Background Public transport is the primary mode of transportation in Nepal. It has a high road traffic fatality rate with bus crashes on long-distance routes accounting for 13% of fatalities and 31% of serious injuries. Only limited information is available in police records.

Objective To examine the factors associated with road traffic crashes, injuries and deaths in long-distance bus crashes in Nepal, as reported in national newspapers.

Methods The three national media sources with public access to their archives were selected. Search terms were derived from an analysis of media reporting of crashes. A data extraction spreadsheet was developed, piloted with 15 cases, and refined. All long-distance public vehicle crashes reported in the three newspapers between January 1^st, 2020, and December 31st, 2023, were recorded. Data were analyzed to produce descriptive statistics and textual data provided information on the context of the crash.

Results We found 210 crash reports meeting the inclusion criteria, resulting in 425 deaths and 1928 injuries. The province with the largest number of recorded crashes was Bagmati (32%), followed by Gandaki (20%), Koshi (14%), Madhesh (10%), Lumbini (9%), Karnali (8%) and Sudurpaschim (7%). In 67.6% of the cases, it was a single vehicle crash which implies either driver error or vehicle failure. 31% of the reports did not specify the cause of the crash. Where the cause was cited, 22% were collisions with another vehicle, in 15% of cases the driver was said to have lost control of the vehicle, 8% were due to poor weather condition, 4% were due to collision with physical barrier and 2% were due to brake failure. 11% mentioned the bus falling off the road, but this was more likely the reason that the crash resulted in casualties than the cause. 7% of bus crashes reported involved a pedestrian, but again it was unclear if they contributed to the crash or were a casualty.

Conclusion Media reports on bus crashes offer valuable supplementary data for comprehending the epidemiology of long-distance bus crashes, especially in situations where routine data sources are limited. The newspaper reports highlight factors associated with bus crashes that warrant further research.