BRT Prefesibility Study Final Thesis Report

Universität Stuttgart
Master’s Thesis
Prefeasibility Study of Bus Rapid Transit
System in Kathmandu City
Author
Kesha Shrestha
Date of Submission
November 21st, 2013
Masterstudiengang Infrastructure Planning

Master’s Program Infrastructure Planning
Prefeasibility Study of Bus Rapid Transit System in Kathmandu City 1

First Supervisor:
Prof. Dr.-Ing. Markus Friedrich

Lehrstuhl für Verkehrsplanung und Verkehrsleittechnik
Institute for Transport Planning and Traffic Control
Pfaffenwaldring 7
70569 Stuttgart
Second Supervisor:
Prof. Dr. Frank C. Englmann

Institut für Volkswirtschaftslehre und Recht
Institute of Economics and Law
Keplerstraße 17
70174 Stuttgart

Erklärung des Autors
Hiermit erkläre ich, dass ich die vorliegende Arbeit selbständig verfasst und keine anderen als
die angegebenen Hilfsmittel verwendet habe.
Author’s Statement
I hereby certify that I have prepared this Master’s Thesis independently, and that only those
sources, aids and advisors that are duly noted herein have been used and / or consulted.
Date: 21.11.2013
Name: Kesha Shrestha
Signature: ______________________

Acknowledgements
On the completion of my thesis, I would like to express my sincere gratitude to all the people
who have made supported me during this rigorous and challenging task.
First and foremost I would like to thank my thesis supervisors Prof. Dr.-Ing. Markus
Friedrich from Institute for Transport Planning and Traffic Control and Prof. Dr. Frank C.
Englmann from Institute of Economics and Law for accepting my thesis proposal. My
sincere gratitude goes to AOR Dipl.-Ing Manfred Wacker from Department from Transport
Planning and Traffic Engineering and Dr. Marion Aschmann from Institute of Economics
and Law for their continuous guidance and encouragement during the period. I thank them
for their effort in guiding and training me throughout the research and analysis period. They
have helped me to shape my thesis in this form.
I would also like to thank Ms Elke Schneider, course director of MIP for her administration
and proper coordination to complete the course work in time. I would also like to thank all
my Professors and faculty members for their support throughout my stay at University of
Stuttgart.
I would also express my sincere gratitude to governmental and non-governmental

organizations for their kind cooperation during data collection. Their support had made my
field work much easier and effective.
I am very thankful to all my colleagues and friends for their valuable suggestion and
interaction during my study period. Finally, I would like to grab this opportunity to express
my heartfelt gratitude to my beloved parents and sister for their moral support and
encouragement.

Abstract
The improved and enhanced public transport system in an expanding city like Kathmandu is
of utmost priority. The increasing population during past decades have urged for better
infrastructure. The urban transport is one of the key factor that is affecting the inhabitants
lately. The public transport has been managed in the city by mostly private owners since late
90s. The government has time and again tried to intervene in this sector with Trolley buses
and Sajha Yatayat. However, their attempt has not been successful resulting in bankruptcy. In
the recent time, Sajha Yatayat has revived under Sajha Yatayat Cooperative plying vehicles
in two routes within the city.
The common means of public transport in the city includes mini buses, micro buses and three
wheelers (tempos). The current supply of public transport has been unable to fulfil the
increasing demand. This has urged to find an appropriate solution for the mass transit. Bus
Rapid Transit system (BRT) is one of the most effective and efficient mass transit system,
flourishing in developing nations since late 90s. The thesis report studies the prefeasibility of
BRT system in two main corridors of Kathmandu City.
The corridors selected have passenger volume of 80,000 and 128,000 per day in 2012. The
suitable BRT elements has been recommended for the estimated value of 4,000 and 3,100
passenger per hour per direction for 2022 AD. The elongated stations, with level platform and
articulated bus has been recommended to cater the estimated demand. The segregated bus
lanes, terminals and depots at the end of the corridor and control centre are some of the BRT
Infrastructure to be accommodated in the system.
The designed system is analysed financially and economically. The financial analysis shows
that the system is not profitable from financial point of view. The social benefits such as
savings from time reduction, reduction in vehicle operating cost and reduction in carbon
dioxide emission after BRT implementation has been considered. The analysis shows that the
internal rate of return is slightly less than the discount rate applied. There can be various
factors influencing the result. There are other social benefits from the system that has been
left out in this study such as reduction in local air pollutions, its effect on the traffic accidents
and reduction in noise pollutions. The inclusion of these social benefits will surely have a
positive impact in the project economic analysis.
The sensitivity analysis carried on with the change in the passenger volume in 2022 AD by
10 % shows that the increase in 10% makes the project economically feasible. The change is
demand is quite critical in profitable running of the system. The decrease in demand makes
its more uneconomical.
The BRT system is a suitable solution for a growing city like Kathmandu The public
transport system needs to be changed. The preliminary analysis might show that the system is
not profitable and might require government subsidy for running. However, there are various
assumptions made regarding costs and benefits which has influenced the result. These factors
need to be addressed during the further study i.e., in the feasibility study of the project.
Hence, the project is recommended for the feasibility study considering all the factors stated.

Abbreviations
ADB Asian Development Bank
AADT Average Annual Daily Traffic
BRT Bus Rapid Transit
Cb Vehicle Capacity
CBS Central Bureau of Statistics
CO2 Carbon Dioxide
DoR Department of Roads
DoTM Department of Transport Management
EIRR Economic Rate of Return
FIRR Financial Rate of Return
FNNTE Federation of Nepalese National Transport Enterpreneurs
GDP Gross Domestic Product
GTZ Deutsche Gesellschaft für Technische Zusammenarbeit
IRI International Roughness Index
ITDP Institute of Transportation Development and Policy
JICA Japan International Co-operation Agency
Km Kilometres
KMC Kathmandu Metropolitan City Office
Kmph Kilometres per hour
KSUT Kathmandu Sustainable Urban Transport
KVTDC Kathmandu Valley Town Development Committee
LMC Lalitpur Metropolitan City Office
LRT Light Rail Transit
mins Minutes
MoPPW Ministry of Physical Infrastructure and Transport
NPV Net Present Value
NRs Nepalese Rupees
pphpd passengers per hour per direction
Tc Travel time for a complete cycle
TCRP Transit Cooperative Research Program
TTM Traffic & Transport Management
secs Seconds
VOC Vehicle Operating Cost

Table of Contents
Acknowledgements .................................................................................................................. 4
Abstract ..................................................................................................................................... 5
Abbreviations ........................................................................................................................... 6
Table of Contents ..................................................................................................................... 7
List of Tables ............................................................................................................................ 9
List of Figures......................................................................................................................... 11
Chapter 1: Introduction ...................................................................................................... 1
1.1 Background: .......................................................................................................................... 1
1.2 Objectives: ............................................................................................................................. 2
1.3 Methodology and Limitations ............................................................................................... 3
1.4 Thesis Structure ..................................................................................................................... 4
Chapter 2: Existing Transport Condition ......................................................................... 5
2.1 Road Network System ........................................................................................................... 6
2.2 Vehicles Registered ............................................................................................................... 6
2.3 Modal Split ............................................................................................................................ 7
2.4 Public Transport: ................................................................................................................... 9
2.4.1 Means of Public transport ............................................................................................................... 9
2.4.1.a Mini buses and buses ........................................................................................................... 10
2.4.1.b Microbuses .......................................................................................................................... 10
2.4.1.c Tempos ................................................................................................................................ 10
2.4.1.d Taxis and rickshaws: ........................................................................................................... 10
2.4.2 Fares Structure: ............................................................................................................................. 11
2.4.3 Route Network: ............................................................................................................................. 11
2.4.4 Problem with existing bus services: ............................................................................................. 12
2.5 Parking:................................................................................................................................ 12
2.6 Safety and Traffic Enforcement .......................................................................................... 12
Chapter 3: BRT System .................................................................................................... 15
3.1 Definition............................................................................................................................. 15
3.2 Features of BRT .................................................................................................................. 16
3.3 History: ................................................................................................................................ 19
3.4 Successful Case of Bogota .................................................................................................. 20
Chapter 4: BRT Corridor Selection ................................................................................ 22
4.1 Routes .................................................................................................................................. 22
4.2 Corridor Selections: ............................................................................................................. 24
Chapter 5: BRT System Design........................................................................................ 27
5.1 Demand Estimates ............................................................................................................... 27
5.1.1 Determining the value of passenger per hour per direction (pphpd): ............................................ 28
5.2 Corridor Analysis: ............................................................................................................... 29
5.2.1 Corridor Options Analysis: ........................................................................................................... 29
5.2.2 Possible Solutions for designing BRT system: ............................................................................. 30
5.3 BRT System Design Recommendations:............................................................................. 32
5.3.1 Capacity of the vehicle: ................................................................................................................ 32
5.3.2 Load factor: ................................................................................................................................... 35
5.3.3 Frequency of the vehicles ............................................................................................................. 36
5.3.4 Design Recommendations ............................................................................................................ 38

Chapter 6: BRT Infrastructure ........................................................................................ 39
6.1 Runways: ............................................................................................................................. 39
6.2 Stations ................................................................................................................................ 41
6.3 Transfer stations, Terminals and Depots: ............................................................................ 42
6.4 Control Center and Intermediate parking: ........................................................................... 43
6.5 Feeder Infrastructure: .......................................................................................................... 44
Chapter 7: Operation and Management ......................................................................... 45
7.1 Governmental Agencies ...................................................................................................... 45
7.2 Non-Governmental Agencies .............................................................................................. 46
7.3 Other Agencies .................................................................................................................... 47
7.4 Conclusion ........................................................................................................................... 47
Chapter 8: Financial Analysis .......................................................................................... 48
8.1 Basic Assumptions: ............................................................................................................. 49
8.2 Infrastructure Cost: .............................................................................................................. 49
8.3 Operational Cost: ................................................................................................................. 57
8.4 Revenues Collection: ........................................................................................................... 60
8.5 Financial Analysis: .............................................................................................................. 61
Chapter 9: Economic and Sensitivity Analysis ............................................................... 63
9.1 Benefit Categories: .............................................................................................................. 63
9.1.2 Reduced Travel Time: .................................................................................................................. 64
9.1.3 Reduction in CO2 emission ........................................................................................................... 66
9.1.2 Reduction in Vehicle Operating Costs: ......................................................................................... 68
9.2 Economic Analysis: ............................................................................................................. 70
9.3.1 Discussion: .................................................................................................................................... 72
9.4 Sensitivity Analysis: ............................................................................................................ 73
Chapter 10: Conclusion and Recommendations .......................................................... 74
10.1 Introduction ......................................................................................................................... 74
10.2 BRT system and Corridor Selection .................................................................................... 74
10.3 BRT System Design Recommendations.............................................................................. 75
10.4 Operation and Management................................................................................................. 76
10.5 Financial and Economic Analysis ....................................................................................... 76
10.6 Sensitivity Analysis ............................................................................................................. 77
10.7 Conclusions ......................................................................................................................... 77
10.8 Recommendations ............................................................................................................... 78
References ............................................................................................................................... 79
Appendix I .............................................................................................................................. 82
Appendix II ............................................................................................................................. 83
Appendix III ........................................................................................................................... 84
Appendix IV ........................................................................................................................... 87
Appendix V ............................................................................................................................. 88
Appendix VI ........................................................................................................................... 89

List of Tables
Table 1: Land Use Statistic of Kathmandu City 1976-2009 ................................................................................................. 1
Table 2: Vehicles Registered in Kathmandu Valley (Bagmati Zone) .................................................................................. 7
Table 3: Trip Composition by Mode in 2011 ......................................................................................................................... 8
Table 4: Total Vehicles in Kathmandu .................................................................................................................................. 9
Table 5: Fares Structure ....................................................................................................................................................... 11
Table 6: Number of traffic accidents in Kathmandu valley ............................................................................................... 14
Table 7: Shows the various features of the corridor selected ............................................................................................. 27
Table 8: Passenger Volume/day in 2022 ............................................................................................................................... 27
Table 9: Traffic Demand for MRT system in Kathmandu Valley ..................................................................................... 28
Table 10: Estimated value of pphdp in 2022 AD ................................................................................................................. 28
Table 11: Vehicle type and their capacity ............................................................................................................................ 33
Table 12: Calculation of Fleet Size required for Corridor I ............................................................................................... 34
Table 13: Calculation of Fleet Size for Corridor II ............................................................................................................. 34
Table 14: Typical Solutions for Different Demand levels ................................................................................................... 36
Table 15: Impact of Vehicle Platform Interface and Vehicle Size on Capacity ............................................................... 37
Table 16: BRT corridor capacity scenarios ......................................................................................................................... 37
Table 17: Recommended minimum lane widths per direction ........................................................................................... 39
Table 18: Right of way for the BRT system at normal and bus stations ........................................................................... 39
Table 19: Capital Costs for Bus Rapid Transit systems ..................................................................................................... 48
Table 20: Detailed Cost Breakdown of per km costs for Bogota's TransMilenio BRT System ....................................... 48
Table 21: Infrastructure Cost of BRT Corridor I , Busway of 12.2 kilometres ................................................................ 50
Table 22: Infrastructure Cost of BRT Corridor II, Busway of 7.7 kilometres ................................................................. 53
Table 23: Infrastructure Cost ............................................................................................................................................... 56
Table 24: Operational Cost Components of BRT ............................................................................................................... 57
Table 25: Operational cost comparisons for TransMilenio ................................................................................................ 58
Table 26: Operational Cost ................................................................................................................................................... 58
Table 27: Summary of Cost .................................................................................................................................................. 59
Table 28: Total Revenues Generated ................................................................................................................................... 60
Table 29: Financial Analysis of the Project; Unit in US Dollars ........................................................................................ 62
Table 30: Benefit Parameters................................................................................................................................................ 64
Table 31: Time saved from BRT system Implementation .................................................................................................. 64
Table 32: Time saved and its Value ...................................................................................................................................... 65
Table 33: Table Showing Savings from Travel Time .......................................................................................................... 65
Table 34: GDP per Capita: Source: World Bank ............................................................................................................... 66
Table 35: IMPACT recommended values for CO2 emissions Source: .............................................................................. 66
Table 36: Type of vehicles with and without BRT system .................................................................................................. 67
Table 37: CO2 Emission with and without BRT system..................................................................................................... 67
Table 38: Savings due to reduction in CO2 emission .......................................................................................................... 68
Table 39: Data Input required for deriving VOC cost using HDM-4version2 ................................................................. 69
Table 40: VOC calculated without and with BRT .............................................................................................................. 70

Table 41: Sensitivity Analysis ............................................................................................................................................... 73
Table 42: Peak, Off peak and AADT ................................................................................................................................... 87
Table 43: pphpd in 2022 by Method II ................................................................................................................................. 87
Table 44: Public Transport Modal Splitn ............................................................................................................................ 88
Table 45: Vehicles Projection with and without BRT system ............................................................................................ 88
Table 46: Calculation of Co2 emission in 2015 without BRT system ................................................................................. 89
Table 47:CO2 emission by BRT ........................................................................................................................................... 89
Table 48: CO2 emission Difference ...................................................................................................................................... 90

