The long-awaited cross-border passenger bus service from Janakpur to Patna in India is scheduled to begin from September 16.

Bookings of advance ticket for the first international bus services between Janakpur and Patna have already been opened. According to Manoj Kumar Chaudhary, president of Janakpur Bus Entrepreneurs Association, they have set up separate offices to manage the services. The distance between Patna and Janakpur by road is around 210 km, entailing a travel time of around six hours.

As per the schedule, Chief Minister of Province 2 Lal Bahadur Raut is scheduled to flag off the bus from Nepal’s side on September 16, while Chief Minister of Bihar Nitish Kumar will be flagging the bus from the Indian side on September 13. Chaudhary said that Swayambhu-Manjushree Transport Pvt Ltd will serve on the route with four buses and the numbers would be increased gradually based on the demand.

Separately, Bihar State Road Transport Corporation will run four luxury buses from Patna. “The fare for the route has not been fixed,” he said, adding that the ticket rate will be unveiled in a few days.

On May 8, Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli and his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi flagged off the direct bus service from Janakpur to Ayodhya. The bus service was announced by Modi during his visit to Nepal in 2014 as part of a Nepal and India plan to promote the ‘Ramayana Circuit’. The circuit was jointly announced from the premises of the Janaki Temple in Janakpur last May. The Ramayana Circuit is expected to help promote religious tourism between the two neighbours. Locals said that the direct bus service would facilitate the journey as thousands of Nepalis travel to different parts of India for studies, medical treatment and business purpose.