In a bid to ease traffic congestion during office hours in Kathmandu Valley, traffic police has come up with a schedule for school buses and pickup trucks inside the Ring Road.

As per the rule, school buses are required to pick up students before 9:30am and drop them off by 4:30pm after school.

“We want to aware the public about the schedule,” said DSP Sabin Pradhan, who is also a road safety coordinator at the Metropolitan Traffic Police Division (MTPD). “We want cooperation from all the sectors.”

According to the MTPD record, 350 school buses operate in the Valley. Traffic police has no record of the number of vehicles that ply in rush hours. A total of 922,900 vehicles have been registered with the Department of Transport Management in the Valley.

Similarly, pickup trucks and delivery vans will not be allowed to ply inside the Ring Road during office hours—9am to 11am and 4pm to 6pm. According to the MTPD estimates, more than 17,000 pickup trucks and delivery vans are in operation in the Valley. However, tankers carrying water and petroleum products will be allowed to ply round the clock.

Confirming the plan’s approval, DoTM Spokesperson Tok Raj Pandey said, “We have authorised the MTPD to implement this rule.”

The department has also informed the Federation of Nepali National Transport Entrepreneurs about the new traffic rules.

Traffic police have been facing difficulties managing traffic in Capital’s core areas, such as Kupondole, Thapathali, Tripureshwor, Kalanki,  Kalimati, Ratna Park, Jamal, New Road, Lazimpat, New Baneshwor, Koteshwor, among others.