Fourteen night buses operated in Kathmandu and Lalitpur on six different routes with financial assistance of Rs 2.5 million from KMC. But now, out of the 14 night buses, only four are still running, and as a result late communters and others face hardship during nighttime. [break]
According to Bagmati Zonal coordinator of NFNTE Dharma Raj Rimal, KMC refused to extend the contract under which they had assured financial support after six months of night bus operations.
Six months on, KMC has not passed any budget for the night buses. So they have had to pull out 10 buses. Along with financial support from KMC, they had an agreement to increase the night bus fares after six months of starting operations. But the agreement was limited to paper, and the fares have not been increased to date.
“The decision was to increase the fares for night buses,” said Rimal. “And the decision must be passed by the cabinet, but none of the concerned authorities has shown any interest in honouring the agreement.”
“The remaining four buses are operating on our own budget. But this is not possible all the time,” said Rimal. “The authorities concerned (KMC) are not ready to take on responsibility for the night bus service. We tried many times to tell them about the situation but every time they failed to heed our argument.”
According to Rimal, a committee has been formed since the appointment of Laxman Aryal as the new executive officer at KMC, but so far no initiative has been taken by the committee.
“Once the committee requested us to submit a proposal regarding the night bus service,” said Rimal. “As per their request, we submitted the proposal but they have not responded. After that, we did not go to them again for any help or support.”
Due to lack of concern from KMC, the night bus service will close soon as there is no one to take on the financial responsibility.
While NFNTE is blaming KMC for winding down the night bus service, KMC is trying to tie up the night bus service with Sanjha Yatayat.
According to KMC executive officer Laxman Aryal, they want to operate the night buses with Sanjha Yatayat.
Another reason behind the existing state of affairs is internal conflict. Some officials concerned have filed a case against KMC. So, they have failed to extend the contract with NFNTE.”
“For now, we are not able to take a single step in this matter because of our other officials,” said Aryal. “We just want to operate the night bus service with Sanjha Yatayat as they are more reliable than other entrepreneurs.”
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