding that it will go for smartcard in the second phase. The company plans to provide employment to around 150 people, including 50 drivers, 50 hostesses and 50 other workers.