List of Figures
Figure 1: Trend in Land Use Change in Kathmandu City .................................................................................................. 2
Figure 2: Road Classification within Kathmandu City ....................................................................................................... 5
Figure 3: Modal Split in Kathmandu Valley 2011 ............................................................................................................... 7
Figure 4: Comparison between Travel Modes in 1991 and 2011 in Kathmandu valley ..................................................... 8
Figure 5: Trends in the number of traffic accidents in Kathmandu valley ....................................................................... 13
Figure 6: Traffic Accidents trend in past ten years in Kathmandu valley ........................................................................ 14
Figure 7: Passenger Capacity and capital cost per mass transit options ........................................................................... 15
Figure 8: Different Systems at the same cost ....................................................................................................................... 16
Figure 9: At level platforms provide rapid boarding and alighting in Quito .................................................................... 16
Figure 10: BRT Station Brisbane Australia ....................................................................................................................... 17
Figure 11: Segregated median busway in Seoul. ................................................................................................................. 17
Figure 12: High technology vehicle on Eindhoven BRT corridor ...................................................................................... 17
Figure 13: Wheel chair friendly boarding in Beijing. Photo: Kangming Xu .................................................................... 18
Figure 14: BRT system in Curitiba (Photo: Volvo Bus Corporation,................................................................................ 19
Figure 15: Essen BRT with guided system........................................................................................................................... 19
Figure 16: TransMilenio in Bogota ...................................................................................................................................... 20
Figure 17: Phase I of TransMilenio of 40 km of exclusive busway in Left and expected total system is expected consist
of 380 km by 2015. ........................................................................................................................................................ 21
Figure 18 : Proposed Primary and Secondary Routes, ....................................................................................................... 23
Figure 19: Selected BRT Corridors ...................................................................................................................................... 25
Figure 20: A Typical Roadway configuration for BRT. ..................................................................................................... 29
Figure 21: BRT corridors in Rouen with a single lane for mixed traffic .......................................................................... 29
Figure 22: Nagoya's elevated BRT line using a mechanical guidance system to reduce the required roadway width .. 31
Figure 23: Standard BRT configuration .............................................................................................................................. 31
Figure 24: Elongated station configuration ........................................................................................................................ 32
Figure 25: Articulated Bus of 18.5 meter ............................................................................................................................. 33
Figure 26: Illustrative comparison between trunk-feeder and direct services.................................................................. 35
Figure 27: BRT Cross Section at Normal Section 20m ...................................................................................................... 40
Figure 28: BRT Cross Section at Bus Station 21.5m, ......................................................................................................... 40
Figure 29: The colouration of busways in cities of Nagoya ............................................................................................... 40
Figure 30: Modern tubed Curitiba's station ....................................................................................................................... 41
Figure 31: Station at Brisbane. ............................................................................................................................................ 41
Figure 32: Sign post at station in Brisbane. ........................................................................................................................ 41
Figure 33: Schematic showing the simple transfer from a trunk vehicle (on left) to a feeder vehicle on right. ............. 42
Figure 34: Terminals and depots adjacent to each other in Bogota. ................................................................................. 42
Figure 35: BRT corridors, terminals, depots, control centre and Intermediate Parking ................................................ 43
Figure 36: Kathmandu Bhaktapur Road ............................................................................................................................. 44
Figure 37: Stations along feeder lines .................................................................................................................................. 44

Chapter 1: Introduction
1.1 Background:
Kathmandu city is a rapidly growing city. It lies in the bowl shaped Kathmandu Valley of
total area 665 sq km. The city in the study represents the two densely populated urban centres
of ‘Kathmandu Metropolitan City’ and ‘Lalitpur Sub Metropolitan City’. It lies in the
location between 27° 27’ 47’’ to 27° 45’ 00’’ north latitude and 85° 16’ 45’’ to 85° 22’20’’
eastern longitude of Nepal with over an area of 64.58 square kilometres (Rimal, 2012). The
report of National Population Census shows that the total population of the Kathmandu
Valley including three districts was about 2.5 million in year 2011 where 1.5 million lives in
the urban area (CBS, 2012). The report also shows that the population density of the urban
areas of Kathmandu and lalitpur municipalities is 20,289 and 14,966 persons per square
kilometres respectively. The average population density of urban area in Nepal is as low as
1,381 persons per square kilometres.
The fastest decadal population growth has been found in Kathmandu district with 61.23%
whereas the national growth rate is 1.35% per annum (CBS, 2012). This drastic increase in
the population has surely affected the land use pattern and infrastructure demand. The change
in the land use of Kathmandu City from 1976 to 2009 has been shown in the Table 1and
Figure 1 below.
Table 1: Land Use Statistic of Kathmandu City 1976-2009
Years 1976 1989 2001 2009
Landuse Type km2 % km2 % km2 % km2 %
Urban/Builtup 10.90 16.85 17.70 27.35 27.60 42.66 43.10 66.61
Water Body 1.90 2.90 0.70 1.10 2.80 4.33 2.40 3.71
Forest Cover 9.00 13.90 5.70 8.80 1.90 2.93 1.50 2.32
Open Field 4.50 7.00 1.50 2.32 0.50 0.78 0.40 0.62
Cultivated Land 38.40 59.35 39.10 60.43 31.90 49.30 17.30 26.74
Total 64.70 100 64.70 100.00 64.70 100.00 64.70 100.00
Source: (Rimal, 2011)

Figure 1: Trend in Land Use Change in Kathmandu City (Source: Rimal, 2011)
The change in the population and land use pattern signifies the necessity of better
infrastructure and planning to supplement them. Among the various components, transport
sector planning is also key component. The current traffic condition of the city is quite
alarming. The road infrastructure has not increased in the past decades while the number of
private vehicles have amplified. This has resulted in the traffic congestions, reduced vehicle
speed, capacity reduction and emissions. The government has failed to intervene to improve
the traffic condition. The public transport is mainly operated by private sector with smaller
vehicles in operations. In absence of proper coordination, the traffic condition in the city is
deteriorating. The demand and supply of public transport is imbalanced. There is less supply
than demand of means of public transport. Hence, the vehicles are overcrowded most of the
time. The government has opted for some measures in the past but not much success has been
achieved.
In this scenario, to cope with the demanding traffic condition, the prefeasibility study of bus
rapid transit system for the city is quite significant. The thesis deals with the current traffic
conditions, estimates the future traffic demand, case study of the existing bus rapid transit
system in other cities, recommends suitable designs for the case specific and finally financial
and economic analysis of the system.
1.2 Objectives:
The main objectives of the study are listed below:
 To review existing transport situation

 To review successful BRT system that has been implemented

 Estimating current and future demands on different links to the corridor
 To identify the corridors on which it is to be introduced
 To identify the elements of the BRTS required for Kathmandu, and the possibility of
locating them on the selected routes
 Assessing whether a BRT system is justified for the corridor through alternate
analysis
 Financial and Economic Analysis
1.3 Methodology and Limitations

The methodology followed during the prefeasibility study of BRT system as well as the
limitations of the study are as follows:
Literature Review: This covers up the detail study of BRT system and its features. There are
many successful cases of BRTs to cater the increasing traffic demand in the world. Hence,
the study will also cover the case study of the existing successful BRTs in other cities. It also
covers up the detail study of the existing transportation condition in Kathmandu. The study of
measures adopted till now and the causes of failure.
Data Collection and Preparation: The related data about the traffic condition are collected
from governmental and non-governmental organisation during the research. The data from
traffic related projects are the main source of data reference.. Adequate and reliable data
availability is the major challenge for the research. The internet is the major source for the
international scenario.
Data Analysis and Planning: The data are analysed to get the information about the demand
and current situation. Based on the demand analysis, suitable corridor will be selected. As
suggested in Bus Rapid Transit Guide (Wright & Hook, 2007), the corridor is selected so as
to maximize the number of beneficiaries, minimize the negative impacts on general traffic,
and minimize operational cost and environmental impacts. The corridor selection is followed
by the infrastructure planning. The elements of BRTs required and suitable for Kathmandu
are identified. The proper cross section of road for BRTs are suggested along with the
necessary steps to be followed to implement BRTs properly. The required number of bus
lines, bus station, bus frequency and number of buses are also planned.
Financial and Economic Evaluation: The BRTs system thus planned are evaluated on the
basis of financial and economic aspects. In order to carry on the evaluation, the tentative cost
for investment are calculated. This will cover the cost for infrastructure (such as modification
of the existing road structure, bus stations, and workshop areas), Cost of vehicles,
Operational cost such as cost of fuels, staff and administrative cost. The estimate of revenues
that will be collected are done so as to carry on cost benefit analysis. The social benefits will
also be considered for the economic analysis. Finally the sensitivity analysis of the project
will be carried on with the change in its critical parameter.
Limitations: The key limitations during the study is the availability of the data. In the
developing cities like Kathmandu it is hard to get the adequate and reliable data. The study
report on the current traffic condition is difficult to collect. Hence, the forecasting of the
future demand is quite challenging. In this condition appropriate assumptions has to be made
for further analysis. Since, there has not been study for BRT in past, hence the local rates for

elements of BRT will also be difficult to find. It has to be taken reference from other
available resources.
1.4 Thesis Structure

The thesis structure comprises of nine chapters. It is a report documenting the background of
the study to the case study of the existing successful BRT system. It also include the selection
of the corridor for BRT system to designing. In addition the report also includes the financial
and economic evaluation of the system. The chapter content are briefly described below.
Chapter 1 Introduction: The chapter gives the background for the need of the prefeasibility
study of BRT system in Kathmandu city. It highlights the objectives and methodology
followed in the study. It also includes the brief introduction to the content of the thesis report.
Chapter 2 Existing Transport Condition: It describes the existing components of urban
transport system in terms of mode share, traffic congestion, and public transport.
Chapter 3 BRT System: It deals with features of BRT system as a whole. It covers the history
behind the system establishment along with its features and characteristics.
Chapter 4 BRT Corridor Selection: It shows the selection of the BRT corridor for designing
based upon the available traffic data and other selection criteria.
Chapter 5 BRT System Design: The road corridor selected for BRT system will then be
designed based upon the estimated traffic demand and available right of way.
Chapter 6 BRT Infrastructure: It deals with the various recommendations for various BRT
infrastructure such as bus stations, depots, terminals and feeder infrastructures.
Chapter 7 Operation and Management: It covers the part of institutional management of BRT
system. It recommends involvement of suitable organisation for its operation in future.
Chapter 8 Financial Analysis: The designed system is then analysed based on financial
analysis. It is analysed to check the profitability of the system.
Chapter 9 Economic and Sensitivity Analysis: It deals with the economic as well as
sensitivity analysis of the project based on its critical factor.
Chapter 10 Conclusion and Recommendations: It covers the conclusion part of the study as a
whole. Further it includes the recommendation for further studies in future.

Chapter 2: Existing Transport Condition
Kathmandu is the fastest growing city in Nepal with the highest growth rate of population in
last decades. The population growth in the last decade in the district has been quite
remarkable with 61.23% decadal growth. The reason is the high migration in the city due to
centralised facilities. It is the centre of administration, industrial, commercial, social and
other economic activities. This growth has led the total population of 2.5 million in
Kathmandu Valley where nearly 1.5 million lives in the urban area which is basically the
Kathmandu city. (CBS, 2012) Increasing population demands more infrastructure. This
growing population has been served by a ring road around the city and radial pattern of feeder
road network. According to Department of Roads, feeder road has been classified into
primary and secondary (DOR, 2012). The primary connects the national highways to the
district headquarters, while the secondary connects primary to the major towns. The two
major gateways to the city are Arniko Highway in the east linking to Chinese border and
Tribhuwan Highway to the west linking to southern part of Nepal (Terai) and India. The
detail of the road has been shown in the Figure 2
Figure 2: Road Classification within Kathmandu City Source: (JICA, 2012:Ap 3-4)

2.1 Road Network System
The existing road network system in the city has been classified into highways, feeder roads
including primary and secondary, strategic urban roads and district roads according to their
functions (DOR, 1988). The highways and the feeder roads are the major roads in the city.
1) Highway : Highway roads indicates the national highways which connects the nation
throughout east to west and north to south. These are the major link to the city from the other
part of the country.
Tribhuwan Highway: It is the most important highway connecting the city to southern part of
Nepal and to India. It is usually heavily crowded and congested due to heavy movement
vehicles in and out of the city as well as the new settlement along the road. (JICA, 2012)
Arniko Highway : It is the main road connecting the city to the eastern part of nepal and to
China border. The road connecting Kathmandu and Bhaktapur is also part of Arniko
Highway which has recently been widened in order to cope with the heavy traffic.
Furthermore the part of the road inside the Ring road is also being widened under the project
Kathmandu Valley Town development Project. (JICA, 2012)
Ring Road: It is also a National Highway surrounding the city with the total length of 27.8
km. It is an important road network for the city functioning as dispersing traffic into the core
city area. The road was built in 1979 AD with 10m width. In the meantime certain sections of
the road is being widened to four lane road to cope with the increasing traffic.Recently
expansion of certain section (10.395km) to eight lanes has started. (DORa, 2012)
2) Feeder Road: The feeder road is classified into major and minor roads depending upon
their functions. The primary connects the national highways to the district headquarters,
while the secondary connects primary to the major towns. The feeder roads radiate from Ring
road and are quite vital linking the suburbs and the city center. (DOR, 2012)
3) Urban Roads and district roads : The urban roads are further classified into two categories
depending upon the admistration body.Strategic urban road are controlled by DOr and urban
roads are under local government. The SUR constitutes the primary road network and serves
the greater portion of the vehicular traffic passing through the city. The urban road provide
the access to the neighbouring residential and business areas. (DOR, 2012)
The district roads are the ones which serve as primary access to the towns and villages and
adjoined lands.
The total road length in the Kathmandu district is around 229.99 km with the road density of
58km / 100 km2 and the population influenced per km of road is 7570. Likewise the total road
length in lalitpur district is 131.39 km with the road density of 34km / 100 km2 and the
population influenced per km of road is 3553. (DOR, 2012)
2.2 Vehicles Registered

The number of vehicles are in the increasing trend since last decade. The Table 2 shows the
vehicles registration in Kathmandu valley till 2010 as per the data available from the
Department of Transport Management. The data shows that there is a remarkable increase in
the two wheeler in last few years. The registration of the car/jeep/van is also noticeable. On
the other hand the registration of buses is in decreasing trend.

Table 2: Vehicles Registered in Kathmandu Valley (Bagmati Zone)
Bus, Mini,
Year Micro & Car/Jeep/ Van Motorcycle Truck /others Total
Cumulative
Tempo
Up to 2000 10,150 44,777 89,782 7,453 152,162 152,162
2,001 710 2,649 22,852 782 26,993 179,155

2,002 760 2,999 21,558 811 26,128 205,283
2,003 1,082 6,788 18,035 561 26,466 231,749
2,004 1,353 12,287 20,003 512 34,155 265,904
2,005 1,048 3,603 21,604 1,070 27,325 293,229
2,006 868 4,235 33,022 678 38,803 332,032
2,007 1,086 6,601 38,852 1,237 47,776 379,808
2,008 1,214 6,019 35,365 1,891 44,489 424,297
2,009 912 9,471 69,359 2,096 81,838 506,135
2,010 737 8,069 53,960 1,244 64,010 570,145
Total 19,920 107,498 424,392 18,335 570,145
3% 19% 74% 3% 100%
(Source:JICA, 2012: ES-3)
The data shows that 74% of total vehicles registered are motorcycles. On the other hand, only
3% of vehicles registered are bus, micro, mini and tempos. In the overall context of the
country as per the registration detail from DoTM around 48.4% of the total vehicles
registered till 2010 are registered in Bagmati zone. Most of the vehicles ply within the urban
area of Kathmandu valley.
2.3 Modal Split

According to the interview survey conducted by JICA
in 2011 in Kathmandu Valley, walking has the largest
share among all the travel modes. Walking is accounted
for 1,398,378 number of trips making 41% of total trips
as shown in Figure 3.Likewise, motorcycle accounts for
893,126 number of trips which is 26% of total trips.
The modal split according to the JICA survey is shown
in Table 3(JICA, 2012). The similar study was done by
JICA in 1991, the comparison of the result is shown in
Figure 4 The result shows that there has been a there
has been a drastic decrease in the percentage of walking
while the percentage of trips by motorcycle has been
increased a lot.
Figure 3: Modal Split in Kathmandu
Valley 2011 (Source: (JICA, 2012)
(Source: JICA, 2012)

Table 3: Trip Composition by Mode in 2011
Travel Mode Number of Trips Percentage
Walk 1,398,378 41%

Bicycle 52,445 2%
Motorcycle 893,126 26%
Car 145,980 4%
Bus 948,464 28%
Total 3,438,393 100%
(Source: JICA, 2012 : 6-11)
Figure 4: Comparison between Travel Modes in 1991 and 2011 in Kathmandu valley
Source: (JICA, 2012:6-11)
Walking covers a large share in the modal share, however the walking environment needs
improvement. The sidewalks are usually narrow, badly paved, having difficulty to cross
crowds and pedestrians are obliged to give way to vehicles in the city core. The condition is
worse for physically disabled people due to lack of facilities for wheel chairs (KSUT, 2010).
The decrease in the share of bicycle clearly indicates the lower facilities for cycling.
Currently bicycle lanes are being constructed in certain area in the city but still requires a lot
of effort to make it substantial.

