TRANSPORT PLANNING

ASSIGNMENT 2

Jigme Ngedup
B.Architecture
A/2927/2016

School of Planning and Architecture

2020
Thimphu, The capital city of Bhutan.
The Kingdom’s capital city is home to approximately 100,000 inhabitants including the
Royal family. This bustling little city is the main centre of commerce, religion and
government in the country. The juxtaposition of ancient tradition and modernity make
Thimphu the ideal location for visitors to break away from their tour itinerary to immerse
themselves in the contemporary Bhutanese lifestyle.
Thimphu is the most modern city in Bhutan with an abundance of restaurants, internet cafes,
nightclubs and shopping centres. However, it still retains its’ cultural identity and values
amidst the signs of modernization. Thimphu is one of the few towns in Bhutan that have been
equipped with ATM banking facilities and is a good place to stock up on some currency.

City Population
The current population of Bhutan is 774,647 as of Tuesday, November, 2020, based on
World meter elaboration of the latest United Nations data.
Thimphu is the capital of Bhutan in which among the various Dzongkhags(states), it has the
largest population of 138,736 people. According to the census, there are 110 males for every
100 females in Thimphu.

Figure 1 Age group data. Source: PHCB 2017

City Size
The total land area of Bhutan is 38,117 km sq. and the capital of Bhutan, Thimphu has a size
of only 2067 km sq. Population density is more concentrated within Bhutan's capital city
Thimphu, averaging 9,770 Thimphuans per square mile (3,781 per square kilometer).
Zooming out to Bhutan's land boundaries, population density drops to an average 52 people
per square mile (20 per square kilometer)

Figure 2 Thimphu Map in Bhutan. Source: AlwaysBhutan

Major areas of the City.
Thimphu is divided into eight gewogs/districts and one town.
The following districts are: Chang Gewog, Dagala Gewog, Genyekha Gewog, Kawang
Gewog, Lingzhi Gewog, Mewang Gewog, Naro Gewog, Soe Gewog.
The main Thimphu town is the major commercial hub urban center of the state.

Figure 3 Thimphu town map. Source: PHCB Bhutan

Transportation System in Thimphu.

Bhutan being a very mountainous country is home to only 4 airports, out of which 1 is an
international airport and 3 are domestic airports. These airports are situated in the plainer
regions of Bhutan, and thus the capital city, Thimphu does not have an airport.
There are no railway systems in Bhutan as well.
The major form of transportation in Thimphu is
Public Bus Transportation followed by Taxi IPT
system.
In 2013, 75% of cars are found in four urban
areas in Bhutan, and Thimphu accounts of more
than 50% of car ownership of the four-urban
area. Only Thimphu has the city bus service in
Bhutan, while taxi as local transport.
Public Transportation System.
The major transportation system in the city is the bus services that take place organized by
the City government, Figure 3 shows that a bus service connects all the various 17 different
regions in the town area. The city bus services have around 48 bus which serves all around
the region. During peak hours – 7am to 9:30am and 4pm to 6:30pm, Bus ply after every 15-
minute interval and in some less crowded places, every 30 minutes.
There are about 170 city bus stops in Thimphu in which only 70 are being used on an
everyday basis. The fees for the bus services are Nu.15 for the least distance travelled to
Nu.30 for the furthest region.

Pre-Pandemic Situation.
People in Thimphu were
heavily dependent on the bus
services. Especially for students
and office goers.
From the 60% of people using
the bus services, 38% of it
were students and the rest being
the ones travelling to offices
and shops.
8am-9am and 5pm-6pm
Figure 4 City Bus stop for Students. Source: BBS showed the busiest time of the
day for the bus services as it
was the time students and other office goers usually travelled. The time after 10 am till 3pm
remained quite free where only half of the bus got filled.
The time after 6pm remained neutral and contained people who were travelling back home
from doing commercial business in the main town.
Post Pandemic Situation.
As soon as the outbreak of the pandemic virus, the bus services were completely suspended
as no crowds were allowed. With the following of a lockdown, no form of transportation was
allowed anywhere in Bhutan and thus the transportation for bus services remained suspended
till the month of September. After September, the bus services were restored, but however
with more rules implemented for social distancing.
Every person entering any bus was to be compulsory wearing a mask otherwise he would not
be allowed inside the Bus. Usually the bus started its journey as soon as all the 36 seats were
filled however, after the pandemic, only 18 seats were allocated for seating so that every
person would maintain social distancing.
For the following one month, only 10% of the population in Thimphu used the bus services
as most of the schools were suspended and office people worked from home.

Intermediate Public Transport.

The only form of IPT services in Thimphu are the taxi services. There are no other IPT
services. There are 2466 taxis plying in the roads of Thimphu. These are all personal taxi
services and not owned by any agency. There are no taxi agencies in Thimphu
The taxi services are expensive depending on their routes.

