UAE, March 4: A new bus service has been launched to transport visitors from Abu Dhabi City to the newly opened BAPS Hindu mandir, a traditional sandstone temple located in Abu Mureikha, off the Abu Dhabi-Dubai highway.

The service will commence from Abu Dhabi Bus Terminal and will travel along Sultan bin Zayed the First Street, known as Muroor Street, passing through Hamdan bin Mohammed Street, and continuing on to Al Bahyah, Al Shahama, with the BAPS Mandir as its final destination.

The journey from the city to the temple is expected to take approximately 90 minutes. This new service will operate in addition to the existing stops served by the 201 bus route in the suburban areas.

Pujya Brahmaviharidas Swami from the BAPS Swaminarayan Sanstha expressed gratitude to the local authorities for introducing the new bus service.

During the weekends, the existing bus number 201 (Al Bahyah Souq) will be replaced with 203 (BAPS Temple) to accommodate the increased demand. Community members have already begun utilizing this service on Saturdays and Sundays.

"This is an excellent service that connects the popular streets of Abu Dhabi to the temple, making it easier for community members to travel to the temple during weekends," said Rakesh Yadav, a resident who used the service on Sunday.

To travel by bus, community members must possess a Hafilat card. The Integrated Transport Centre (ITC) of the Department of Municipalities and Transport in Abu Dhabi recently unified the city and suburban transport services into a standardized service, with a fare set at Dh2 and an additional five fils for every kilometer traveled. Traveling without a bus card will result in a fine of Dh200.