2.4 Public Transport:
Public transport has been the major means of transport for the city. It is liable for around 28%
of total trip of the Valley. Despite the large influence, the service quality of the public
transport has not been improved. In the history of the public transport, it has usually been
owned by private owners. Though, government has tried to intervene by launching Sajha
yatayat and trolley buses in the past, their attempt had been wasted. Sajha yatayat is a 50 year
old organization which restarted its service recently from March 2013 but now working as a
cooperative (Yatayat, 2013). The private sector has started coming aggressively in mass
transportation sector from late 1990. The privatization of public transport in Nepal was meant
to bring more improved service to public; however it got more and more deteriorated with
time as a result of syndicate system and inefficiency of government. (Udas, 2012)
2.4.1 Means of Public transport

Public transport currently in the city are served mainly by buses, mini-buses, three wheelers
(tempos) and Sajha buses. In addition to this there are taxis fulfilling the requirements along
with rickshaws running th ecore city area. The buses running in the city have maximum
capacity of 26-56 seat, minibuses with 15-25 seats, micro buses with 6-14 seats and tempos
with 11 seats (KSUTa, 2010:10)These are the classification used by DOTM, eventhough not
specified in the Act.
The total number of public transport plying in Kathmandu city is given in the table below.
These figures are obtained from KSUT report referring to Federation of Nepalese National
Transport Enterpreneurs (FNNTE).
Table 4: Total Vehicles in Kathmandu
Vehicle Types Number
Buses 14
Mini buses 2,818

Micro buses 1,532
Microbuses ( Indonesian Blue) 300
Safa tempos 603
Gas Tempos 8601
Taxis 7000
These are the vehicles plying within the valley only, while additional 925 buses , 114 mini
buses and 22 micro buses with extend their operating services outside Kathmandu Valley.
(KSUT, 2010). In addition to normal buses , there are also 16 buses under Sajha yatayat with
seat capacity of 54 running within the city since March 2013. (Yatayat, 2013)
1 Although 860 gas tempos are registered with DOTM, only 430 are operating. (KSUTa, 2010:10)

2.4.1.a Mini buses and buses
Full sized buses with the length upto 12 meters are operated mainly on inter city routes . They
have the seats capacity form 46 to 60 seats. In addition as mentioned earlier , Sajha yatayat is
also operating these kind of buses since March 2013. However, in the past around 32 full
sized trolley buses were operated by Nepal Transport Corporation until 2008. (KSUTa,
2010:10)In addition, eighty buses operated by Sajha Yatayat Cooperative which was later
declared bankrupt and was closed.
The minibuses refers to smaller buses of length 10 meters with the carrying capacity of 26-45
passengers. These buses are usually run within the Valley and constitute the major part of
urban public transport means. (KSUTa, 2010:10)
2.4.1.b Microbuses
They have the seats between 6 – 14 passengers. They are also major means of public
transport which is clear from the number of vehicles plying as shown in the table above.
These are all run by private sectors and hence there is a high competition. There are also two
type of microbuses depending of the fuel used. Some have 800 cc petrol engines whil eothers
have been converteed to run on LPG i.e using domestic cooking gas cylinders. (KSUTa,
2010:10)
2.4.1.c Tempos
Tempos are three wheelers having seat capacity up to 11 seats. There are also two types
depending upon fuel used. LPG and battery operated tempos, popularly known as Safa
tempos (meaning clean tempos). (KSUTa, 2010:10-11)
As mentioned earlier there are around 430 gas tempos running in the Valley. They run on
LPG gas and the way these gas cylinders are connected to engines are regarded as unsafe.
Hence there are some proposals from members of transport industry to ban these tempos for
environmental and safety reasons. The association representing Safa tempo owners, CLEAN,
are willing to convert them to run on batteries. It is technically feasible but the licensing
regulations do not permit the change (KSUTa, 2010:10-11)
There is also a high number of Safa tempos plying in the city with a total of 603 numbers.
These were first introduced in Nepal under a Danish program subsidizing the services until
they were established. (KSUTa, 2010:10-11). These vehicles ply exclusively in five routes
with additional 11 routes shared with other vehicles. The major problem with these types of
vehicles has been loadshedding which mounted upto 16 hours a day in 2009. Currently there
is loadshedding of around 7 hours a day which is quite managable.
2.4.1.d Taxis and rickshaws:

Taxis and rickshaws are additional public transport means running in the city. Around 7000
taxis are running in Kathmandu. The fares are determined by DOTM and meters must be
fitted. It has been mentioned in KSUT report that DOTM will not provide license to any
additional taxis for use in Kathmandu valley as there are already in adequate numbers.
(KSUTa, 2010:11-12)

The rickshaws are operated mostly in the area around Durbar square and Thamel for tourists
and residents. There are around 188 vehicles for passengers and 284 for carrying goods. They
are human powered hence fare charged from NRs 25-30 as per 2010 (KSUTa, 2010:12).
2.4.2 Fares Structure:

The fare structure for the public transport are determined by DOTM depending upon the
distance travelled. The fares structure for all the public transport within urban areas of
Kathmandu valley has been determined by DOTM on as shown in table below. It gets
updated and revised by DOTM time and again with reference to the fluctuation in cost of
various effecting parameters such as price of fuel, insurance rate, vehicle maintenance,
price of vehicle parts and accessories, interest rate, consumer price index, etc. The rate is
determined giving 35% to fuel and 65% to others. At the time, the price of diesel was NRs 99
per litre. The list below is the latest updated one in Feb 2013 by DOTM for area within Ring
Road and in periphery of 4km from ring road. (DOTM, 2013)
Table 5: Fares Structure

Distance Fares ( NRs)
0 – 4 km 15
0 – 5 km 17
0 – 6 km 18
0 – 7 km 19
0 – 10 km 21
0 – 13 km 23
0 – 16 km 25
0 – 19 km 26
0 – more than 19 km 27
(Source: DOTM, 2013)
2.4.3 Route Network:

The bus network in the Valley can be categorised into three groups depending upon their
services as discussed in KSUT report and JICA report. (KSUT, 2010) (JICA, 2012)
1) City bus service: These buses run within the built up areas and core city areas of
Kathmandu. They cover the areas within Ring road. The detail of the bus network
within the city is shown in Appendix II.
2) Commuter bus service: These provides the service of 1.0 to 1.5 hours travel distance
beyond city area to towns and villages mostly within the Kathmandu Valley, such as
Bhaktapur, Nagarkot, Godawari, Dakshinkali, and other important towns;
3) Long distance bus service: These buses connect Kathmandu to other cities and towns
of Nepal. The bus terminal for the service is located on the north-west section of the
Ring Road. In addition there are certain services which connect to Tatopani,
Ramechhap etc ( mostly using Arniko Highways) have terminals in the core city
centre i.e. Old Bus Park.

The city bus services and commuter bus services are quite complicated and mostly ends in
the central city area eg Old Bus Park, Ratna Park, Shahid Gate and NAC Office leading to the
traffic jams (JICA, 2012). Furthermore, most of the roads are narrow and winding making it
insufficient even for two cars to pass by. These roads are thus served only by small public
vehicles like microbuses and tempos. However, on the wider roads all kinds of vehicles
operate with a high proportion of small and slow moving vehicles. This implies to the wider
roads in the central city area as well. In addition, there is a limited scope of widening for
existing roads within the Ring Road area (KSUT, 2010).
2.4.4 Problem with existing bus services:

As discussed in the JICA report of traffic improvement in Kathmandu valley, the quality of
public transport services is quite low. There is a shortage of fleet numbers hence the service
routes are not always provided with sufficient number of vehicles. This leads to the
imbalance with the demand resulting in an overcrowded vehicles at time. The fleets in use are
mostly obsolete. (JICA, 2012:2-15,2-16)
The bus stops are also not located systematically by different transport companies and they
lack the coordination. Furthermore the bus stops are also not marked clearly and most of
them even lack the minimum facilities such as shelters and bus bays (JICA, 2012). Recently
Sajha bus Cooperative have placed a sign board with a picture of Sajha bus at stops along
their route.
Usually, there is no fixed time table for the vehicles. The routes have also not been made in
public for their convenience. Recently launched Sajha bus Cooperative has tried to maintain a
headway of 15 minutes but their service hasn’t been efficient as well. The information of
their routes have been provided in their website and painted on the door of their buses.
2.5 Parking:
Both on street parking and off street parking are available in Kathmandu. According to the
information gathered during the inventory survey and interviews done in the central area of
Kathmandu for KSUT project, shows that there are inadequate numbers of parking lots for
cars and motorcycles. Furthermore the charges are also low, which resulted in the full
occupancy most of the time (KSUT, 2010:74). The parking fee was first introduced in
Kathmandu Metropolitan areas since April 1995 on 17 sectors (Jha, 2001). The parking lots
are ususally within the city area. The parking lots are usually managed by some commercial
complexes, banks etc as private parking, while few are managed by KMC and LMC.
To cope with the increasing demand for parking government has to find places nearby for
parking. However, according to KSUT report very little government land is available in
appropriate places and land in appropriate locations is privately owned and therefore too
expensive to be utilized for a relatively low revenue yield compared to commercial uses.
(KSUT, 2010:74)
2.6 Safety and Traffic Enforcement

Traffic accident is a serious problem in the city like Kathmandu. Every year thousands of
people face the accidents causing the death of hundreds of people. It can be seen in Figure 5

accidents happened in Kathmandu Valley based on type of vehicles for 2000 till 2004 AD. It
can be seen that accident by motorcycle is in increasing trend with a drop in FY 2002-2003.
Similar is the case for other vehicles. The detail of accidents by year from FY 2003 till 2012
can be seen in Table 6 and Figure 6 provided by Metropolitan Traffic Police. This also shows
that the accidents are increasing every year. The main reason behind the accidents is
carelessness of the drivers. There is constant violation of traffic rules in the valley. It can be
seen that drivers do not care about pedestrians. Pedestrians have hard time crossing the roads
from Zebra crossings. Similarly, the people also do not follow the rules while crossing the
roads. They prefer to cross on the road instead of using overhead bridges nearby. In the peak
hour, it has been observed that the vehicle are overcrowded. Instead of increasing the vehicles
during peak hours, operators tend to use the same number of vehicles, which is quite
uncomfortable and dangerous at the same time. It is also to be mentioned that there is no
fixed bus stops, hence the risk of accident is increased by these vehicles stopping
haphazardly. Drinking and driving was one of the major issue in the city but recently
government has taken strong step against this hence it has been under control for the time
being. It seems that a proper traffic safety education has to be provided to all so that these
rules will be followed in future.
Figure 5: Trends in the number of traffic accidents in Kathmandu valley Source: (Dhakal, 2006)

Figure 6: Traffic Accidents trend in past ten years in Kathmandu valley (Source: Metropolitan Traffic
Police, 2011)
Table 6: Number of traffic accidents in Kathmandu valley
S. No Fiscal Year Fatality Serious Accident Normal Accident
1 2004/2003 86 471 1894

2 2005/2004 127 626 1697
3 2006/2005 83 459 1673
4 2007/2006 93 491 2179
5 2008/2007 120 611 2163
6 2009/2008 137 720 2448
7 2010/2009 146 748 3116
8 2011/2010 171 553 3632
9 2012/2011 148 396 3317
10 2013/2012 147 246 3431
(Source: Metropolitan Traffic Police, 2011)

Chapter 3: BRT System
Bus Rapid Transit system, an economical and efficient form of mass transit for growing
cities. It was first introduced in Curitiba around 1974 for 24km long system. Ever since the
launch of BRT system the popularity is growing from Latin America to North America,
Europe and Asia. First BRT system in Asia was launched in 15 January 2004, the
TransJakarta busway along 12.9 km long corridor through the city centre. BRT corridors
were installed in Seoul on 1st July 2004 (Matsumoto, 2006). It is also operated in various
other cities of Asia such as in Beijing, Ahmedabad and Delhi (India), Bangkok etc.
3.1 Definition
BRT system is described in bus rapid transit guidebook as a bus based transit system of high
quality delivering fast, comfortable and cost effective urban mobility. These services are
delivered by the provision of segregated right of way infrastructure, rapid and frequent
operations and excellence marketing and customer service (Wright & Hook, 2007: 11).
In the meantime, BRT system has been defined in Levinson, et al., 2003 as “a flexible, rubber
tired rapid transit mode that combines stations, vehicles, services, running ways and
intelligent Transportation System (ITS) elements into an integrated system with a strong
positive identity that evokes a unique image.”
BRT is “high quality, customer oriented
transit that delivers fast, comfortable and cost
effective urban mobility”. (Wright &
Fjellstrom, 2003)
BRT system is also known with various
names such as High Capacity Bus Systems,
High Quality Bus Systems, Metro Bus,
Surface Bus, Express Bus Systems and
Busway Systems (Wright & Hook, 2007).
The performance of BRT system is similar to
modern rail based transit system but at an
economical price. It might be in the range of 4
to 20 times less than light rail system and
around 10 to 100 times less than a metro
system. The relation between the cost and
various mass transit system is shown in the
Figure 7 and Figure 8
Figure 7: Passenger Capacity and capital cost per mass transit
options (Source: (Wright & Hook, 2007:72)

Figure 8: Different Systems at the same cost (Source: Wright & Hook, 2007:56)
3.2 Features of BRT

The system can be referred by various names but the features of some of the most successful
BRT systems implemented till date are similar. The features such as segregated busway,
special bus stations, rapid service, low emission vehicle technologies, off vehicle fare
collection, use of ITS technologies, clear route map and frequent all day service are few of
them. The study done by Levinson et. al. in 2003 about BRT system in 26 countries shows
that over 80% have some type of exclusive running way- either a busy-only road or bus lane;
more than three- quarters provide frequent all day services and about 2/3 have stations instead
of stops. Furthermore only 40% have distinctive vehicles and only 17% have or planning to
have off vehicle fare collection (Levinson, et al., 2003). The features has been categorised
into five by Wright & Hook in bus rapid transit guide and are listed below as follows:
1. Physical infrastructure:
The physical infrastructure as mentioned by Bus Rapid
Transit guide by Wright & Hook, include the busways,
stations, network and terminals. The busways are segregated
or bus only roads, predominately in the median of the
roadway. There is an existence of an integrated network of
routes and corridors. The bus stations are quite comfortable,
secure and weather protected with level access between
platform and vehicle floor as shown in Figure 9. The special
stations and terminals facilitate in easy physical integration Figure 9: At level platforms provide
between trunk routes, feeder services and other mass transit rapid boarding and alighting in Quito
(Source: Lloyd Wright)
system (Wright & Hook, 2007:11-12). The Figure 10 and
Figure 11 shows bus stations and the segregated lanes.

Figure 11: Segregated median Figure 10: BRT Station Brisbane Australia (Source Levinson, et al.,
busway in Seoul. (Source: Wright 2003)
& Hook, 2007)
2. Operations:
The operation of BRT system will be characterised by frequent and rapid service between
major origins and destination. The boarding and alighting from the vehicle will be rapid.
The service will be sufficient for passengers demand along the corridor. The fare
collection and fare verification will be done pre board. In most of the cases the fare
integration between routes, corridors and feeder services will be done. (Wright & Hook,
2007:12)
3. Business and institutional structure:

As mentioned in bus rapid transit guide, BRT system will have efficient management.
The entry to system is prohibited to prescribed operators under a reformed business and
administrative structures. The bidding process is also done competitively and
transparently so as to make it more efficient. This will result in the elimination or
minimisation of public sector subsidies towards system operations. The system has an
independently managed fare collection system and its quality will be over sighted from an
independent entity. (Wright & Hook, 2007:12)
4. Technology:
BRT system is characterised by low-emission (Euro III
or higher) and low noise vehicle technologies as shown
in Figure 12. The fare collection is done automatically
with fare verification technology installed in the system.
The system management is done through a centralised
control centre with the utilisation of Intelligent Figure 12: High technology vehicle
Transportation systems (ITS) such as automatic vehicle on Eindhoven BRT corridor :
location. There is a signal priority or grade separation at Source: APTS

intersections for BRT system. (Wright & Hook, 2007:12)
5. Marketing and customer service:

