Cover Story (Spotlight Weekly)

PUBLIC COMMUTE
Drive To Destination

With the arrival of new micro, taxis and minibuses, around 1.6 million population of the Kathmandu valley have reasons to rejoice as the public transportation system has taken a giant leap in the last five years. From riding just a few traditional routes in the valley, today the public transports ferries passengers from more than 300 destinations in and around the valley. The city dwellers, who used to ride in jam-packed and overcrowded buses - now have more options of small and medium sized vehicles that criss-cross the city thoroughfares. With the massive investment in the public transportation sector from private entrepreneurs as well as easy loan schemes from the banking sector, many new transport companies have entered the fray with a pledge to provide quality service to the passengers. As the roads are shrinking in inner cities and the government is yet to plan to construct the outer ring road, how they would sustain in longer term remains to be seen

By THAKUR AMGAI

Commuting from home to work and work to home have become much easier to Bishal K.C., 36, a resident of Gwarku, 5 miles south east of capital Kathmandu, compared to that of five years ago. He has to travel about 20 miles every day by bus. Unlike in the past, he does not have to change buses as a single bus will now take him from his residence to work place at Maharajgunj. The new system has not only saved time and money but it is also much convenient and reliable.

Over the last five years, the public transportation sector in the valley has seen a sea change. Despite the poor road and other infrastructures, the massive investment from the private sector has increased the number of public transports. If the roads are free from the street agitation, one can travel from one point to another by public vehicles in relatively short time.

Since Kathmandu valley has more than 300 intersections like Jamal, Chabahil, Koteshwore, Kalanki and Lagankhel, the public vehicles have to spend most of their time waiting to enter into the core city areas.

Demand and Supply

With the increasing number of people in the valley and the increment in their mobility, the demand for transportation has tremendously risen. At a time of economic slowdown when most of the business sectors are not performing well, the transportation remains an attractive area for the investment. Being a safe and seemingly lucrative investment there has been a large capital injection in this sector.

A two-year-old study conducted by Ishwar Man Shrestha, a transport expert, revealed that about 15,000 vehicles of different capacity and kind are being used to ferry the influx population of about 1.6 million and their goods in the capital city to and fro various points. According to the study, there were 13,541 passenger buses and good carriers in the valley.

The influx of population then made 16,15,000 trips out of which walking covered 19 percent and 4.2 percent used bicycles. Among those who used vehicles, 60 percent used two wheelers. As the number of people who use private vehicles is almost negligible, the rest 4,96,128 people used public vehicles for their travel. The study showed that the carrying capacity of the vehicles was 8,16,153 trips. Over the time, both the number of vehicles and the number of people has increased considerably.

According to the Department of Transport Management, there are 26 major routes for minibuses and buses; 22 for microbuses; 41 for gas tempos and 38 for Safa tempos. The office record shows that 2258 buses and minibuses; 965 microbuses; 549 gas tempos and 591 safa tempos have taken route permits from the office.

Shrestha's study shows that the carrying capacity of the vehicles is higher than the demand. However, the demand is not smooth throughout. During off hours, vehicles run without adequate passengers, while during peak hours the passengers do not get vehicles easily. Interestingly, the public transport business is said to be a lesser profitable business. There are complaints from both the side as transport entrepreneurs lament of not getting enough profits whereas the passengers are not getting much facility.

"Of course, there have been much improvement in the public transport system but I always have to struggle to secure a seat. Worse, much of the public transport stops the operation just after 7.30 p.m.," said Ram Krishna Phuyal, a resident of Nepaltar, Balaju, 7 miles north of capital.

One of the major facilities that the passengers have enjoyed over the years is a wider choice of routes. Due to the increased competition among the transport entrepreneurs, they have been forced to choose alternate routes that have public demand. The transport entrepreneurs have explored many routes - which gives both businesses to the entrepreneurs and benefits to the public. It has been reported that vehicles run from more than two hundred points in the valley.

Problems Facing The Passengers

Commuters from all the sectors agree that the facilities in the public transport system have increased. However, people are yet to get better, timely and professional services. The time has come to look into the infrastructures as well as other facilities including parking space and bus terminals.

"If appropriate policies are not formulated in time, the already stretched road infrastructure and bus terminals may be soon unable to cater to the demand, given the exponential rise in the number of vehicles and people," argues an official.

Despite the rise in the number of vehicles and passengers, there is only one bus terminal inside the city and remaining public transports have to park along the sidewalks.

Rush Hour Traffic

Whatever the improvements in the sector, riding the public transport at peak hour is still a difficult job. During the peak hours, the passengers need to wait long to get a vehicle and have crouch inside cramped vehicles.

Agrees Hira Udas, chairman of the Nepalese Federation of Transport Entrepreneurs, "Obviously, the passengers need to wait a bit long during the office hours. Peak hour is the rush hour when the transport entrepreneurs as well as the passengers both are under stress."

