KATHMANDU: Bus operators have requested route permits to launch direct services from Nepal to eight additional cities in India. At present, direct bus services are available to 13 Indian cities under the Nepal-India Friendship Bus Service.
According to Shrikant Yadav, who oversees Cross-Border Transport Management at the Department of Transport Management (DoTM), operators from both countries have requested permits for eight additional routes. He added that Nepali and Indian operators have each applied for permits for four routes.
“Direct bus services are currently operating to 13 Indian cities under the Nepal-India Friendship Bus Service. This has benefited passengers from both countries,” Yadav said. “Operators are now eager to expand services to more cities and have requested permits for eight additional routes.”
He added that the proposed routes are under review, and permits will be issued after evaluation.
According to Yadav, Nepali operators have sought permits for Nepalgunj-Jaipur, Nepalgunj-Nainital, Kathmandu-Jaipur and Kathmandu-Chandigarh. Similarly, Indian operators have requested permits for routes from Jaipur to Kathmandu, Pokhara and Janakpur in Nepal.
The Nepal-India Friendship Bus Service has been operational since 2014. Although services were briefly halted due to the COVID-19 pandemic, buses now operate regularly on 13 routes. They include: Kathmandu-Patna-Bodh Gaya, Mahendranagar-New Delhi, Siliguri-Kakarbhitta-Kathmandu, Janakpur-Patna, Mahendranagar-Dehradun, Nepalgunj-Rupaidiya-Bareilly-Moradabad-Haridwar, Nepalgunj-Rupaidiya-Lucknow, Nepalgunj-Rupaidiya-New Delhi, Kathmandu-Bhairahawa-Sunauli-Gorakhpur-Lucknow-New Delhi, Janakpur-Jaleshwar-Bhittamod-Sursand-Sitamarhi-Muzaffarpur, and Janakpur-Piprakothi-Gopalganj-Salemgarh-Gorakhpur-Ayodhya.