The system is characterised by excellent customer
service and provision of key customer amenities.
There is an ease of access between system and other
urban mobility options such as walking, cycling, taxis,
private motorised vehicles etc. The special provision
is provided for easy access for physically
disadvantaged people including children, old aged
people and disabled as shown in Figure 13. To
provide a better customer service, clear route maps,
signage and real time information are displayed within
stations or in vehicles. (Wright & Hook, 2007:12)
Figure 13: Wheel chair friendly

boarding in Beijing. Photo:
Kangming Xu

3.3 History:
The history of the modern BRT system dates back to 1970s with first BRT project started in
Curitiba (Brazil). However, several efforts prior to Curitiba has resulted to the concept of
BRT. The origin of the system heads back to 1937 where city rails were converted to express
bus corridors in Chicago. The system has evolved since then from “bus lane” concept with
counter-flow express bus lanes introduced in New York City and first “with – flow’ bus lane
introduced a year later in Paris. The first dedicated median busways were introduced in 1966
in St Louis (US) followed by launch of high speed busway in Northern Virginia of about 6.5
kilometer section in 1969. Lima (Peru) became the first city from developing nation to
incorporate the idea of dedicated busway in 1972. All this progress lead to Curitiba’s BRT
launched in 1974. Actually they planned to build rail based metro system but lack of
sufficient funding shifted to low cost yet high quality alternative utilising bus technology
(Wright & Hook, 2007:21-24). The BRT system in Curitiba in 1974 is shown in Figure 14.
The system that started with 20 kilometers has now expanded currently to 65 kilometers of
exclusive busways and 340 kilometers of exclusive of feeder services.
BRT has been highly influenced from the
applications of high quality urban rail
systems. It can also be described as the
system that provides the quality of light
rail and metro rail but in a lower cost
(Wright & Hook, 2007:21-24). The oil
crisis of the early seventies acted as
catalyst to pressurise government to
improve public transport (Wright & Hook,
2007:21-24).
The BRT system replicated in many other
cities like Sao Paulo (1975), Potro Alegre
(1977) and Belo Horizonte (1981) etc. The
recede in the oil crisis and short sighted
private bus operators resistance towards
BRT system stalled the replication of
system for next decade. However, guided
system BRT was introduced in Essen
(Germany) in 1980 (Wright & Hook, Figure 14: BRT system in Curitiba (Photo: Volvo Bus
2007) as shown in Figure 15. It was later Corporation, (Source: Wright & Hook, 2007)
replicated into various cities like Adelaide
1986 (Australia), Leeds (UK) 1995 and Nagoya (2002,
Japan). (Wright & Hook, 2007:21-24)
The popularity of BRT increased in the late 1990s with
the BRT system using electric trolley bus in Quito in
1996. First median busway in Asia was introduced in
Kunming (China) in 1999. Similarly it was introduced in
the many other cities like in Vancouver (Canada) in 1966,
Figure 15: Essen BRT with guided Miami (US) in 1997 and Brisbane (Australia ) in 2000
system (Source: TCRP Media (Wright & Hook, 2007). Its coverage extended to more
Library)
Asian cities since 2004 from TRansJakarta busway in
January 2004, to Seoul in July 2004 and in Beijing in December 2004 (Matsumoto, 2006).
As of March 2007, there are five countries in Asia with BRT system including India and

Taiwan. (Wright & Hook, 2007:15). The list of cities where BRT system is implemented till
March 2007 is shown in Appendix I.
3.4 Successful Case of Bogota

Bogota, capital of Columbia, has an estimated population of around 7 million and density of
around 240 inhabitants per hectare (Wright & Hook, 2007:24). The reason being the political,
social issues and industrialization. The main concern for administration Bogota is to provide
an affordable and efficient transportation for its residents. The infrastructure of Bogota
favoured private transport than public with 95% of road network used by 850,000 private
vehicles. The main reason being the low quality of public transport, low speed resulting in
long travel times, high accident rates, high congestions resulting in air and noise pollution.
(Esc-pau, 2011)
In addition to that the public vehicles used were too old as old as 14 years and the condition
was also bad. Apart from the bus condition, there were no defined bus stops making the
quality degrade more. (Esc-pau, 2011) This all influenced the residents to switch to private
vehicles. The result was pollution level of 750,000 tons atmospheric pollutants per year
along with noise pollution of 90 decibels maximum. In addition there was also accidents and
fatalities reported every year around 52,000 and 1200 respectively due to traffic. (Esc-pau,
2011)
All this pointed out the need for better and improved public transport. The Mayor of Bogota
proposed for BRT system to implement. BRT was proposed because of its low cost and short
implementation time. Furthermore it enhanced the comfort, efficiency and cost effectiveness
of public transport at a relatively less cost than light rail. It also helped to reduce the private
vehicles plying in the street. (Esc-pau, 2011)
Eventually TransMilenio came
into existance in 1999 shown in
Figure 16 . With its
implementation there has been
saving of average of 223 hours
annually. (Esc-pau, 2011)That
means roughly equals to a 32%
reduction in travel times.
Surveys show that 90% of its
passengers have been converted
from private vehicle users in
past. It has also contributed in
the decrease in air pollution by
almost 40%, reduction in the
accidents by 75% in injuries
and 92% in fatalities. (Esc-pau,
2011)
TransMilenio system has total
of 84 kilometres as of March Figure 16: TransMilenio in Bogota (Source: TransMilenio SA)
2007 from the launch of it in December 2000. It has total of 84 km of trunk roads and 420 km
of feeder roads and total of about 1.2 million passenger trips per day. It has been estimated
that around 5 million passenger trips per day will be done after the completion of the whole

project by 2015 as shown in Figure 17. (Wright & Hook, 2007:25) In addition to the trunk
lines they have also invested in mprovements of feeder lines with 309 kilometers of routes
within 74 neighbourhoods so as to provide access remote areas to the BRT system. (Esc-pau,
2011)
There are various factors that have made it success. The notable factors behind its success are
establishing coordination mechanisms and adequate institutional arrangements, proper
planning, inclusion of stake holders from the start of the project, connecting with the existing
road network and long term planning supported by short term actions with immediate result.
Such as phasewise development, the first phase was to built 40km ultimately resulting in 420
km of feeder lines (Esc-pau, 2011).
The TransMilenio has undertaken the practice of Public Private partnership. All the
investment for Infrastructure has been done by government and the operation cost has been
borne by private entities. The private entities is also responsible for the investing in bus fleet,
ticket selling and validating. It is designed to cover full of its operational cost from fare
collection. (Esc-pau, 2011)
Figure 17: Phase I of TransMilenio of 40 km of exclusive busway in Left and expected total system is
expected consist of 380 km by 2015. (Source: TransMilenio SA)
The successful implementation of the TransMilenio shows that BRT system can be an
effective, efficient and comapartively cheap solution to light rail system for Mass transit. The
system can be implemented in a short span of time making it more suitable for urgent
requirements. Furthermore, it has also been observed in the case of TransMilenio that it can
be self sustained if effective planning and operation is undertaken. It has to be noted that
effective palnning is a key to the success of the project. The invovement of stakeholders from
the start of the project seems to have a positive impact in the project as well.

Chapter 4: BRT Corridor Selection
The choice of corridor location is vital task as it will impact the usability of the BRT system
for large parts of the population. Furthermore it will also have a significant impacts on the
future development of the city (Wright, 2003). The corridor is selected primarily on the basis
of the origin / destination study, which will help to identify the daily commuting patterns in
both spatial and temporal terms as mentioned by Wright (Wright, 2003). The corridor is
selected such that it will help to minimise travel distances and travel times for the largest
segment of the population.
Bus Rapid Transit Guide has recommended following points to be considered for the
selection of the BRT corridor. (Wright & Hook, 2007:154)
1. The number of beneficiaries should be maximum
2. The negative impacts on general traffic should be minimised.
3. Operational costs and implementation costs should be minimised
4. Environmental impacts should be minimised
5. Political obstacles should be minimised during implementation
6. Likewise maximise the social benefits
4.1 Routes
For the corridor selection in the case, the primary routes defined by Kathmandu Sustainable
Urban Transport has been taken for considerations.The current situation of urban bus network
has been explained earlier in chapter 2. The Kathmandu Sustainable Urban Transport Project
has proposed that the urban bus network should be redesigned with the hierarchy of routes to
simplify the complex network. The routes will be operated by the most appropriate type of
vehicle. The proposed hierarchy of the routes are as follows:
1) Primary Routes
2) Secondary Routes and Tertiary Routes
1) Primary Routes: These routes will include the main roads which are capable of
accommodating the full sized buses. These will operate mostly across the city centre,
from one terminal on the outskirts of the urban area to another. In addition it will not
terminate in the centre. Terminal points should be as mentioned in the outskirts of the
city near to Ring Road or to some distance outside from it (KSUT, 2010:17-18). The
primary routes are shown in the Figure 18.

Figure 18 : Proposed Primary and Secondary Routes, Source: (KSUT, 2010:18)
2) Secondary and Tertiary Routes :

As described in KSUT project report the secondary routes will include the main roads in
Kathmandu which can safely accommodate buses of 9-10 meters long. Most of secondary
routes will also operate across the city center and terminates on the outskirts as primary
routes while others might connect outlying suburban area and will not enter the central area.
The secondary routes are shown in the figure above with green lines. (KSUT, 2010:17-18)
The tertiary routes will be operated in the narrow roads, typically up to four or five meters
width. Typical vehilces for these routes will be 11 passenger safa tempos, but it is proposed
in KSUT project report that it will be replaced by a bit larger and more comfortable electric
vehicles seating up to 14 passengers. (KSUT, 2010:17-18)
KSUT project report suggests that the hierarchy of the routes will have two important
benefits. It will help to reduce the number of public transport vehicles in urban area
influencing the level of congestions and emissions. Additionally, the operating costs per
passenger will be reduced with the use of larger vehicles in instead of smaller one for same
number of passengers. (KSUT, 2010:17-18)

4.2 Corridor Selections:
BRT corridors are selected from the primary routes identified in Kathmandu Sustainable
Urban Transport project. The routes are identifed on the various criteria as suggested in Bus
Rapid Transit Guide and considered in working paper for Pilot Routes (Ingham, 2012). The
criterias are as follows.
1. The location that serves maximum demand representated by passenger volume and
directional distribution of passengers
2. Availability of right of way
3. Supporting accessibility to economic opportunity
4. Linkage with existing infrastructure
5. Existing Operator structure so as to minimize conflicts with trucks and other delivery
vehicles
1. Passenger Volume and directional distribution of passengers: The passenger volume

of the corridor will influence in the selection of the appropriate vehicle size and its
frequency. As mentioned in the working paper for routes selection, the travel desire
lines in Kathmandu are highly radial in nature. Kathmandu being the major trip
destination. The passenger volumes therefore shows a strong directional distribution,
with inward flow in the morning and outbound flow from city in the afternoon.
(Ingham, 2012)
2. Availibility of right of way: The roadway width should be sufficient enough to cater
the BRT system.
3. Supporting accessibility to economic opportunity: As the function of public transport
is to provide access to economic, social and cultural opportunities, the corridor should
provide the connection between residential areas and the major employment, retail or
community services. (Ingham, 2012)
4. Linkage with existing infrastructure: The access to areas in other parts of the city by
linking with existing transport infrastructure, and in particular facilitate transfers by
linking with existing Public Transport Terminals has also been considered.
5. Existing Operator structure: The existing operator has to be taken into considereation
for their involvement during BRT operations as well. Since BRT system will require
comparatively less number of staffs than the existing, there should be mutual
understanding between the BRT system planners and the existing operators. The more
the number of operators, more difficulty will occur in the implementation.
Based upon the above criteria there are four corridors which are selected for Primary
routes in KSUT project where BRT may be implemented. The details of the criteria
for the corridors has been shown in Appendix III. From the available information
based on the criteria three routes seems to be appropriate for BRT system
implementation. They are Ring Road, Narayan Gopal Chowk to Ekantakuna and
Kalanki to Koteshwor. However, in this study, two of them have been taken for
further studies based upon there characteristics. Both the corridor selected pass
through the city core and their improvement will affect the city as a whole. In case of
Ring Road , there is Improvement project of Kathmandu Ring Road (DOR, 2012)
ongoing for its expansion to eight lanes, so implementation of BRT system may not

be necessary at the present state as it might also help to reduce the congestions and
cater the growing traffic demand. The selected two corridors are discussed below as is
shown in Figure 19.
1. Corridor I : Narayangopal Chowk – Satdobato 12.2km
2. Corridor II: Kalanki- Koteshwor 7.7km
Figure 19: Selected BRT Corridors (Source: Own)
1. Narayangopal Chowk - Satdobato :

As explained in the working paper for pilot routes selection of KSUT, this corridor provides a
north south transport axis of the city. There is a high concentrations of commercial activity
throughout the corridor passing through heart of the city. The corridor passes close to the
cultural center such as Kathmandu and Patan Durbar squares. Furthermore it also passes
through the important institutional and employment centers such as in Harihar bhawan, Singh
durbar, Panipokhari and Maharajgunj. The passenger volume is also quite high with
estimated value of 70000 on the northern side to 80000 on southern part. It has one of the
highest passenger volume per day within Ring road. It crosses the city in North to South
direction nearly dividing the city into two parts. The roads are usually 4 lanes road
throughout the corridor.There is an existing terminal in the northern side. (Ingham, 2012) .
The growing traffic demand and poor public transport consdition demands for a better and

improved public transport. The existing public transport vehicles are mostly mini buses,
micro buses and tempos. (Ingham, 2012) As discussed in earlier chapter about the condition
of public transport in the city, the quality of the public transport is no different. There is no
proper time tables, with haphazard stops which has influenced its quality. This directs to the
need of new and improved public transport system for mass transit as a whole. Hence it has
been selected as one of BRT corridor for further study.
2. Kalanki – Koteshwor
It runs through the east west direction of the city nearly dividing the city in two parts within
Ring Road. As mentioned in the working paper it is the heaviest trafficked section around
128,000 passenger trips per day. The traffic displays opposite directional flows in the
morning and evening. (Ingham, 2012) The existing public transport consists of mini buses,
microbuses and tempos. (Ingham, 2012) The quality as in other parts of the city is quite low,
with no proper time tables and no fixed bus stops. The increasing passenger demand has
urged for a better and improved public transport. Hence it is recommended for mass transit
option to maximise the person moving capability of the transport system. (Ingham, 2012).
Thus, it has been selected as BRT corridor for further study.

Chapter 5: BRT System Design
5.1 Demand Estimates
The possible BRT corridors has been selected as per the existing passenger volumes and
other criteria from the Primary routes identified by KSUT project. The selected corridor, their
total length and passenger volume is shown in the Table 7.
Table 7: Shows the various features of the corridor selected
Selected Corridors Total Length Passenger Volume /day in both

directions in 2012
1: Narayangopal Chowk - Satdobato 12.2km 80,000
2: Koteshwor- Kalanki 7.7 km 128,000
(Source: Ingham, 2012)

The estimation of the likely future demand of the BRT system required very careful
characteristics of the system. It is assumed that the system will have dedicated rights of way
which will help to improve the existing congestion and increase ridership. It is assumed that
the existing public transport will be replaced by Bus Rapid Transit System in the corridor. All
the passenger demand will be fulfilled by BRT system. Further, there might be modal shift
from private to public transport due to improved service. In contrast, there is also possibility
of losing some passenger as it might be more expensive than the existing one. In this scenario
they might compensate each other. However, for the study estimated demand is for public
vehicle users only. Furthermore a sensitivity analysis will also be done for slightly increase
and decrease in the passenger volume in later part of the study.
In order to predict the future demand of the passenger growth, JICA survey report has been
referred. According to the JICA survey report (JICA, 2012), if the ongoing major road
development projects such as expansion of Ring Road to four lane roads, expansion of
Arniko Highway inside the Ring Road to six lanes road, expansion of Tribhuvan Highway
outside the Ring Road to four lanes, all narrow roads would be improved to have a capacity
of at least 2 lanes, and all roads with bad surface condition would be improved to have fair
condition at least are to be completed, then the ratio of person trips/day within the ring road
for 2022/2011 will be 1.61 (JICA, 2012:8-14). Hence for this study also passenger volume /
day in 2022 is estimated with an increase by 1.61 in 2022 as shown Table 8.
Table 8: Passenger Volume/day in 2022
Corridor Passenger Volume/day in both direction in 2022

1: Narayangopal Chowk - Satdobato 128,800
2: Koteshwor- Kalanki 206,080

5.1.1 Determining the value of passenger per hour per direction (pphpd):
The value of pphdp was calculated with two methods based upon the reference data they have
used for the estimation. The method II used the data from the survey conducted from KSUT
project Report while method I referred its data from feasibility study for Mass Rapid Transit
(Underground and Elevated Railway) System. Since the first method is more compatible for
our study the result from the method I has been selected. Though the calculation has been
made from both the methods, only one of the method has been shown here. The calculation
from method II has been shown in Appendix IV.
1. Method I:
A feasibility study for Mass Rapid Transit (Underground and Elevated Railway) System in
Kathmandu Valley (KTI et. al., 2012) estimates the value of pphpd as given below in Table
9. The two lines 1 and 2 passes through the same corridor that we have selected for the BRT
system study. Line 2 is further extension of the corridor. Furthermore, from the report it has
been seen that the maximum link demand lies within the section of our corridor (KTI et. al.,
2012; 4-29). Hence, for estimating the pphdp these values have been referred. The Table 9
shows the traffic demand for MRT system in Kathmandu valley in year 2049 AD. (KTI et.
al., 2012; 1-57)
Table 9: Traffic Demand for MRT system in Kathmandu Valley
Line Location 2049
No. of Max. pphpd

passengers per Link
day demand
Line 1 Narayan Gopal chowk - Satdobato 269830 97614 6403
Line 2 Kirtipur-Kalimati-New Baneshwor-airport 302755 89276 6197
(Source: KTI et. al., 2012; 1-57)

