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Cash only payment notices at some Gongabu New Bus Park ticket windows are complicating the Dashain booking experience despite the availability of online ticketing, according to an October 16 report by The Rising Nepal. Reporter Purushottam Khatri described passengers queuing from early morning for journeys towards western Nepal, Sudurpaschim and Karnali. The development is a report about how ticketing works for travellers during the current rush, not an announcement that all digital bus booking services have stopped operating.
The newspaper described signs asking passengers to pay in cash, alongside displayed destination fares and passenger assistance arrangements. It also noted that the Department of Transport Management had identified online platforms including eSewa, Khalti and BusSewa as alternatives to visiting counters. Those two observations can coexist: a traveller may have access to an online booking channel while a particular physical counter still restricts its payment method. The report does not establish that every counter is cash only or that every destination has online seats available.
The historical comparison is significant. Republica reported in March 2025 that online ticketing had been introduced at all 47 counters inside New Bus Park. It attributed the integration to Lhotse Multipurpose and transport entrepreneurs, describing a system intended to improve passenger convenience. Lhotse operated the facility under an agreement with Kathmandu Metropolitan City. That earlier announcement concerned integration of the counters into an online ticketing system; it did not itself establish that every payment instrument would be accepted at every counter indefinitely.
Republica’s account also described New Bus Park as one part of a wider departure network. It reported services to 70 districts from Gongabu, while other vehicles operated from places including Koteshwar, Kalanki, Gaushala and Sorhakhutte. Those figures and locations are historical context from the March report, not an October 16 operating inventory. Their relevance is that a ticketing discussion at Gongabu should not be treated as a complete description of all long distance transport sales in Kathmandu.
An October 9 ShareSansar report provides another part of this year’s booking context. It said BusSewa had opened advance festival bookings through its app and website, allowing users to choose a destination, travel date, bus and seat. The company said it was monitoring availability on popular routes and would try to add seats and services according to demand. An intention to add capacity is different from confirmed seats on a specific departure. The report’s commercial offers also should not be mistaken for a universal reduction in the fares charged by all operators.
The online workflow described by BusSewa is therefore a separate channel from payment at a ticket window. Selecting a journey and a seat on a platform does not demonstrate that a cash counter can process a wallet transaction, and a cash only sign does not demonstrate that the platform has failed. As analysis, the practical gap concerns consistency and clarity across these channels. Passengers need to know not only whether tickets are described as digital, but where payment is completed and how a confirmed booking is documented.
The Rising Nepal also reported extra counters, security arrangements and passenger help desks during the festival rush. These measures address crowd management and complaints, while clear fare, seat and payment information addresses a different part of the journey. The new report is a reason to check the payment method and booking confirmation for the chosen seller, rather than assume that a general technology announcement guarantees the same experience at every window.
Source publication date: 2026-10-16.
Sources:The Rising Nepal, Purushottam Khatri, October 16, 2026, cash only counter observations · Republica, March 2025 online ticketing launch report; page metadata shows March 3 and article dateline March 4 · ShareSansar, October 9, 2026 at 13:15 NPT, BusSewa booking announcement
Source: GPT News Feed
