diff --git a/apps/edr-passenger-api/src/common/utils/timezone.utils.ts b/apps/edr-passenger-api/src/common/utils/timezone.utils.ts
index d21a8a7dc..325a14d1f 100644
--- a/apps/edr-passenger-api/src/common/utils/timezone.utils.ts
+++ b/apps/edr-passenger-api/src/common/utils/timezone.utils.ts
@@ -18,12 +18,11 @@
  * parseEthiopianTime('2026-06-15') // Treats as midnight EAT
  */
 export function parseEthiopianTime(dateInput: string | Date): Date {
-  if (dateInput instanceof Date) {
-    return dateInput;
-  }
-  
-  // Parse as local time (EAT) since TZ is set to Africa/Addis_Ababa
-  return new Date(dateInput);
+  if (dateInput instanceof Date) return dateInput;
+  // Already has timezone info (Z or +HH:MM) — parse directly as UTC
+  if (/Z$|[+-]\d{2}:\d{2}$/.test(dateInput)) return new Date(dateInput);
+  // Bare local string (e.g. "2026-07-23T21:00") — treat explicitly as EAT (UTC+3)
+  return new Date(dateInput + '+03:00');
 }
 
 /**
diff --git a/apps/edr-passenger-api/src/modules/search/search.service.ts b/apps/edr-passenger-api/src/modules/search/search.service.ts
index 340d9fac9..91988ba55 100644
--- a/apps/edr-passenger-api/src/modules/search/search.service.ts
+++ b/apps/edr-passenger-api/src/modules/search/search.service.ts
@@ -153,8 +153,8 @@ export class SearchService {
     nationality?: string,
   ) {
     const [y, m, d] = dateStr.split('-').map(Number);
-    const requestedDate = new Date(y, m - 1, d, 0, 0, 0, 0);
-    const requestedNextDay = new Date(y, m - 1, d + 1, 0, 0, 0, 0);
+    const requestedDate    = new Date(`${String(y)}-${String(m).padStart(2,'0')}-${String(d).padStart(2,'0')}T00:00:00+03:00`);
+    const requestedNextDay = new Date(`${String(y)}-${String(m).padStart(2,'0')}-${String(d + 1).padStart(2,'0')}T00:00:00+03:00`);
     const now = new Date();
     const totalPassengers = adultCount + (childCount ?? 0);
     const NEEDED = 3;
@@ -213,14 +213,15 @@ export class SearchService {
     nationality?: string,
   ) {
     const [y, m, d] = dateStr.split('-').map(Number);
-    const date    = new Date(y, m - 1, d, 0, 0, 0, 0);
-    const nextDay = new Date(y, m - 1, d + 1, 0, 0, 0, 0);
+    const date    = new Date(`${String(y)}-${String(m).padStart(2,'0')}-${String(d).padStart(2,'0')}T00:00:00+03:00`);
+    const nextDay = new Date(`${String(y)}-${String(m).padStart(2,'0')}-${String(d + 1).padStart(2,'0')}T00:00:00+03:00`);
     const now = new Date();
     const totalPassengers = adultCount + (childCount ?? 0);
 
     const cutoffHours = await this.getCutoffHours();
     const cutoffThreshold = new Date(now.getTime() + cutoffHours * 60 * 60 * 1000);
-    const isToday = now.getFullYear() === y && now.getMonth() === m - 1 && now.getDate() === d;
+    const nowInEAT = new Date(now.toLocaleString('en-US', { timeZone: 'Africa/Addis_Ababa' }));
+    const isToday = nowInEAT.getFullYear() === y && nowInEAT.getMonth() === m - 1 && nowInEAT.getDate() === d;
     const earliest = isToday ? cutoffThreshold : date;
 
     const schedules = await this.prisma.trainSchedule.findMany({
@@ -255,8 +256,8 @@ export class SearchService {
     nationality?: string,
   ) {
     const [y, m, d] = dateStr.split('-').map(Number);
-    const dayStart = new Date(y, m - 1, d, 0, 0, 0, 0);
-    const dayEnd   = new Date(y, m - 1, d + 1, 0, 0, 0, 0);
+    const dayStart = new Date(`${String(y)}-${String(m).padStart(2,'0')}-${String(d).padStart(2,'0')}T00:00:00+03:00`);
+    const dayEnd   = new Date(`${String(y)}-${String(m).padStart(2,'0')}-${String(d + 1).padStart(2,'0')}T00:00:00+03:00`);
     const leg2WindowEnd = new Date(dayEnd.getTime() + this.MAX_CONNECTION_MINUTES * 60_000);
     const totalPassengers = adultCount + (childCount ?? 0);
 
@@ -442,8 +443,8 @@ export class SearchService {
     }
 
     const coachTypes   = this.buildCoachTypeDetails(schedule, faresByClass, nationality, availabilityByClass);
-    const legDepartureAt = originStop.plannedDepartureAt ?? schedule.departureAt;
-    const legArrivalAt   = destStop.plannedArrivalAt   ?? schedule.arrivalAt;
+    const legDepartureAt = schedule.departureAt;
+    const legArrivalAt   = schedule.arrivalAt;
 
     const displayCurrency = faresByClass[0]?.displayCurrency ?? resolveCurrencyFromNationality(nationality);
 
diff --git a/apps/edr-passenger-web/backoffice/src/app/schedules/page.tsx b/apps/edr-passenger-web/backoffice/src/app/schedules/page.tsx
index d9a0e7ba8..b02b7ec76 100644
--- a/apps/edr-passenger-web/backoffice/src/app/schedules/page.tsx
+++ b/apps/edr-passenger-web/backoffice/src/app/schedules/page.tsx
@@ -300,7 +300,7 @@ export default function SchedulesPage() {
     const payload: any = {
       trainId: bulkForm.trainId,
       routeId: bulkForm.routeId,
-      startDateTime: bulkForm.startDateTime,
+      startDateTime: new Date(bulkForm.startDateTime).toISOString(),
       durationHours: parseInt(bulkForm.durationHours),
       repeatEveryDays: parseInt(bulkForm.repeatEveryDays),
       forNextDays: parseInt(bulkForm.forNextDays),
@@ -389,11 +389,11 @@ export default function SchedulesPage() {
   const handleEditClick = (schedule: Schedule) => {
     setEditingSchedule(schedule);
 
-    // Format UTC ISO string as local YYYY-MM-DDTHH:mm for the picker
+    // Format UTC ISO string as EAT (Africa/Addis_Ababa) YYYY-MM-DDTHH:mm for the picker
     const toLocalDT = (iso: string) => {
-      const d = new Date(iso);
+      const eat = new Date(new Date(iso).toLocaleString('en-US', { timeZone: 'Africa/Addis_Ababa' }));
       const pad = (n: number) => String(n).padStart(2, '0');
-      return `${d.getFullYear()}-${pad(d.getMonth() + 1)}-${pad(d.getDate())}T${pad(d.getHours())}:${pad(d.getMinutes())}`;
+      return `${eat.getFullYear()}-${pad(eat.getMonth() + 1)}-${pad(eat.getDate())}T${pad(eat.getHours())}:${pad(eat.getMinutes())}`;
     };
 
     const depStr = toLocalDT(schedule.departureAt);