Over 50 percent bus tickets sold out on day one

KATHMANDU, SEP 11 -

People flocked to bus ticket counters across the Kathmandu valley on Wednesday to make sure they get to travel to their homes for the festivals.

The first day of ticket sales saw more than 50 percent tickets being sold out as prospective travellers queued-up at counters since Tuesday night.

Apart from the New Bus Park at Gongabu, people thronged ticket counters at places like Old Bus Park, Koteshwor, Kalanki, Chabahil, Jorpati and Sundhara in Kathmandu .

Bus ticket bookings for destinations farther than 250km from Kathmandu , except for Gandaki zone, opened on Wednesday.

At New Bus Park, thousands of people thronged the ticket windows by 5:00 am, an hour before the counters open, according to police sub-inspector LB Magar.

“It was very difficult for us to handle the crowd from 6:00 am to 11:00 am. Eventually from 1:00 pm, the situation started normalising,” said Magar.

According to the Department of Transport Management (DoTM), more than 1.5 million people are expected to travel during Dashain.

Sarad Sitaula, general secretary at the Federation of Nepalese Transport Entrepreneurs (FNTE), said the people were able to buy tickets through designated counters without any hassles. “The trend of people buying tickets on the first day itself continued this year too. More than 50 percent of the tickets have been sold,” said Sitaula, adding they are supporting the government for efficiently monitoring the sales.

Sitaula said every measure to prevent anomalies in the transportation sector has been taken, but passengers too need to be careful. “All the ticketing staff have been asked to wear authorised identity cards. Also, they should check the date and time of travel carefully,” he said.

Mukti KC, director at the Department of Transport Management (DoTM), told the Post the ticket sales went smoothly on the first day. “We had mobilised some four-five monitoring teams in Kathmandu . No issues of fraud or blackmarketing have been reported,” said KC.

On reports that ticketing staff were selling as many tickets as people wanted, which is against the government’s decision of selling only five tickets per person, KC said: “We want to discourage blackmarketing. We remained flexible on this issue realising that the chances of blackticketing can be lowered if multiple tickets are issued to passengers in a single ticket book.”

EPS exam may create problems

The Employment Permit System (EPS) examination, which is scheduled for September 26-27, is likely to create problems in transportation management this year. The test, which is compulsory for acquiring the foreign employment permit in South Korea, sees around 60,000-65,000 people travelling to the Kathmandu valley, where the exam takes place. “We have asked the government to look for some alternatives. The overall transportation mechanism can go haywire if the government does not take the issue seriously,” said Sarad Sitaula, general secretary of Federation of Nepalese Transport Entrepreneurs (FNTE), adding the government should either postpone the exam or shift the test centres to other cities. The inflow of around 65,000 people means an additional 1,200-1,500 buses are required. Since the traffic congestion remains higher during Dashain, the situation might turn worse, Sitaula said. Department of Transport Management Director Mukti KC admitted there might be a “big problem” if the EPS exam goes as per the schedule. “Those coming for EPS exams will return around Phulpati, the seventh day of Dashain,” said KC, adding Phulpati will be the busiest day.

Source: The KAthmandu Post