Hence if the maximum link demand is calculated as per the ratio in the above case then value
of pphpd will be as shown in Table 10
Table 10: Estimated value of pphdp in 2022 AD
Corridor Passenger Volume in 2022 pphpd in 2022 AD
1: Narayangopal Chowk - Satdobato 128,800 3030
2: Koteshwor- Kalanki 206,080 3950

5.2 Corridor Analysis:
The initial projected demand for BRT system is 3030 pphdp for Corridor I and 3950 pphdp
for Corridor II for 2022. We recommend the BRT system to be designed for 3100 pphdp for
Corridor I and 4000 pphdp for corridor II by 2022. The system will also be checked later on
with the increased certain percentage increased in the demand to check the sensitivity of the
system.
5.2.1 Corridor Options Analysis:

The two corridors selected for BRT system design have right of way of mostly 11m from
centre of the road throughout. This shows that the road width is quite narrow. As mentioned
in BRT guide, the typical solution of BRT would have a roadway width that will have a
median station, one or two BRT runways, two mixed traffic lanes and space for cyclists and
pedestrian. The Figure 20 shows the typical BRT corridor requiring 34m of road width
(Wright & Hook, 2007). However, the roadwidth can be reduced by narrowing the vehicle
lane to 3m instead of 3.5m (Wright & Hook, 2007)
Figure 20: A Typical Roadway configuration for BRT. (Wright & Hook, 2007:157)
Similarly BRT system can also

function well with only single
BRT lane and a single mixed
traffic lane as being operated in
Rouen (France) on a 14m wide
street as shown in the Figure 21.
To address the problem during
vehicle breakdown, semi
permeable barrier between BRT
and mixed traffic lane is placed.
This allows the vehicle to enter
in case of blockage in the mixed
traffic lane (Wright & Hook,
2007). Figure 21: BRT corridors in Rouen with a single lane for mixed
traffic (Source: (Wright & Hook, 2007)
The same is practiced in
Guayaquil Metrovia System with just a single mixed traffic lane but in this case a non-
permeable barrier is used to separate bus lane from mixed traffic. The physical separation
between lanes depends upon the behaviour of motorists. If they tend to interfere in BRT lane
regularly then non permeable barrier has to be employed. In case of Guayaquil, public

transport has been prioritised over private vehicles with the non-permeable barriers. (Wright
& Hook, 2007:158)
The successful implementation of the BRT system Rouen and Guayaquil shows that BRT
system can be implemented easily in narrow roads too. The narrow roads are not the
obstacles for the implementation of BR system. The research also shows that many motorists
may opt for public transport or other as a response to the limited road space. (Wright &
Hook, 2007:158)
5.2.2 Possible Solutions for designing BRT system:

The corridor selected for BRT system are narrow compared to the typical section of BRT
lanes. Hence, suitable options has to be checked for this case. In general there are at least ten
suitable solutions for designing BRT system with narrow road widths that has been provided
in BRT Guide. They are listed below as (Wright & Hook, 2007:158-171):
1. Median busway and single mixed traffic lane (eg, Rounen, France)
2. Transit malls and transit – only corridors
3. Split routes (two one way services on parallel roads)
4. Use of median space
5. Road widening
6. Grade separation
7. Fixed guideway
8. Single lane operation
9. Staggered stations / elongated stations
10. Mixed traffic operation
Among the list, the three most suitable ones for our case are
1. Median busway and single mixed traffic lane (eg, Rouen, France)
2. Fixed Guideway
3. Elongated stations
1. Median busway and single mixed traffic lane:

It’s the system used in Rouen and Guayaquil. This solution assumes that the corridor has
14meters for vehicles with an additional space for pedestrians. It also requires an
additional space in areas with stations with at least 2.2 meters of width. To implement
these kind of system, strong enforcement mechanism or cultural climate so as to prevent
private vehicles to interfere in the BRT lane. Its implementation will be easier in the
system having high BRT vehicle frequency. (Wright & Hook, 2007:159)
2. Fixed guideways:
Normally 3.5 meters of road width is required for vehicles plying and 3.0 meters at
station but it can be squeezed to 2.7 meters with aid of a guidance mechanism. (Wright &
Hook, 2007:168) It physically restrains the vehicle with the guidance mechanism
reducing the required width. They have already been implemented in Adelaide, Bradford,
Leeds, Essen and Nagoya. The BRT lane using mechanical guidance to reduce road
width is shown in Figure 22. With the use of fixed guideway, around 0.9 meters of lane
width can be reduced. In addition, it can help to increase the operating speeds and ensures

safer vehicle operations. It also contributes to a more permanent image of the busway
and allows construction of lanes without paving centre strip. However, the main
disadvantage is the additional cost of the guidance track and side wheel, vehicle cost is
also increased. It also reduces the flexibility with regard to type of vehicle that may utilise
the busway. Furthermore, the speed advantages of guided busways are only possible
when there is a significant distance between stations. (Wright & Hook, 2007:355).
Figure 22: Nagoya's elevated BRT line using a mechanical guidance system
to reduce the required roadway width (Source: Lloyd Wright)
3. Elongated stations:
Normally the median station requires a width of 3.0 meters while separated station
requires 2.5 meters each.
In addition single station
serves both the direction
hence it is more
convenient for
passengers to change
direction if necessary.
The separated station
will require additional
infrastructure for
pedestrians passing. In
addition, building two Figure 23: Standard BRT configuration (Wright & Hook, 2007)
stations will cost more
than one station. Hence median station is preferable than separated one. (Wright & Hook,
2007:170)
Furthermore the width of station is function of the projected peak passenger volume. In
case of median station two vehicles might stop at the same time, requiring larger space at
the station. Hence to meet this requirements, station itself can be elongated to offset the
placement of the station doors for each direction. This will also result in the reduction of
the station width from 3m to 2.5 m as shown in Figure 23 and Figure 24 (Wright &

Hook, 2007:170). Hence in our case elongated stations with median busway might be the
most suitable solutions.
Figure 24: Elongated station configuration ( Source:Wright & Hook, 2007)
5.3 BRT System Design Recommendations:

The general objective of BRT system design as mentioned in bus rapid transit guide (Wright
& Hook, 2007) are
1. To fulfil the current and projected passenger demand
2. To achieve average vehicle speeds of 25 kmph or higher
3. To minimise door to door travel times for customers
The BRT system is able to reach the capacities and desired speed by adjusting the headways
(ITDP, 2005). However, the bottlenecks in case of low volume tends to be at intersections. In
this case the signal priority for BRT buses becomes important. Likewise, in systems with
very high volumes, the bottlenecks occur at the bus stations. Hence, in this case BRT system
are primarily aimed at reducing dwell time at bus stations to reach the required capacity.
(ITDP, 2005)
The capacity of the BRT system is the function of (Wright & Hook, 2007) (ITDP, 2005)
1) Capacity of the vehicle
2) Load factor
3) Frequency of the vehicles
4) Average speed of the vehicle
5.3.1 Capacity of the vehicle:

It is general idea that larger the vehicle higher is the capacity. However, larger vehicles are
one of the factor but they are not the principal component in enhancing the speed and
capacity. The station efficiency is more likely to be the key factor. Nevertheless, it will play a
key role in customer satisfaction and comfort (ITDP, 2005). The Table 11 below shows the
vehicle type based upon their capacity. Articulated bus has become the standard bus for BRT
system. Bi- articulated bus is comparatively costlier than articulated one and furthermore it
can create difficulty with respect to the available length of right of way at stations. The

Figure 25 below shows the standard articulated bus for BRT system. For our case also
articulated bus with capacity of 160 passengers has been chosen.
Table 11: Vehicle type and their capacity
Vehicle Type Vehicle Capacity (passengers per

Length vehicle)
(meters)
Bi articulated 24 240-270
Articulated 18.5 120-170
Standard 12 60-80
Mini - bus 6 25-35
(Source: Wright & Hook, 2007:408)
Figure 25: Articulated Bus of 18.5 meter (Source: Kangming Xu www.chinabrt.org
The size of the vehicle is the key factor for the determining the number of vehicles required.
When the vehicle chosen is small then the number of vehicles required will be high.
However, the frequency will be high and headway will be less, giving an advantage to
passengers of less waiting time. However, it will also be reflected in the higher cost of
operation. (Wright & Hook, 2007) Giving consideration to all the factors, in this case
articulated bus with capacity of 160 passengers has been chosen for BRT vehicle.
There are two other factor that influence the vehicle fleet size, they are peak passenger
demand at critical point along corridor and total travel time to complete a cycle as reflected in
the Equation 1 (Wright & Hook, 2007:256).
Operational fleet size for corridor (Fo)

Demand on critical link (D) (pphdp)
Travel time for a complete cycle (Tc) (hours)
Vehicle capacity (Cb) (passengers/vehicle)
Equation 1: Total Operational Fleet for a Corridor (Wright & Hook, 2007:256)

In addition to the operational fleet, there requires additional fleet as back up incase of
emergency. Hence the total number of fleet will be more than the operating fleet. In general,
10 % extra is taken as contingency value (Wright & Hook, 2007:256). The equation for the
total fleet is shown in Equation 2
Ft
Operational fleet size for corridor (Fo)
Contingency value (Cv)
Total Fleet Size ( Ft)
Equation 2: Total Fleet size (Wright & Hook, 2007:256)
The calculation of the fleet size required for the two corridors are shown in
Table 12 and Table 13 below.
Table 12: Calculation of Fleet Size required for Corridor I
Description Values Units
Demand on critical link (D) 3100 pphpd
2
Travel time for a complete cycle (Tc) 72.6 minutes
Vehicle capacity (Cb) (passengers/vehicle) 160 passengers
Operational fleet size for corridor (Fo)= 23
Total Fleet Size for a Corridor

Assuming the contingency value of 10 percent, the total fleet required for the corridor will be:
Total Fleet Size ( Ft)= 26 vehicles

Table 13: Calculation of Fleet Size for Corridor II
Description Values Units
Demand on critical link (D) 4000 pphpd
Travel time for a complete cycle (Tc) 3 49.3 mins
Vehicle capacity (Cb) (passengers/vehicle) 160 passengers
Operational fleet size for corridor (Fo)= 21
Total Fleet Size for a Corridor
Assuming the contingency value of 10 percent, the total fleet required for the corridor will be:
Total Fleet Size ( Ft)= 24 vehicles
2The speed of 26km/hr has been assumed and dwell time of 15 secs for each stations has been assumed along
with 10 minutes of layover time.
3
The speed of 26km/hr has been assumed and dwell time of 15 secs for each stations has been assumed along
with 10 minutes of layover time.

5.3.2 Load factor:
The load factor is defined as the percentage of a vehicle’s total capacity that is actually
occupied. The capacity of the system can be increased by increasing the load factor. The load
factor can be altered by changing the frequency of services and the routes of other bus lines
serving a particular corridor. (Wright & Hook, 2007:248-249)
There exists two system in BRT depending upon the access to the operators. The closed
system limits the access only to the prescribed operators while the open system is
implemented without any exclusivity. (Wright & Hook, 2007:214) The open system doesnot
require rerouting for other vehicles hence it is easier to implement.
Nevertheless, when the bus frequency is more than 70 per hour then congesting might start.
In this case it is better to switch from direct services to trunk and feeder services (ITDP,
2005). The trunk feeder operates the smaller vehicles to feed passengers from low density to
the high density corridors. The trunk feeder services requires terminals for transfers. On the
other hand direct services generally do not need tranfers (Wright & Hook, 2007:216-217).
The illustration of trunk-feeder and direct services are shown in the Figure 26.
Figure 26: Illustrative comparison between trunk-feeder and direct services. (Source: Wright &
Hook, 2007:217)
The type of the system to be chosen also depends upon the demand estimated as shown in the
Table 14. For the demand in between 2000 to 8000 pphpd, segregated median busway used by
direct services can be implemented. Since we have demand of around 4000 pphdp, direct
services seems to be sufficient in our case.

Table 14: Typical Solutions for Different Demand levels
Transit passengers Type of BRT solution

per hour per
direction
Less than 2000 Simple bus priority, normally without physical segregation, possible part –
time bus lane
2000 to 8000 Segregated median busway used by direct services reducing the need to
transfer
8000 to 15000 Segregated median busway used by trunk services requiring transfers but
benefitting from fast boarding and operating speeds. Transit priority at
intersections
(Source: Wright & Hook, 2007)

Though direct services is sufficient but keeping in view the condition of connecting roads,
trunk services are recommended with the facility of transfer at terminals. The connecting
roads nearby the city are quite narrow and hence these BRT vehicles cannot enter there.
Furthermore it will require additional cost to maintain and establish similar type of bus
stations in the connecting roads as well. Hence it is recommended to use trunk feeder services
in this case as well.
5.3.3 Frequency of the vehicles

The frequency of the vehicles also plays a key role to the capacity of the system. Higher the
frequency value lower will be the headway. Increasing the frequency of vehicles will be
influenced by dwell time. In case of standard busway with normal stations frequency above
then buses will reduce its speed. When the number is above 70 then speed decreases sharply.
It is due to dwell time. Dwell time is the total stop time per vehicle in a stopping bay (Wright
& Hook, 2007). It consists of three delays termed as boarding time, alighting time and dead
time.
The Table 15shows the maximum capacity of the vehicle along with the dwell time and
corridor capacity depending upon the type of vehicle operations. The dwell time can be
altered with some modifications in the operation. The standard articulated bus of 160
passenger capacity is suitable for corridor capacity upto 3,777 pphdp with avarage alighting
and boarding time of 3 seconds. The capacity can be increased with level platform with a
conductor to collect fares up to 5,120. Furthermore, it is also shown in the
Table 16 shows that for a corridor upto 8,160 pphdp passenger flow one stopping bay per
station is enough. Hence in the case of around 4000 pphdp, articulated bus with level
platform and fare collection by conductor is enough. Incase of bus station, Furthermore, one
stopping bay per station is sufficient.

Table 15: Impact of Vehicle Platform Interface and Vehicle Size on Capacity
Vehicle and Maximum Average Average Corridor Vehicle
operation type Vehicle dwell time boarding & capacity capacity
Capacity (Td) alighting (pphpd) (vehicles /
time(T1) hour)
Mini bus 15 10 3 1,137 76
Midi bus 35 11 3 1,575 45
Standard bus 70 12 3 1,867 27
Articulated vehicle
160 13 2 3,777 24
with conductor
Bi articulated with
240 14 2 4,016 17
conductor
Articulated, level
160 13 1 5,120 32
platform, conductor
Bi articulated, level
240 14 1 5,574 23
platform, conductor
Articulated, level
160 13 0 9,779 61
platform, off-board
Bi articulated, level
240 14 0.3 12,169 51
platform, off-board
Source: Steer Davies Gleave
Table 16: BRT corridor capacity scenarios

Vehicle frequency Capacity flow (
Vehicle Capacity Number of stopping
Load factor per hour per passengers per hour
(passengers) bays per station
stopping bay per direction)
70 0.85 60 1 3,570
160 0.85 60 1 8,160
270 0.85 60 1 13,770
70 0.85 60 2 7,140
160 0.85 60 2 16,320
270 0.85 60 2 27,540
70 0.85 60 4 28,560
160 0.85 60 4 32,640
270 0.85 60 4 55,080
160 0.85 60 5 40,800
270 0.85 60 5 68,850
Source: Wright & Hook, 2007

5.3.4 Design Recommendations
Based upon the above analysis, BRT system is projected to have a demand of 4000 pphdp in
corridor I and around 3100 pphdp in corridor II. The BRT system in both the corridor can be
able to operate at a speed of 26km/hr. In order to obtain that level of BRT to cope with the
projected traffic, BRT system need to have the following characteristics such as:
1. The BRT system should occupy the central verge of the roadway, rather than the curb
lanes. Since the roads are quite narrow, this will save some space. Furthermore as
mentioned in Hyderabad BRT report, it will also avoid conflicts with turning traffics,
pedestrians, stopping taxis, illegally parked vehicles etc. (ITDP, 2005:58)
2. The BRT station should be elongated one as it needs less space than the normal
station. It results in the reduction of the width of the station effecting the overall cross
section of the road.
3. The system should have a level platform at the station in order to accommodate
around 5100 pphpd as mention earlier. Since our demand is within this limit, it should
have station elevated to the height of bus floor.
4. The ticketing system can be done board with the assitance of conductor for the system
carrying 5100 pphpd.
5. The articulated bus should be used in this case and the total number of buses required
is fifty. In case of corridor I, the total number of buses required is 26 and for corridor
II it is 24 articulated buses with passenger capacity of 160.
6. As mentioned in BRT Guide, the optimum distance for stops will be at 400 to 500 m.
Hence the station should be in an average distance of 500m. (Wright & Hook,
2007:276). Though it might reduce the speed of the system but it will help to improve
the overall travel time by reducing the walking time. Hence the required number of
bus stations in corridor I is 25 and for corridor II is 15.
7. The system should have trunk and feeder connections. As mentioned earlier for the
demand upto 8000 pphdp, direct services is also appropriate but due to the existing
condition of existing connecting roads, it might require additional fundings to upgrade
these roads. Hence, it is recommended to have transfer at the terminals for trunk
services.
8. The exclusive lanes with semi permeable barrier should be provided for the buses in
order to obtain the desired efficiency of the vehicle. This will ensure the separation of
the BRT vehicle from rest of the mixed traffic. Along with the vehicle priority at the
intersections.
9. The pedestrian access to the central verge should be at grade with improved
crosswalks instead of the pedestrian overpasses.

