KATHMANDU, MAY 15 –
After landing into sporadic troubles numerous times before and after beginning the service, Sajha Yatayat has successfully weathered the initial hiccups operating for one month.
The bus operators said the service has made profit together with the support it has gained from the passengers and other authorities concerned.
According to Sajha Yatayat Cooperatives, 268,982 passengers travelled in the Sajha bus in the first month averaging 8,966 commuters each day.
Of the ticket sales, the total revenue collected by Sajha in a month was Rs 3,826,156, out of which Rs 3,169,447 was spent on salaries of staffs, fuel and regular maintenance. The net profit earned by the service in the first month stood at Rs 656,708.
Manager at Sajha Cooperatives, Mahendra Pandey, said Sajha buses are in high demand among passengers. “We have fewer buses in service and the demand is very high,” said Pandey.
“We plan to add more buses and routes in the future.” Out of the existing two routes, Lagenkhel-Buspark seems more popular among the passengers, carrying 170,959 people, while the Kalanki-Airport route ferried 97,823 passengers.
“The airport pick-up has also been popular among the arriving and departing passengers at the international airport,” said Pandey.
This month Sajha also constructed 63 poles to signify bus stops around the two routes in cooperation with the traffic police. It has also urged the regular and prospective passengers to buy the tickets and follow the rules while using the service. “We request everyone to travel with tickets and enjoy our service for months to come,” said Pandey.
The buses currently ply on two routes—Satdobato-Lagankhel-Jawlakhel-Tripureshwore-Ratnapark-Maharajgunj-Basundhara-New Buspark route and Kalanki-Kalimati-New Baneshwore-Tinkune-Airport. Both the routes have two-way services from 5am to 11pm.
Sajha charges a minimum fare of Rs 15 and can go up to Rs 20, according to the distance travelled, while the discounted minimum fare for students is Rs 10. Passengers are also enabled to transfer tickets or change routes with the tickets purchased. It operates 16 buses, which are compliant with the Euro-III emission standards, while each bus boasts 55 seats and an 15 additional strap-hangers for standing passengers. The buses also have automated doors and two CCTV cameras and display screens for advertisements, public notices and entertainment. Sajha had halted its bus services in 2002 and politicisation and overstaffing were blamed for the failure.
Its now under a new management and was established as a cooperative in 2011 with an executive board elected from general members.
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