Figure 5 Taxi Stop in Thimphu. Source: BBS

There are two different types of routes:

1. Fixed Routes- 70% of the taxi drives ply on these routes as more people are
travelling. There are 2 fixed routes.
Town-Lungtenphu-Olakha-Babesa. This route involves 3 stops as the stop is
Lungtenphu takes Nu.25, the stop in Olakha costs Nu.30 and the stop in Babesa costs
Nu. 40.
Town-Langchuphaka-Taba-Dechencholing. This route is in the other direction of
the town where the first stop takes Nu.30, the second costs, Nu.50 and the final stop
costing Nu.50

2. Local Routes - The rest 30% of the taxi drivers tend to ply on local routes which
mean they drive to anywhere the passenger needs to go. These local routes services
are usually expensive and for a minimum of 2km travelled, it costs Nu.100 and after
which every 0.3 km, it increases by Nu.15.
 MODE CHARACTERISTICS PRECOVID POST COVID

IPT- TAXI Capacity 5 5

SERVICES Fuel Type Petrol Petrol
No of Trips/Day 10 4
No. of passengers 4 2
Total Distance 23-26km 14km
Distance per trip 1-2km 1km
Income per day Nu.1500 Nu.800

Pre-Pandemic Situation.
The taxis in Thimphu are usually 4-seater passenger vehicle where all 4 seats are efficiently
used.
During the pre-pandemic era, taxis used to be completely busy as people who missed the city
bus services or those who preferred not to travel in crowded services use the taxi services.
A taxi driver plying on the Fixed Route used to travel at least 10 trips throughout the entire
day in which each trip would be approximately 1.5 km. Each trip would bring around 150Nu.
That means a taxi driver would basically earn approximately Nu.1500 everyday out of which
he could fuel his car (PETROL) at the end of the day for Nu.500
The Taxis running on Local Route would go around 7-8 trips in which each trip would bring
around Nu.120-150. The Distance travelled would usually be upto 1km or maximum upto 2
km . The total amount a taxi driver earns per day for these routes would be Nu.1500 as well.
Nu.1500 would be the basic aim of all taxi drivers per day as survey says Nu.500 would be
used for fuel and the rest 1000 as income for the day.
Post Pandemic Situation.
The situation for Taxi drivers have drastically worsened after lockdown in which they hardly
even get 2 trips for both kind of services. For the first month after lockdown that is
September, an average of32 trips were done on a daily basis with the earning coming upto
200-400 Nu. However, in the month of September, the situation slightly increased in better
terms where now they travel upto 5-6 trips daily earning around Nu.600-800 .After pandemic,
the number of passengers allowed in taxi also reduced from 4-2 in which each trip would
bring only around 60-100Nu.
Even though, this is very less compared to the pre pandemic situation.
(NOTE: These inferences are drawn after a survey 27 taxi drivers)
The most common form of transportation in Thimphu town is pedestrian walking movement.
Since it is a very small area, people prefer to walk to places where they will reach within 30-
45 mins. This allowed the citizens to stay risk free from crowded places and maintain social
distancing.
Every First Sunday of the new month is considered as pedestrian day where no cars or taxis
are allowed on the roads on Thimphu except for emergency situations. The town street
becomes purely pedestrianized.
There are a number of 58,400 private vehicles in Thimphu. The second most common mode
of transportation is private vehicle transportation however this type of movement is heavily
restricted by the government during and after lockdown.
The number of passengers in Private vehicles are also restricted to 2 passengers only.
Conclusion
After the research on various kinds of transportation in Bhutan, we can come to the
conclusion that the IPT taxi services are the most affected services after the pandemic
situation. What they used to earn Nu.1500 every day now earn only around 800 Nu and since
many taxi drivers initially take loan to buy taxis, that much of daily earning is not enough to
strive for everyday home basis and work basis as well.
The Bus services have also been affected but since it is a government run service, no personal
individual is affected. The government bears the maximum loss here but continues the service
for whoever needs the service.
People in Thimphu have always preferred walking since it is a small town. Cars take up huge
parking space, and with the lack of parking space in Thimphu, people who own cars as well
prefer walking. Only for long distance, they opt for their vehicle.
The number of cars plying on the highway and town roads have certainly reduced and is also
constantly being monitored by the Road Services and Transport Authority in Thimphu and
walking maintain social distancing is highly recommended.
References.
BHUTAN TRAVELS, https://www.bhutan.travel/destinations/thimphu
Road Safety and Transport Authority
https://www.rsta.gov.bt/rstaweb/load.html?id=82&field_cons=MENU
Metropolis of the world, https://www.metropolis.org/sites/default/files/2019-
01/2.%20Butan_Thimphu_Presentation.pdf
Bhutan post city bus, https://www.bhutanpost.bt/citybus/
Royal Thimphu College, https://my.rtc.bt/other-information/transportation-schedule/8-quick-
links/216-city-bus-schedule
AV tours of Bhutan, https://www.goavtours.com/destinations/bhutan/fare/taxi-services.php
Bhutan Broadcasting Services, www.bbs.bt
Bhutanese, www.thebhutanese.bt
Population and Housing Census of Bhutan