Chapter 6: BRT Infrastructure
The BRT system in Kathmandu for the selected corridor should be designed so as the travel
speed will be in an average of 26 km/ hr and capacity to handle the passenger volume of 4000
pphdp and 3100 pphdp at peak hour at any given section in corridor I and II respectively. The
system should also provide the sufficient space for the mixed traffic to retain at its current
level and pedestrians as well.
The suitable solution for this scenario is such that it could be incorporated in the present road
width. However, the existing road width may not be sufficient to cope with the system.
Nevertheless, the right of way of these roads in most of the section is 11m both side from the
centre of the road as mentioned in the Guidelines (KVTDC, 2007:40-41). The corridor we
have selected runs mostly through the dense area of the city hence, the infrasructure has been
designed such that it is within the right of way.
6.1 Runways:
Table 17: Recommended minimum lane widths
BRT guideline suggest that the construction of the per direction
runway will take more than fifty percent of the total
cost of the infrastructure. Hence proper
considerations should be given for the design of the
runway (Wright & Hook, 2007:346). The required
right of way for the system is taken with reference to
the recommended minimum lane widths that was
actually used in Quito BRT system as shown in the
Table 17 (Wright & Hook, 2007:351). The required
right of way with segment wise break up has been
shown below for the normal and the bus station is
given in the table below. Since elongated bus station
is considered, the width has been adjusted to 2.5 m
from 3m.
(Wright & Hook, 2007)

Table 18: Right of way for the BRT system at normal and bus stations
Segment Normal Section At BRT bus station
Width , m Width, m
Sidewalk 3 3
Mixed Traffic 3.5 3.5
Bus lane 3 3
Island 1 2.5
Bus lane 3 3
Mixed traffic 3.5 3.5
Sidewalk 3 3
Bicycle lane 0 0
Total 20 21.5
As shown in Table 18 that the required right of way for normal section and section at bus
station is 20m and 21.5 m respectively. The separate bicycle lane hasn’t been considered. It is

assumed that the sidewalh will also accommodate the bicycle too. If these values are to be
taken then, the required right of way will be within the existing right of way of most of the
roads i.e. 11 m from center of the road on both sides. The Figure 27 and Figure 28 shows the
cross section of the lane at Normal and at Bus stations.
Figure 27: BRT Cross Section at Normal Section 20m (Dimensions are in meters)
Figure 28: BRT Cross Section at Bus Station 21.5m, (Dimensions are in meters)
The system is recommended to have an elongated

median bus stations so that it will require less space
than the normal median and curb stations. The
headway at the peak hour in the corridor I and corridor
II is calculated to be 3 minutes and 2.4 minutes
respectively with articulated bus capacity of 160
passengers. Hence it doesn’t require an over taking
lane at the stations and single bay is sufficient for the
estimated demand.
In case when the exclusive busway lane are required,
there are various techniques that can be undertaken.
Figure 29: The colouration of busways in cities
The techniques undertaken ranges from the fully of Nagoya (Source: The city of Nagoya)
landscaped median to simple blocks, bollards,
curbing, permanent traffic cones, walls, metal fencing and others (Wright & Hook,
2007:349). It is necessary in case of complete protection is required for the busway.

However, in our case we are using a basic cone separator for mixed traffic and strict laws will
be enforced to separate private vehicles from the busway.
The busway can be distinguished in more aesthetic way is by colouring the way. The
coloured lanes will also have a psychological advantage. It can be done with two surface
paint or by using a coloured emulsion within the asphalt. The second option may be
advantageous in terms of durability but it will be less bright than the surface paint. In our case
the paint is recommended to be applied to highlight the busway as shown in Figure 29.
6.2 Stations
The stations width has already been recommended with the width of 2.5 meters. The station
here chosen is an elongated one in order to cope with the existing road condition. The station
has also to do a lot with the usability, comfort and attractiveness. The attractiveness of the
station also plays a vital role in the success of the overall system. There exists various kinds
of aesthetically sound stations like station used in other BRT systems are tubed stations that
are used in Curitiba, simple yet modern station used in Brisbane as shown in Figure 30 and
Figure 31. They have also created an iconic identity for the city itself (Wright & Hook,
2007:360-366). The simple yet functional type of station should be built in the case too.
Figure 31: Station at Brisbane. (Queensland Figure 30: Modern tubed Curitiba's station (URBS and
Transport) Municipality of Curitiba)
The station should be identified from the distance so that it

will be easier for the customers. The maps and signpost
along the footpaths is also helpful but signage posts is
more significant and noticeable. The height of the post will
determine the line of sight. The various kinds of signage
posts in existing BRT system are shown in the Figure 32.
The information will include the name and logo and
might also include additional information as the clock, Figure 32: Sign post at station in Brisbane.
some information about the station area. (Queensland Transport)

6.3 Transfer stations, Terminals and Depots:
The transfer stations, terminals and depots are important for facilitating the customers using
different routes. In our case we will require various transfer stations at various sections.
Depending upon their functions they can be termed as Intermediate transfer stations,
Interchange stations. Intermediate transfer stations facilitate in customers while transferring
between trunk and feeder lines. The interchange stations facilitate in transfer between
different trunk routes. Similarly the terminals are the large facility usually located in the end
of a trunk line corridor in order to allow the transfer between multiple feeder services as
stated in BRT Guide. The Figure 33 shows the terminal platform at Bogota with a simple
transfer from trunk to feeder line.
Figure 33: Schematic showing the simple transfer from a trunk vehicle (on left) to a feeder
vehicle on right. ( Source: Steer Davles Gleave)
In addition to the transfer it also provides the facility of parking of the vehicles in order to
provide space for vehicle services. Likewise, depots are the area which provides the facility
to park the vehicles, vehicle services and repair. The additional facilities such as the
employee services and administrative support is also provided. (Wright & Hook, 2007:378-
384). It is usually the case that the terminals and depots are nearby. As in the case of Bogota
as shown Figure 34. The space required for the depot depends upon the vehicle fleet
basically.
Figure 34: Terminals and depots adjacent to each other in Bogota. (Source: Oscar Diaz and
PPQ)
The depots should have sufficient space for accommodating the space required for the
administrative areas, refueling areas, vehicle cleaning and washing areas, major and minor
repair area, BRT vehicle parking area as well as the area for some private vehicle as well.
(Wright & Hook, 2007:390). In our case we require two termials and two depots for each

corridor. The location of the depots and terminals are shown in Figure 35. Since the total
number of vehicels required is 26 and 24 vehicles it may not be too diffcult to find suffcient
spaces at the end of the corridor. From the operational point of view it will be easier if we
could finf the location near the terminals. There is existing terminals in corridor II and one
terminal in corridor I. (Ingham, 2012) Hence, we have to deal with only one terminal and
depots. As mentioned earlier, it is also necessary to accommodate adminstrative block at the
depot area for the staff.
Figure 35: BRT corridors, terminals, depots, control centre and Intermediate
Parking
6.4 Control Center and Intermediate parking:

Like stations, terminals and other infrastructure, control centers are also important as it will
ensure the smooth running of the system. The centralised control and management will have
certain benefits such as immdiate response to changes in customer demand, immediate
response incase of vehicle breakdown and efficient spacing of vehicles to avoid bunching.
(Wright & Hook, 2007:393-396)In our case one control center will be enough for the two
corridors. However, the location of the center is quite important. It should be such that the
communication and electrical power connections is regular and reliable. The exact location of
the control centre can be found nearby Pulchowk area along corridor I. The place is being
used for Sajha Bus Cooperative. Further this space can also be used as intermediate parking
for Corridor I. Currently, around 16 standard buses are being parked operated by Sajha
Corporation. The intermediate parking station provide the parking area for vehicles in off
peak area so that all the vehicles do not have to reach terminals and depots (Wright & Hook,

2007:393). It will help to save time and operational cost as well. In this case, proper
considerations have to be given for turning of the vehicles.
6.5 Feeder Infrastructure:

BRT system is a combination of the trunk and feeder connections hence feeder connection is
also an important part of the system. The feeder lines are the key link of the system to the
residential areas The feeder system however do not require an exclusive bus lane as in trunk
but still requires a quality service to be delivered for the customer satisfaction. In this case
there are two types of feeder lines, the intracity and interregional. The immediate road by the
terminal is the Ring road. The ring road is usually two lanes with certain section being four
lanes. As in the case of Kathmandu Bhaktapur road which is shown in Figure 36, which will
be adjacent to one of the terminal of corridor II.
The feeder lines will continue to operate its station at the curb side unlike the BRT corridors.
They do not require special bus station facilities as the buses used will be the standard buses
or other public vehicles unlike the special articulated buses used in the system. The simple
bus station that can be used in feeder line is shown in the Figure 37.
.
Figure 37: Stations along feeder lines (Source: Llyold Figure 36: Kathmandu Bhaktapur Road (Source:
Wright) http://www.jica.go.jp/nepal/english/activities/transpor
tation.html)

Chapter 7: Operation and Management
The management of construction and operation of BRT system is quite a huge task. It
requires a proper management team for the task. There are various government and non-
governmental organisation who have to coordinate for the proper management and operation.
The project undertaking infrastructure development falls under the Ministry of Physical
Infrastructure and Works. Apart from the governmental body there is also a non-
governmental organisation that are working in the field of public transport such as sajha
yatayat cooperative. The present public transport operators and their union need also be
involved in the operation at certain level. The list of possible government and non-
government organisation for the management are
1) Ministry of Physical Infrastructure and Transport (MoPPW)
2) Department of Transport Management (DoTM)
3) Department of Roads (DoR)
4) Kathmandu and Lalitpur Metropolitan City Office (KMC and LMC)
5) Sajha Yatayat
7.1 Governmental Agencies

Ministry of Physical Infrastructure and Transport:
The Ministry established in 2000 AD deals with the infrastructure development and
harmonising the policies and bring efficiencies and effectiveness of the infrastructural
services. It deals with the development of infrastructure of economic development, surface
transport, railways, ropeways along with the various activities and projects related with the
tourism, agriculture and others. (MoPPW, 2012) There are already several projects being
executed and on going under the Ministry. The BRT system project also deals with the
transport hence MoPPW will be the main executing and financing agency.
Department of Roads (DoR):

DoR falls under the Ministry of Physical Infrastructure and Transport which deals basically
with the road construction and maintenance of the roads all over the country. The main and
relevant function of the department for BRT project as listed in KSUT project report are to
maintain road network effectively and efficiently, to improve the existing access to the
district headquarters, to encourage private sector participations in the development,
maintenance and management of roads. (KSUT, 2010: 183). The strategic road network is
prepared by the department along with the implementation. Hence it needs to be involved
from the start as a main implementing agency of the project. DoR has implemented various
road projects in the past such as Kathmandu valley Road improvement project, Kathmandu
Bhaktapur Road Project, Road Sector Development Project and others, hence it has the
capability to take over the project as well.

Department of Transport Management (DoTM):
DoTM was established in 1985 AD in order to undertake Traffic & Transport Management
Act, 1992 and TTM regulations 1998. This act makes provisions for Traffic & Transport
Management, vehicle emission, pollution control, road accident prevention and control, issue
of driving licence, route permit of public vehicles, vehicle registration and renewal vehicle
inspection and so on (DoTM, 2012). It also determines the bus fares for all the public
transport. The main functions of DoTM is to operate the transport service in an organized and
effective way, to provide the guidance to the individual firm company or institution related to
transport service for effective management, to fix fares of public transport, to manage traffic
signs, to prepare standards for the vehicle in terms of mechanical conditions, and etc.
(KSUT, 2010:173). These are just few major tasks under taken by DoTM. DoTM can also act
as a major implementing agency for the project. It can undertake the role of guidance and
management for smooth running of the project.
Kathmandu and Lalitpur Metropolitan City Office:

KMC and LMC need to be involved in the project as well. As these offices have the task of
managing the development works within the Municipality. They are involved in the
managing bus parks, parking areas; arrange and manage public toilets in various part of the
city, controlling the noise pollution within the city, managing lightning in the roads are some
of them (KSUT, 2010:180). These functions are related to BRT system as well. Hence they
also need to be involved in the implementation team of the BRT system.
Traffic Police
Traffic police can also be involved in the project for the proper execution of the segregated
bus lanes. It is primary concern of the BRT system to have exclusive busways. It has been
seen in the past that no proper traffic rules have been followed, hence it is necessary to force
people to use the designated lanes only. They will help to ensure the priority of BRT vehicles
at the intersections as well.
7.2 Non-Governmental Agencies

Sajha Yatayat is a cooperative public transportation organisation established in 1961/1962 Ad
inorder to provide efficient and affordable public transportation within Kathmandu valley as
well as inter district travellers. Even though, the organisation had suffered in past decades but
has revived again launching Sajha buses in two routes since March 2012 (Sajha Yatayat,
2013) with 16 buses. The routes is similar to the one we have taken for BRT corridor as well.
The routes are as follows :
Route No 1: Lagankhel - Jawalakhel - Tripureswar - NAC - Kantipath - Teaching -
Maharajgunj - Basundhara and Gongabu New Bus Park and back same way.
Route No 2: Kalanki - Kalimati - Tripureswar - Maitighar - New Baneswar - Tinkune -
Sinamangal - TIA Airport and back same way.
They have the experience to operate the public buses in this route. Their experience can be
used for the BRT system as well.

7.3 Other Agencies
Apart from the Government and Non-governmental organisations, the management team may
also include the existing transport operator’s organisations. Since, BRT system will replace
all the public vehicles currently plying in the corridor, the operators have to be relocated to
alternate opportunity. Their needs have to be addressed in some way. Hence they can also be
involved in the project in the operational phase.
7.4 Conclusion
As already been stated BRT system is quite a challenging task, hence it requires the support
of various organisations at different time. The core operation and management team can be
from the coordination of various governmental organisations with the coordination from the
non-governmental organisation such as Sajha yatayat cooperative. They have the experience
to operate the public transport. The experience of TransMilenio shows that public private
partnership can be one of the suitable solutions. The governmental organisation can
participate in the investment of the infrastructure and non-governmental organisations and
others can involve in the operation undertaking the cost of fleets and other operational
charges. Apart from the investment, the coordination of various governmental organisation is
also necessary for the implementation and smooth running of the project as main executing
and managing authorities. Hence, a separate committee can be formed which overlooks the
project involving all the concerned governmental and non-governmental organisation.