Thanks to the rush hour traffic, the traffic jams have become almost like a regular phenomenon. Sunil Poudyal, Traffic Engineer at the Department of Roads says, "The lack of vehicles during office hours is because the public vehicles are hired by offices and schools to ferry their children and staff." A committee formed to suggest on improving public transportation facilities had put a suggestion forbidding the use of public vehicles by schools and offices but it has not been implemented yet.

Time is another bad experience during the rush as public transport takes as much as double time to reach their destinations having to stop frequently in dozens of bus-stops. The traffic jams are beyond the control of the drivers but the reduction of the number of bus stops may save time.

Although there is a provision in the Transport Management Law to fix a timetable from beginning point to the end destination, it has not been practiced. Officials at the Transport Management Office claim that fixing time is not feasible at present circumstances when riots and agitations result in frequent traffic jams.

The average speed of the vehicles even in the 4 lane roads is 10-15km per hour as opposed to 30-40km per hour as per the international standard. Although, SSP Surendra Bahadur Pal, chief of the Valley Traffic Police Office claims that vehicles, on an average ply at the speed of 20-30km per hour during the peak hours, he conceded it is largely delayed by the numerous stops and lack of proper parking facilities. "Speed of the vehicles is low due to too many stops, longer time spent at each stop and lack of traffic bay."

Engineer Poudyal opines that unscientific distribution of route permits also has had a big impact in reducing the average speed. "Route permits should be distributed in a more scientific manner," says Poudyal, "Smaller vehicles with low speed should be allowed only in residential area while high speed and large vehicles should be used in wider roads like the ring road."

Facilities Unutilized

Despite the available public transport facilities, many people are not being able to use it thanks to the lack of information. The services of the public vehicles going to over a dozen destinations from major city intersections such as Chababhil, Koteshwore, Kalanki and Jamal has not been availed well, particularly by people who are new to the area because of lack of information.

According to Poudyal, the enumeration of vehicles is already outdated and should be thoroughly reviewed and an information chart showing the routes of the vehicles that stop at a certain stop should be put at every stop. The Transport Management Act 1992 says the authorized officer (chief of the Transport Management office) should put or make others put such information charts at every stop. The officials coolly cited 'lack of manpower' on being asked why it was not implemented. "The entrepreneurs themselves could have done that job," said an officer.

More Vehicles Less space

Traffic Jams have stunned road users in the recent years. The present road infrastructures are inadequate to support the traffic load. Over the last 15 years the number of vehicles have increased by almost six folds while the length of the roads has just more than doubled. Moreover, when riots take place traffic is bound to be stranded, as there are no alternate roads to go from one place to another in most of the cases. SSP Pal points out the need of alternate roads to the major roads to avoid traffic jams from riots and scheduled commute of VVIPs.

The urbanization trend having grown in unscientific and unplanned manner has made the situation virtually impossible as streets are congested and houses have been constructed on the both sides of the streets. The cost required to pay compensation is going to be higher. "It takes ten times more to compensate the people for their land and houses then to construct roads in Kathmandu," says Poudyal.

The construction of the outer ring road has been much talked about but has not taken shape. At a time when the government has money for development but has not been able to use it, it should invest on the building of the infrastructure of the city that will have a far-reaching impact. With improved transportation facilities in the outskirts, the population would disperse easing the pressure in the core city area.

Woes Of the Transport Entrepreneurs

Transportation sector has attracted a huge investment from the private sector. Not only from bankers, transport entrepreneurs, individuals with liquid money have also taken it as a means to secure their money in a lucrative way. Himalayan Bank alone has invested Rs. 900 million for vehicles out of which more than half of it is for public vehicles throughout the country. "At a time when businesses in other sectors are not very secure, we have taken transportation sector as a new venture," said Asha Adhikari, Branch Manager of the Himalayan Bank, Maharajgunj Branch.

Competitive market and increased investment are the major problems of the entrepreneurs. The government's decision to displace older vehicles with newer ones has helped improve the environment, but has also laden financial burdens to the transport entrepreneurs. As the costs of the new buses have gone up, the profit margin has come down. “When we used to operate older bus, profit margin was higher since the operation cost was negligible. But now we need to pay huge amount of money to the banks," said a transport entrepreneur.

Improvement in the mass transport sector can have a very positive impact in environment as well as economy. If facilities were improved to meet the demand of all class of people, it would discourage people from buying two-wheelers and even four wheelers. "Mass transport is always preferred to private conveyance," said Bibek Chapagain, of Kathmandu Electric Vehicle Association (KEVA), which has done an extensive study on Trolley Buses in Kathmandu. Trolley Bus Corporation and Sajha Yatayat are the only government owned companies in transportation sector, both of which are incurring huge losses while all the private transport companies are booming.

The study has shown that Trolley buses can run in profit if it is managed well and runs 22 buses from Tripureshwar to Bhaktapur. Chapagain claims that instead of subsidizing the fossil fuels, which drains the foreign currency as well as pollute the environment, the government should focus on improving environment friendly technologies like trolley buses, which utilizes the clean energy.

