Although public bus tickets are booked for Dashain every year from 1st of Ashwin, this year the booking will be open only after fourth week of Ashwin due to the Corona epidemic and some delays. Stakeholders have not yet reached an agreement on the issue of opening ticket booking for Dashain. If the discussion is resolved, the booking is likely to be opened from next year. The Department of Transport is preparing to open advance ticket booking from next year for the convenience of passengers going home from Kathmandu to celebrate Dashain, says Loknath Bhusal, Information Officer of the department.

The department has prepared to manage around 600,000 passengers this year as many passengers will not travel by public transport due to Covid-19. Last year, it was estimated that up to 2 million people would leave the Kathmandu Valley for the tenth time, but this year, only 600,000 passengers will leave the Kathmandu Valley using public transport. Bhusal said that the department is preparing to open ticket booking a week before the installation. The department says that the passengers will get tickets easily and the middlemen will also end.

The department has made internal preparations in a planned manner in coordination with transport professionals and the traffic department.

Vigag had a discussion with the Federation of Transport Professionals on Friday. Meanwhile, the discussion with the Nepal Federation of Transport Entrepreneurs on Sunday has been postponed. It has been said that a decision will be taken to open the advance ticket after taking opinions and suggestions from the organizations under the federation. Accordingly, the department plans to open advance tickets from next year. Information Officer Bhusal said that the federation will inform the department about advance ticket booking after a few days of internal preparations. According to Bhusal, there is no problem in short and medium distance transport but there is a problem in long distance public transport management.

Vijay Bahadur Swar, senior vice-president of the National Federation of Nepali Transport Entrepreneurs, said that the federation will hold discussions with its subordinate businessmen on December 7 and only after seeking opinions and suggestions. He said, “The decision will be taken after completing the internal preparations. We plan to coordinate with the government based on the results of the discussions. ” Even in the past, advance tickets were opened one week ago. It is estimated that the pressure of passengers will be lessened due to the epidemic of Kovid-19. Passengers and businessmen will be comfortable if the government allows them to keep passengers according to the seat capacity. Due to this, passengers will be able to travel at the old fare rate and on the other hand, the operating cost will also be reduced for the businessmen. ”

The federation had submitted a memorandum to the Ministry of Physical Infrastructure and Transport on August 22 saying that public transport should be operated at full seat capacity under the old fare. The government had banned all types of vehicles from 10th of Chaitra to prevent Covid-19 and opened long-distance vehicles from 1st of Ashwin