Chapter 8: Financial Analysis
A wide range of BRT system are currently available. The cost of these system depends upon
the various infrastructure and facilities available in the system. The Table 19 shows capital
cost of the BRT system worldwide. The most expensive one is Bogota’s TransMilenio BRT
systems. The system included the complete construction of the roadway reconstruction of the
entire roadway, including the mixed traffic lanes, new sidewalks, parks, public space, and
other improvements and amenities in the corridor.
Table 19: Capital Costs for Bus Rapid Transit systems

City Kilometres of segregated lines (km) Cost per kilometre (US$
million/km)
Taipei 57.0 0.5

Quito (Eco-Via Line) 10.0 0.6
Porto Alegre 27.0 1.0
Las Vegas (Max) 11.2 1.7
Curitiba 57.0 2.5
Sao Paulo 114.0 3.0
Bogota (Phase I) 40.0 5.3
(ITDP, 2005, p. 78)
The detail breakdown of Bogota’s TransMilenio system is shown in the table below. Since
the construction cost is less in Kathmandu than in Bogota, furthermore the BRT system
capacity required is also less. Hence the cost of the system is believed to be much less than
Bogota’s. However for simplicity the components of total cost has been shown in Table 20.
Table 20: Detailed Cost Breakdown of per km costs for Bogota's TransMilenio BRT System
Component Total Cost (US $ Million) Cost / Km (US $ Million)

Studies and design 4.01 0.09
Exclusive Ways 36.69 0.87
General Traffic 36.13 0.85
Public Space 28.29 0.67
Stations 25.51 0.6
Pedestrian 16.57 0.39
Terminals 15.72 0.37
Parking 17.16 0.40
Properties 29.18 0.69
Network services 18.57 0.44
Maintenance 18.57 0.54
Roads for feeder 15.28 0.36
Control Center 3.33 0.08

Others 22.85 0.54
Total Trunk Lines 292.2 6.89
(ITDP, 2005, p. 77)
The Table 20 just shows the cost per kilometre but Bogota have spent a lot of money in
planning as well. So proper planning can help to produce better result. Bogota has spent US$
5.3 million for planning. The money was spent mostly for working out the institution and
legal arrangements. (ITDP, 2005, p. 77). In case of Kathmandu, since the scope of work is
less the cost can be reduced substantially. However, it might require quarter of a million US
dollar would need to be spent to do a proper detailed design and engineering.
8.1 Basic Assumptions:

The following assumptions were made for the analysis. For monetary terms, all prices were
considered for 2013 constant prices with an exchange rate on US$ 1 = NRs 97.63 (Nepal
Rastra Bank, 2013) as of October 2013.
 The economic life of the Project was assumed to be 10 years from the start of
implementation. It has been recommended that the implementation work be
commenced immediately in 2013.
 The construction will be carried out in two years by packaging the works in groups of
stretches. Along with the task of traffic diversion during the construction time. It has
been observed from the other BRT system like TransMilenio Phase I that it might take
around 28.5 months minimum for construction of 50km system (Wright & Hook,
2007). Since in our case the total system is only 19.9km and it is also in the existing
high traffic area, hence it needs to be completed as soon as possible.
 The discount rate or the opportunity cost of capital was assumed to be 10%. The rate
has been taken as used in similar project KSUT for their analysis. (KSUT, 2010, p.
142)
 All the existing public transport users will be using the BRT system.
8.2 Infrastructure Cost:

The infrastructure cost of the system is calculated with reference to the BRT cost calculator
provided by BRT guide. The BRT cost calculator has been developed from the cost data of
existing developing nations BRT system with the inputs from BRT expert which helps to
provide the initial estimation of infrastructure (Wright & Hook, 2007, pp. 399-401) (ITDP,
2007). The cost has been divided into several sub headings and the costing has been done
with reference to the case specific values. The suitable items for costing has been selected
and rates has been taken as per the available data. The table below shows that items and the
cost for the system for corridor I is shown below. The unit of price is in dollar with rate of
1US$=97.63 NRs as per prevailing rate of 2013 October 27 (Nepal Rastra Bank, 2013). The
rates has been taken from KSUT Project as well as from some from Prefeasibility report of
Hyderabad BRT system for relevant items. In the absence of any relevant references, the rates
that has been provided in the BRT cost calculator has been taken for preliminary estimations
as it has been given for an average cost of BRT system in developing nations . The Table 21
shows the Infrastructure cost for Corridor I followed by cost for Corridor II.

Table 21: Infrastructure Cost of BRT Corridor I , Busway of 12.2 kilometres
Item Cost per unit Units Quantity requested Cost Remarks
Busway construction / roadway Enter no. of km of each

reconfiguration type
New asphalt on single lane busway / US$ per
concrete at stations4 440,000 kilometre 12.2 $5,368,000.
Enter no. of km of each
Lane separators US$ per type
Basic separator cones 1,000 kilometre 12.2 $12,200
Busway coloration type
US$ per
Colorized at intersections only 5,000 kilometre 12.2 $61,000
US$ per
Busway with fully colourised lanes 50,000 kilometre 12.2 $610,000
Enter no. of stations of

Station construction each type
US$ per
5
3 meter wide stations 130,000 station 24.0 $3,120,000.0
4
The rate of asphalt has been taken from rates used in KSUT project for asphalt pavement (KSUT, 2010, p. 121). Since, the width of our lane is 22m, it leads to the value of
440,000 per km.
5
The cost of 3meter wide station has been taken form Hyderabad BRT system estimates (ITDP, 2005, p. 79). The cost of station is estimated to be around 130,000 US$.
Since the cost in India and Nepal are quite similar, the reference has been taken.

Enter no. of stations with
Station identification - sign post post
US$ per
Station identification post 800 station 24 $19,200.00
Enter no. of stations or

Maps and information kiosks
US$ per
Maps at stations 3,000 station 24 $72,000.00
Pedestrian crossings crossings
US$ per
Pedestrian crosswalk with signal 20,000 station 24 $480,000.00
Enter km of improved
Pedestrian access to station areas footpaths
Improvements to pedestrian
access ways 35,000 US$ per km 12.2 $427,000.00
Boarding bridge between bus and
station Enter no. of km of busway
Boarding bridge for each bus
doorway (half paid by city) 2,000 US$ per bus 12.2 $51,240.00
Control center (including
software) Enter no. of control centers
Control center physical construction6 366,000 US$ 1.0 $366,000.00
6The cost of control centre has been adjusted from the cost provided in the BRT cost calculator as the scale of the project is reduced than assumed in cost calculator. Hence it
has been adjusted for 12.2km, as the cost for 50km system and 12.2 km system will vary.

Enter no. of terminals or
Terminals and depots7 depots
Terminal facilities 1,000,000 US$ 2.0 $2,000,000.0

Depot facilities 1,220,000 US$ 1.0 $1,220,000.0
Restrooms at terminals8 20,000 US$ 4.0 $160,000.00

Property acquisition9
1,000,000 US$ per site 2.0 $2,000,000.00
Terminal site in peripheral area
1,220,000 US$ per site 2.0 $1,220,000.00
Depot site in peripheral area
$17,186,640.00
Sub-total
Contingency
$1,718,664.00
10% contingency US$
$18,905,304.00
Total
$1,549,615.08
Cost per kilometer
(including planning costs)
7The cost for terminals and depots has also been changed based upon the total kilometres of the BRT system and vehicles required. As the BRT system is only 12.2 km not
50 km as shown in BRT cost calculator sample, the cost will definitely be reduced.
8
The rate has been taken from KSUT project, as it estimates 20,000 US$ per toilets. (KSUT, 2010, p. 119)
9
It has been taken from the BRT calculator rates itself for rough estimation.

Table 22: Infrastructure Cost of BRT Corridor II, Busway of 7.7 kilometres
Item Cost per unit Units Quantity requested Cost Remarks

Busway construction / Enter no. of km of each
Reference to
roadway reconfiguration type
KSUT project
New asphalt on single lane US$ per
with $ 20/m2
busway / concrete at stations10 440,000 kilometer 7.7 $3,388,000.00
Lane separators type
US$ per
Basic separator cones 1,000 kilometer 7.7 $7,700.00
Busway coloration type
Colorized at intersections US$ per
only 5,000 kilometer 7.7 $38,500.00
Busway with fully colorized US$ per
lanes 50,000 kilometer 7.7 $385,000.00
Enter no. of stations of
Station construction each type
US$ per
3 meter wide stations11 130,000 station 15 $2,002,000.00
Station identification - sign Enter no. of stations with
post post
US$ per
Station identification post 800 station 15 $12,320.00
Enter no. of stations or
Maps and information kiosks
Maps at stations 3,000 US$ per 15 $46,200.00
10The rate of asphalt has been taken from rates used in KSUT project for asphalt pavement (KSUT, 2010, p. 121). Since, the width of our lane is 22m, it leads to the value of
440,000US$ per km.
11
The cost of 3meter wide station has been taken form Hyderabad BRT system estimates (ITDP, 2005, p. 79). The cost of station is estimated to be around 130,000 US$.
Since the cost in India and Nepal are quite similar, the reference has been taken.

station

Pedestrian crossings crossings
Pedestrian crosswalk with US$ per
signal 20,000 station 15.0 $300,000.00
Pedestrian access to station Enter km of improved
areas footpaths
Improvements to pedestrian
access ways 35,000 US$ per km 7.7 $565,950.00
Boarding bridge between bus
and station Enter no. of km of busway
Boarding bridge for each Total number of
bus doorway (half paid by city) 2,000 US$ per bus 7.7 $33,880.00 buses 24
Control centre (including Enter "1" with the
software) selected type
Control centre physical
construction12 231,000 US$ 1.0 $231,000.00
Terminals and depots13 depots
US$ per
Terminal facilities 1,000,000 terminal 2.0 $2,000,000.00
US$ per
Depot facilities 770,000 depot 1.0 $770,000.00
12 The cost of control center has been adjusted from the cost provided in the BRT cost calculator as the scale of the project is reduced than shown. Hence it has been adjusted
for 12.2km, as the cost for 50km system and 12.2 km system will vary.
13
The cost for terminals and depots has also been changed based upon the total kilometres of the BRT system and vehicles required. As the BRT system is only 7.7 km not
50 km as shown in BRT cost calculator sample, the cost will definitely be reduced.

With reference to
KSUT Project
US$ per report as$ 20,000
Restrooms at terminals14 20,000 terminal 4.0 $160,000.00 per restrooms
Property acquisition15
depots
Terminal site in peripheral US$ per
area 1,000,000 terminal 2.0 $2,000,000.00
US$ per
Depot site in peripheral area 770,000 depot 2.0 $1,540,000.00
Sub-total $13,480,550.00
Contingency
10% contingency US$ $1,348,055.00
Total $14,828,605.00
Cost per kilometer
(including planning costs) $1,925,792.86
14 The rate has been taken from KSUT project, as it estimates 20,000 US$ per toilets. (KSUT, 2010, p. 119)
15
It has been taken from the BRT calculator rates itself for rough estimation.

The total cost of Infrastructure for both the Corridor is shown in the Table 23.
Table 23: Infrastructure Cost

Corridor Corridor 1 Corridor 2 Total Cost
Length 12.2 km 7.7 km

Total Infrastructure Cost, US$ 18,905,304 14,828,605 33,733,909

8.3 Operational Cost:
The total BRT cost also includes the operational cost of the system. The operational cost of
the system has been calculated with reference to the operational cost items used in Bogota
BRT as shown in BRT guide. The operational cost has also been sub divided into Variable
cost, Fixed Operational cost and Finance charges. The detail of the items are shown in Table
24.
Table 24: Operational Cost Components of BRT
Item Measurement Units Value per
vehicle
Depreciation
Vehicle Depreciation % of value of vehicle / year 10%
Finance charges
Cost of capital Effective annual interest rate on invested capital 14%
Fixed Operating costs
Diver salaries Employees / vehicle 1.62
Salaries of mechanics Employees / vehicle 0.38
Salaries of administrative Employees / vehicle 0.32
personnel and supervisors
Other administrative expenses % of variable costs + maintenance + personnel 4%
Fleet insurance % of value of vehicle / year 1.80%
Variable Operating Costs
Fuel Gallons of diesel / 100 km 18.6
Tires
New Tires Units / 100000km 10
Retreading Units / 100000km 27.6
Lubricants
Motor Quarts of gallon / 10000 km 78.9
Transmission Quarts of gallon / 10000 km 4.5
Differential Quarts of gallon / 10000 km 5.8
Grease Kilograms / 10000 km 3
Maintenance % of value of vehicle / year 6.00%
(Source: TransMilenio SA Bogota June 2002)
The breakdown of the operating costs for trunk lines in terms of percentage is shown in the
Table 25 as per the experience in TransMilenio Bogota.

Table 25: Operational cost comparisons for TransMilenio
Cost Item Trunk Services
Fuel 24.6%
Tires 4.7%
Lubricants 1.5%
Maintenance 9.0%
Wages 14.7%
Other fixed costs 45.5%
Total 100%
(Source: TransMilenio SA)
Hence for the calculation of the operating cost, the cost has been calculated based on the
above two tables. For fixed operational cost and finance charges, it has been referred to Table
24 and for Variable Operating cost it has been referred to Table 25. Since,
The detail of the operational cost calculated as per the local rates is shown in Table
26.
Table 26: Operational Cost
Value
Per
Item Measurement Units vehicle Remarks
Depreciation USD
Number of vehicles
Vehicle Depreciation % of value of vehicle / year 10% 1,050,000 required is 50
Finance charges
Effective annual interest rate
Cost of capital on invested capital 14% 4,722,747
5,772,747
Fixed Operating
costs
Diver and Conductor
salaries Employees / vehicle 4.6816 776,565
Salaries of
mechanics Employees / vehicle 0.38 60,719
Salaries of
administrative In an average salary
personnel and is assumed to be NRs
supervisors Employees / vehicle 0.32 51,132 20000/month.17
Other administrative % of variable costs +

expenses maintenance + personnel 4% 136,580
16 Additionally 2 is added per unit considering the units for conductors as well. As it has not been included in
the rate previously.
17
The minimum rate in Government is around NRs 12,000 per month and for driver, additional benefits will
also be there which will increase the salary up to NRs 20,000 per month.

Fleet insurance % of value of vehicle / year 1.80% 189,000
Total Fixed
Operating Cost 1,213,996
Variable Operating
Costs
Fuel18 Gallons of diesel / 100 km 18.6 1,516,876
Tires and Lubricants % of fuel used per year 25% 379,219
Maintenance % of value of vehicle / year 6.00% 630,000

Total Variable
Operating Costs 2,526,095
Total Costs per year 9,512,838
The total operational cost, Infrastructure cost and cost of vehicle is shown in Table 27.
Table 27: Summary of Cost
Corridor Corridor 1 Corridor 2 Total
Length 12.2 km 7.7 km
Total Infrastructure Cost 18,905,304 14,828,605 33,733,909
Vehicle Number 26 24 50
Vehicle Cost 19 5,460,000 5,040,000 10,500,000
Assuming the construction will be completed in 2 years
Capital cost/year 9,452,652 7,414,303 16,866,955
Operating Cost/year 9,512,838

Total Cost for first 2 26,379,792
years
18Number of trips is assumed to be 7 per day and 300 days per year with adjustment for off peak and vacations.
Cost of fuel is assumed to be 3.87 USD per gallons of diesel as per rate in 2013 from Nepal Oil Corporation
19
The vehicle cost has been estimated to be 210,000 US$/vehicle as per rates in BRT Guide. (Wright & Hook,
2007, p. 441)

8.4 Revenues Collection:
The bus fare is based on the current bus fare which is NRs 23 for corridor I and NRs 19 for
corridor II (DOTM, 2013). The fare has been charged as similar with the normal public
transport. It has been assumed that our BRT system will replace all the existing public
transport and the passengers will be using the system. Hence, even though the extra costs
have been incurred, the fare has been kept as existing in order not to lose the customers. The
fare changing according to time has not been considered as the change in the operational cost
has also not been considered due to uncertainty in the price of fuel. Hence the constant price
of gasoline and fares has been considered irrespective of inflation rates in future. With the
increase in fuel price, the fares has also to be adjusted later on. If there is drastically change
in fuel price then our projected benefit might be changed as well.
The total revenues collected annually is shown in the Table 28. The revenues will be collected
after the completion of the project. Since the project is assumed to be completed in two years
the project will start collecting revenues after two years only.
Table 28: Total Revenues Generated

Year Passengers trips per day Passengers trips per Total operating
Corridor I day Corridor II Revenues in US$
1
3 94,640 151,424 15,529,374
4 99,520 159,232 16,330,128
5 104,400 167,040 17,130,882
6 109,280 174,848 17,931,636
7 114,160 182,656 18,732,390
8 119,040 190,464 19,533,144
9 123,920 198,272 20,333,897
10 128,800 206,080 21,134,651

8.5 Financial Analysis:
The financial analysis of the project shows that the FIRR was 6.57 % as a whole. The FIRR
was calculated for 10 years including the construction period of two years over the total cost
and the revenues collected during the project. The discount rate is taken as 10% similar to
KSUT report for their analysis. (KSUT, 2010, p. 142). The result shows that financially the
project is not feasible as the IRR is less than discount rate. However, there are certain
assumptions made earlier such as
1) BRT system will only attract public transport users, there will not be modal shift
from private vehicle users.
2) The fare has been remained constant as per present prevailing rates
3) Inflation has not been considered. If change in fare and inflation would be considered
then there would try to compensate each other.
4) While cost estimating the cost of certain items have been taken from average rates
provided in BRT cost calculator directly. Though the rates has been provided from the
experience of BRT system in the past in developing countries. This might vary for the
case. But due to unavailability of the prevailing rates, the cost has been estimated wit
that reference. Hence the rate might change if done for the local context in detail
during feasibility study in future.
The result shows that the project is not self-sustainable and might need government subsidy
for the investment. But as discussed above, detail study is required to drag this conclusion as
various factors have might have influenced the result. Hence the detail feasibility study needs
to be carried on further for decision making.

