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Kathmandu Saturday July 22, 2000 Sharawan 07, 2057.
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Improve bus service
It is indeed an irony that public transportation
in Kathmandu valley should turn from bad to
worse since the day the government introduced the Euro-I emission standard. The reason for
this deterioration is no doubt the sluggish traffic flow in the traffic congested streets
of the city. Even when the traffic jams are not there, for instance, in the early morning
hours, it takes a bus an average of one hour to cover a distance of 15 kilometres within
the valley.
It is not that there are no traffic
rules to discipline these city buses, but by all appearances, these rules do not seem to
apply to them. Neither has the valley traffic police placed its personnel at major bus
stops, nor has Kathmandu Metropolis set rules and regulations for bus drivers to follow.
The manner in which buses make a beeline at every stop and the fact that stray passengers
are allowed to get into crammed buses at any point shows that Kathmandu Metropolis has
done nothing to regulate the daily bus service.
It is true that most city buses
plying within the valley spend more than 15 minutes at each bus stop waiting for
passengers. Besides polluting the environment with diesel fumes and noise, they also
increase the traffic load during peak hours. Thousands of suffering commuters who spend
hours in crammed buses become victims of the service. Had Kathmandu metropolis and Valley
Traffic Office manned the major bus stops, such a pathetic bus service would not have
existed. No doubt, much of has comminuting woes can be traced to the neglect shown by VTO
and Kathmandu Metropolis towards this problem.
The introduction of micro buses,
especially in Kathmandu valley has not eased the problems of public transportation.
Neither are there any prospects that they will help commuters travel short distances
quickly unless the traffic system is itself properly managed. In this, the traffic police
as well as the metropolis must play a crucial role for without their coordinated efforts,
the bus service of Kathmandu will never improve. First things first, the bus stops as well
as the streets have to have traffic police presence so that they can see to it that
drivers comply with traffic rules. Both VTO and Kathmandu Metropolis have to take new
measures to control the movement of city buses if they want to provide better and faster
bus service to commuters. The earlier they do so the better it will be for commuters.
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