Sajha Yatayat, a transportation cooperative, plans to bring a ‘semi-floor’ bus in the Capital within a month for trial operation.

A three-member technical team of the cooperative recently visited India to order the vehicle. There will not be much gap between the ground and the first step of the bus at its entrance.

The bus set to be ply in the Valley is the first of its kind in Nepal. It will be helpful 

particularly for differently-abled people, women, children and the elderly who have trouble boarding and getting off vehicles.

Mahendra Raj Pandey, chief executive officer at Sajha, said that Ashok Leyland, an Indian automobile manufacturer, will be handing the buses with 40 seats over to the cooperative. The bus will have mobile charging points near the seat, separate hanging straps, CCTV camera and a television for the passengers.

The bus can only ply smooth and pothole-free roads. The cooperative has opened a letter of credit (LC) for additional four buses. Pandey said the buses will run on long routes within the Valley. It is learnt that the buses will be delivered within 120 days of opening the LC.

Apart from the deluxe buses, the Sajha is also planning to import 20 more big buses in the Valley in the future. “We announced a tender two weeks ago,’ said Pandey. For the new buses, the Kathmandu Metropolitan City and the Lalitpur Metropolitan City have already released Rs50 million and Rs10 million, respectively.

The cooperative currently has 46 buses in operation within the Valley and a few others on long routes.