Kathmandu. KATHMANDU: The Kathmandu Metropolitan City (KMC) has started operating night bus service from today.

Acting Mayor of KMC, Sunita Dangol, informed that the bus service was started from Pulchowk at 7:00 pm today in collaboration with Sajha Yatayat.

In the first phase, electric bus services would be operated from today to Lagankhel, Budhanilkantha, Budhanilkantha, Lagankhel, Thankot Airport and Thankot to Thankot.

The route starts from Lagankhel, Patan Hospital, Alka, Norvic, Maternity Hospital, Trauma Centre, Bir Hospital, Kanti Hospital, Teaching Hospital, Gangalal Heart Centre and Budhanilkantha. The 16-kilometres north-south route will be one way, according to KMC.

The one-way stretch from Thankot to the International Airport via Satungal, Kalanki, Kalimati, Tripureshwor, Thapathali, Maitighar Mandala, Baneshwor, Minbhawan and Tinkune is 20 kilometres in the east-west direction. According to KMC, four night electric buses will be operated on these two routes.

Acting Mayor of Kathmandu Metropolitan City, Sunita Dangol, said, “We are going to start the night public transport service as it is necessary to solve the problem of expensive travel due to the disruption of public transport after 8:00 pm.” She expressed her confidence that it would be easier as girls and women used to face abuse at night and it also cost the students financially.

According to him, KMC is preparing to make the service state-of-the-art, integrated, easy, secure, reliable and sustainable system friendly. The bus service will be operated from 11:00 pm to 11:00 pm. Buses will arrive at an interval of every 20 minutes from the bus stop on the designated route. CCTV cameras will be installed in the buses and city police will be deployed for security.