The increase in the number of vehicles has triggered fierce competition among the transport entrepreneurs, thereby, adding to the facilities that the passengers get. Many newer routes have been introduced, the speed increased and comfort grown all because of the stiff competition. Although, the sector could have been much more improved by government's pro-active role, its contribution to the sector - which pays a whopping revenue of almost Rs 2000 millions - is next to nil.

“Profit Margin Has Come Down Due To Stiff Competition”

— Hira Udas

Hira Udas, Chairman of the Federation of Nepalese Transport Entrepreneurs, is a well-known name in the transportation sector. Udas who entered the sector in 1960s has seen different phases of the development of this sector. He spoke to THAKUR AMGAI on issues related to public transportation. Excerpts:

What is the situation of the transportation sector then and now?

When I entered the transportation sector four decades ago, the population density was very low and so were the vehicles. The technology was also not as advanced as today. Today, the population has increased, so has the economic activities and the demand for transportation has also increased. There are too many vehicles than required.

What impacts have it had on the transport entrepreneurs?

The number of vehicles being too many has increased an unhealthy competition among the entrepreneurs. We have demanded the government to ban vehicle registration or at least stop providing route permits in the city area of Kathmandu at least for two years. The investment of the transport entrepreneurs is at stake ere.

But, wasn't it considered a lucrative business a few years back?

Yes, it was. People earned more profit from a lesser investment. You can take example of the displacement of taxis older than 20 years or the recent government decision to ban two-stroke three wheelers and allow a micro-bus or a taxi instead. The entrepreneurs who were earning the same profit with Rs 0.2 million now have to invest about Rs 2 million to get a microbus now. Obviously, the profit margin has come down.

What do you think is the reason behind the industry attracting so much investment particularly from people who are not even involved in the sector?

Externally it looks to be a very lucrative business. People see a lot of income in the business and that even in cash (there is no credit transaction in public transport unlike in other businesses). Mostly people are tempted because of that. They buy a vehicle without analyzing what the running costs will be.

“Road Infrastructure Of Kathmandu Is Very Poor”

— Surendra Bahadur Pal

Surendra Bahadur Pal, Senior Superintendent Police (SSP), is the chief of the Valley Traffic Police Office. He spoke to THAKUR AMGAI about the problem of traffic management in Kathmandu. Excerpts:

What is the main reason for frequent traffic jams in the streets of Kathmandu?

The lack of alternative roads is the main problem to it. For example, if places around Tundikhel are stopped for some reasons, there are no alternate ways to get out of that place. In addition, the road infrastructure of Kathmandu Valley is very poor that cannot support the heavy traffic existing in Kathmandu.

Why is the average speed of the traffic in the streets of the Kathmandu very low?

The traffic speed differs from place to place and the average speed of the vehicle in the streets of Kathmandu is 20-30 km per hour during the peak hours. It is better during off hours, if there is no traffic jam. However, the practice of stopping haphazardly and lack of traffic bays reduces the total speed by a great extent.

Why cannot the traffic regulate the bus stops?

There are already too many bus stops in the city. While the international standard for the fixation of stops is at least 500 m in dense areas and 1 km in normal areas, the stops in our case are very close. Moreover, the time spent at each stop is longer. We have tried to maintain the distance between the stops but could not implement it due to complaints from passengers.

We have regulations to punish drivers who violate traffic rule. Don't you have any system of punishing those pedestrians who violate traffic rule?

No, we don't. If a pedestrian violates traffic rule (like crossing the street in red light or from underneath an overhead bridge), there is no rule to penalize them. I have raised this issue several times through mass media as well as in meetings, but there has not been any rule. In fact, according to the existing laws, there are chances that the traffic police might be sued in the name of defamation if he/she punishes a pedestrian for violating a traffic 'rule'.

“There Is A Need For Extensive Planning”

— Sunil Poudyal

Sunil Poudyal, is the Traffic Engineer at Traffic Engineering and Safety division of the Department of Roads. He spoke to THAKUR AMGAI on various issues related to traffic safety and public transportation. Excerpts:

What is the situation of roads in the Kathmandu valley?

Everybody knows the state of roads in Kathmandu Valley. It is in front of everyone's eyes here. If you had asked me about the state of roads in Rolpa, I could have exaggerated and told you that the condition is excellent, because you would not go and watch there. But, you yourself can see the state of roads in Kathmandu.

Is the road infrastructure enough to support the existing influx population and traffic of the valley?

No, it is not. There is a need of extensive planning not in just roads but in the entire city. But as it is a historical city and many infrastructures are already set up, it is not easy to do so. The cost of road construction here is many fold expensive than in other places, because of the need to compensate people whose lands and houses have to be acquired. A country with limited resources like ours cannot afford it.

So, what is the immediate solution to the present problems in transportation?

A need-based assessment should be done and the distribution of route permits and traffic management should be done in a scientific manner. Proper vehicles should be allowed in proper places. Running a large bus in residential area and a Safa tempo in the ring road is no solution to the problem. The responsible government agencies should play a pro-active role.