Table 29: Financial Analysis of the Project; Unit in US Dollars
`Year 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Total
operating
Revenues 15,529,374 16,330,128 17,130,882 17,931,636 18,732,390 19,533,144 20,333,897 21,134,651
Total Inflows - - 15,529,374 16,330,128 17,130,882 17,931,636 18,732,390 19,533,144 20,333,897 21,134,651
Total
operating
costs and
Capital Costs 2,361,374 4,722,747 9,512,838 9,512,838 9,512,838 9,512,838 9,512,838 9,512,838 9,512,838 9,512,838
Infrastructure
Costs 16,866,955 16,866,955
Vehicle Cost 10,500,000

Total
Investments 16,866,955 16,866,955 10,500,000 - - - - - - -
Total
Outflows 19,228,328 21,589,702 20,012,838 9,512,838 9,512,838 9,512,838 9,512,838 9,512,838 9,512,838 9,512,838
Net Cash
flow - 19,228,328 -21,589,702 - 4,483,464 6,817,290 7,618,044 8,418,798 9,219,552 10,020,306 10,821,059 11,621,813
Net Present Value - 6,685,018
IRR 6.570%

Chapter 9: Economic and Sensitivity Analysis
Economic Analysis of BRT system include the cost and benefits that will occur due to be the
effect of the system to the users of the system and society as a whole. After the implementation
of BRT system, it would have the potential to affect other travel modes. It might also affect
people travelling by cars, motorcycles, and even walkers ultimately affecting the changes of
benefits due to BRT system implementation. In our case with limited data available for the
corridor selected, we have neglected the change in the people traveling by modes other than
public transport. The impacts of BRT system on public transport has only been analysed.
The common user benefits can be listed as change in travel time, vehicle operating costs, fares
for transit riders and crash costs (Smith, 2011, p. 6). There are social benefits too, typically
include reduction in damage costs due to air pollution and noise pollution. However, it is also
important to identify the benefits due to the project only. Travel time savings is definitely a
benefits from the project but however, the impact of construction on the local economy is not
considered as benefit as it does not change the underlying productivity of local economy. (Smith,
2011, p. 5)
9.1 Benefit Categories:

As mentioned earlier, there are various categories of benefits from the system. They can be
categorized as direct and indirect benefits. The direct benefits will include savings in travel time,
safety, and reduction in vehicle operating costs including environmental impacts such as saving
in emission reductions, noise reductions. (Smith, 2011, p. 6) Similarly indirect benefits can
include benefits ranging from increased economy activity to growth in employment etc. (Smith,
2011, p. 6)
In our analysis, only direct benefits including social have been included. The key benefit
expected from the implementation of BRT system in those corridors are divided into three
categories.
(1) Savings of travel time
(2) Reduction in air emissions,
(3) Reduction in Vehicle Operating Costs
The reduction in accident due to BRT system is also a benefit. However, it hasn’t been
considered for analysis due to insufficient data. Nevertheless, it will have a positive impact and
will be considered as benefit from the system. Similarly increased safety and reduction in
accidents is also benefit of the system and will have positive impact in overall outcome of the
project. Table 30 shows the variable and unit of benefits from BRT system to be evaluated.

Table 30: Benefit Parameters
Variable Unit
Savings of Travel time Value of Travel time in dollar per hour
Reduced Vehicle Emissions ( basically CO2) Value of reduced CO2 in dollar
Reduced Vehicle Operating Costs Value of reduced VOC in dollar
9.1.2 Reduced Travel Time:

The saving from travel time are valued in hourly wage rate. The existing speed in the corridor
without introduction of the BRT is around 20km/hr (JICA, 2012, pp. 6-31). With the
implementation of the BRT, the speed of 26km/hr can be achieved. Hence, Table 31 below
shows the time saved.
Table 31: Time saved from BRT system Implementation
S. Corridor Length, Original Total BRT Total Absolute

No km Speed travel time, Speed travel time Time
mins after BRT saved,
mins
1 Narayangopal 12.2 20km/hr 36.6 26km/hr 28 8
Chowk -
Satdobato
2 Koteshwor- 7.7 20km/hr 23.1 26km/hr 18 5
Kalanki
Time spent during travelling is an expense and an important factor for calculating the benefits of
BRT. To calculate the gross average hourly wage rate for Nepal, gross national income per
capita for 2012 is taken as reference which equals to 1500 USD from World Bank (Word bank,
2013).
So deducting the non-working days and assuming 7 working hours a day, resulting wage rate
was 0.96 USD/hour20. This leads to the value of 0.02 USD/mins. For the value of working time
savings and non-working time savings has been calculated as suggested in transport notes by
World Bank (The World Bank, 2005, p. 10) i.e 30% of the price of working trips.
As suggested in KSUT project report, 5 minutes saving is not so much of importance (KSUT,
2010, p. 144). But if it is done for collectively for all passengers then it might be of some
importance. Hence, in this case time saved up to 5 minutes during travel has been neglected.
20The working days have been calculated by deducting the public holidays as published in February for
the year 2013/014 (Nepalnews, 2013)

The total percentage of non-working trips is estimated to be 58% of total trips in 2011 for
Kathmandu Valley as a whole (JICA, 2012, pp. 6-6). In absence of exact value for the city, this
value has been taken for estimation. Hence the total time savings has been shown in table below.
Now the time saved and its value is shown in Table 32 below.
Table 32: Time saved and it’s Value
S. No Corridor Travel Time Value for
saved, mins
Working time Non-working time
Savings USD/ Savings USD/mins
mins
1 Narayangopal Chowk - 3 0.02 0.005
Satdobato
Since the BRT system come into operations from 2015 AD only, its benefit will also be calculated
from there forth. The total number of passengers per day and annually is shown in the Table 33.
Table 33: Table Showing Savings from Travel Time

Corridor I Narayangopal Chowk - Satdobato
Year 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022

Total Passengers
94,640 99,520 104,400 109,280 114,160 119,040 123,920 128,800
trips per day
Working Trips per
39,749 41,798 43,848 45,898 47,947 49,997 52,046 54,096
day
Non-Working Trips
54,891 57,722 60,552 63,382 66,213 69,043 71,874 74,704
per day
Total Savings from
working Trips in 1,910 2,008 2,107 2,205 2,304 2,402 2,501 2,599
US$ per day
Total Savings from
Non-working Trips 791 832 873 914 954 995 1,036 1,077
in US$ per day
Total savings from
travel time per day in 2,701 2,840 2,980 3,119 3,258 3,397 3,537 3,676
US$
Total savings
Annually for 300
810,291 852,072 893,854 935,636 977,417 1,019,199 1,060,981 1,102,762
working days in US
$

9.1.3 Reduction in CO2 emission
The change in emissions due to implementation of BRT system will be benefit of BRT system.
There will be certain reduction as number of public transport vehicles such as mini buses, micro
buses will be replaced by higher capacity BRT articulated vehicles. It results in reducing the
number of vehicles plying in the road. The total reduction in the CO2 emission has been
calculated with and without implementation of BRT system. It is assumed that if BRT system is
not implemented then public transport will be served by mini buses, micro buses and tempos as
present.
The valuing of CO2 per ton is done with reference central value provided by IMPACT version
1.1 (European Commission, 2008) as shown in Table 35. Since the value is for Europe it has been
converted for Nepal as per reference to GDP per capita of both. The GDP per capita is derived
from World Bank for Nepal and euro area as shown in the Table 34 (Bank, 2013).
Table 34: GDP per Capita: Source: World Bank

Country GDP per Capita in 2012, US$
Nepal 707
Euro area 36,550.20
Ratio 0.019
This gives a value of CO2 per MT as 0.86 $ in 2015 instead of 32.5 Euro per MT as derived from
the Table 35.
Table 35: IMPACT recommended values for CO2 emissions Source:
(Source: European Commission, 2008, p. 80)

The number of vehicles and its types, with and without BRT system to cope with the increasing
number of passengers is shown in the Table 36 and the CO2 difference is shown in Table 37. It is
assumed that in the absence of BRT system, the increasing traffic demand will be fulfilled by the
existing public vehicle types such as microbuses, mini buses and safa tempos. The detail
calculation has been shown in Appendix V and Appendix VI.

Table 36: Type of vehicles with and without BRT system
Year Without BRT With BRT
Mini buses Microbuses Safa Tempo BRT Vehicles
2015 96 136 71 33
2016 102 144 75 35
2017 107 152 79 38
2018 113 159 83 40
2019 118 167 87 43
2020 123 174 91 45
2021 129 182 95 48
2022 134 190 99 50
Table 37: CO2 Emission with and without BRT system

Year CO2 emission Difference CO2 in MT
Without BRT in MT With BRT in MT
2015 1463 1071 393

2016 1546 1124 421
2017 1629 1178 450
2018 1711 1232 479
2019 1794 1286 508
2020 1877 1340 536
2021 1959 1394 565
2022 2042 1448 594
The Table 38 shows the savings due to decrease in CO2 emission after the application of BRT
system.

Table 38: Savings due to reduction in CO2 emission
Year Difference CO2 emission in MT Price, in US$
2015 393 341
2016 421 382
2017 450 427
2018 479 473
2019 508 522
2020 536 573
2021 565 626
2022 594 682
9.1.2 Reduction in Vehicle Operating Costs:

The reduction in the vehicle operating costs due to BRT implementation is one of the major
benefits. The BRT implementation has helped in reduction in number of vehicles and increased
in average vehicle speed during peak hours and off peak hours as well. It is as it has been
assumed that the mini buses, micro buses and tempos will increase in absence of BRT system to
cope with the future demand. The calculation of vehicles in the absence of BRT system is shown
in Appendix V. The VOC has been calculated using software HDM 4 version 2 (The World
Bank Group, 2011) with the data taken from Department of roads at price of 2009 and other
values of case specific. The data are extracted from KSUT project report. (KSUT, 2010, p.
191).HDM4 is vehicle operating cost calculator developed by several International institutions
including World Bank. (Rabenau, 2012)

Table 39: Data Input required for deriving VOC cost using HDM-4version2
New New Lubricating Maintenance Crew Annual km Working Service of Vehicle

Vehicle Vehicle Tire Fuel Oil Labour Wages Interest Driven Hours Life Passengers Weight
Description (NRs/vehicle) (NRs/tire) (NRs/litre) (NRs/litre) (NRs/hour) (NRs/hour) (%) (km) (hours) (years) (#) (t)
Tempos21 130,000 1460.00 38.30 100.00 30.00 30.00 12.0 21,960 1,100 10 9 0.4
Microbus22 1,440,000 6390.00 44.46 156.35 32.00 68.75 12.0 21,960 1,100 10 14 2.0
Mini Bus23 959,470 7695.27 44.46 156.35 32.00 128.13 12.0 21,960 1,100 12 24 5.0
Articulated
Buses24 14,950,000 11892.00 44.46 156.35 32.00 128.13 12.0 21,960 880 15 160 18.5
21The input data related to cost for tempo has been taken from KSUT report for year 2009. For annual km driven it is assumed that the vehicles are plying in BRT
corridor for 6 trip a days and 300 days per year in 12.2km. The annual working hour is derived by assuming average speed of 20 km/hr.
22
The input data related to cost for Micro bus has been taken from KSUT report for year 2009. For annual km driven it is assumed that the vehicles are plying in
BRT corridor for 6 trip a days and 300 days per year in 12.2km. The annual working hour is derived by assuming average speed of 20 km/hr.
23
The input data related to cost for Mini bus has been taken from KSUT report for year 2009. For annual km driven it is assumed that the vehicles are plying in BRT
corridor for 6 trip a days and 300 days per year in 12.2km. The annual working hour is derived by assuming average speed of 20 km/hr.
24
The input data has been taken for year 2009 in case of cost. For annual km driven it is assumed that the vehicles are plying in BRT corridor for 6 trip a days and
300 days per year in 12.2km. The annual working hour is derived by assuming average speed of 26 km/hr.

The VOC also depends upon the level of road surface roughness measured at the International
Roughness Index in meters/kilometre (IRI). As mentioned in the KSUT project report, the value
for Kathmandu range between RI 7 to 6 m/km range. Hence a value of 5 m/km has been taken
here. (KSUT, 2010, p. 191). The Table 40 shows the VOC calculated with and without BRT
system.
The VOC ($ per vehicle km) is calculated from the software, the value is then multiplied by the
annual vehicle km to derive the following result.
Table 40: VOC calculated without and with BRT
Year VOC without BRT in US$ VOC with BRT in US$ Difference in US$
2015 1,021,142 622,358 398,784

2016 1,057,460 652,415 405,045
2017 1,093,778 682,472 411,307
2018 1,130,097 712,528 417,568
2019 1,166,415 742,585 423,830
2020 1,202,733 772,642 430,091
2021 1,239,051 802,698 436,352
2022 1,275,369 832,755 442,614
9.2 Economic Analysis:

The economic analysis of the project was done with the inputs from saving due to travel time
reduction, reduction in CO2 emission and reduction in Vehicle Operating Costs. The discount
rate of 10% is taken as per the reference to KSUT report. The economic analysis of the project
shows that the EIRR is 9.941 % as a whole. The EIRR was calculated with over 10 years
including the construction period of two years Basic assumptions for the analysis remains the
same as for financial analysis. The revenues start to generate after the implementation, hence
there will be no revenues generation in first two years of implementation. However, there will be
capital cost as the interest on the infrastructure cost applies from the start of the project. The
EIRR value is slightly less than the discount rate, showing that the project is economically
infeasible.

Economic rate return on investment-USD
Years 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Total operating
Revenues 15,529,374 16,330,128 17,130,882 17,931,636 18,732,390 19,533,144 20,333,897 21,134,651
VOC 398,784 405,045 411,307 417,568 423,830 430,091 436,352 442,614
Time saving 810,291 852,072 893,854 935,636 977,417 1,019,199 1,060,981 1,102,762
CO2 341 382 427 473 522 573 626 682
Total Inflows - - 16,738,789 17,587,628 18,436,469 19,285,313 20,134,158 20,983,006 21,831,856 22,680,709
Total operating
and Capital
costs 2,361,374 4,722,747 9,512,838 9,512,838 9,512,838 9,512,838 9,512,838 9,512,838 9,512,838 9,512,838
Infrastructure
Costs 16,866,955 16,866,955
Vehicle Cost 10,500,000

Total
Investments 16,866,955 16,866,955 10,500,000 - - - - - - -
Total Outflows 19,228,328 21,589,702 20,012,838 9,512,838 9,512,838 9,512,838 9,512,838 9,512,838 9,512,838 9,512,838
Net Cash flow - 19,228,328 - 21,589,702 -3,274,049 8,074,790 8,923,631 9,772,475 10,621,320 11,470,168 12,319,018 13,167,871
Discount Rate 10%

Net Present Value - 118,703
EIRR 9.941%

9.3.1 Discussion:
The result shows that the Internal Rate of Return is slightly less than discount rate. However,
there are various factors that have been neglected in this case. They have been discussed below
1) Firstly, it has been assumed that BRT will only attract the people using public transport.
However, if the services are improved in public transport, there is a high chance that
there will be mode shift from private to public transport. This will effect in the operating
cost as well as overall revenues generations.
2) The fare has been taken constant at the present rate but, it might change over the time
period. Although we haven’t taken into consideration the inflation rate it might be
compensated by the increase fare price later on.
3) We have considered only three social benefits, however, there are other benefits too from
BRT implementations.
4) There will be reduction in local emissions with the introduction of improved and lesser
number of vehicles compared to the existing public vehicles. As it can be seen in the
context of CO2 emission, there will surely have a positive impact in local air pollution as
well.
5) There is also a possibility of reduction in number of accidents on the road, as it will
provide sufficient space for the pedestrians unlike the present scenario. Hence, it would
contribute in the social benefit of the project.
6) The noise pollution reduction is also one of the effect of the BRT system. As the number
of vehicles will be decreased, the noise pollution will surely go down.
Hence, even though with the present consideration, it might seems that the project is not
feasible but on the broader perspective, and analysing the project with other benefits, the
project can be feasible for sure.

9.4 Sensitivity Analysis:
The sensitivity analysis is carried on to determine effect of change in the critical variable of the
project. The sensitivity analysis is done for increase and decrease of 10% of estimated passenger
volume per day. This will affect the pphpd value as well for peak hour shown in Table 41. The
analysis was done to determine the effect of the change on IRR and NPV. In order to cope with
change in demand, the operational cost was changed accordingly and the effect can be seen in
the revenues collection as well. The change could be seen in the savings from travel time, CO2
emission reduction and VOC reduction as well. However, the infrastructure cost remains the
constant. The result of change in the demand can be seen in Table 42. The discount rate of 10%
is taken for all the cases.
Table 41: Change in pphpd value
Corridor Estimated pphpd in 10% Increase 10% decrease

2022 AD
I 3100 3400 2700
II 4000 4400 3500
Table 42: Sensitivity Analysis

Change in estimated FIRR EIRR NPV, US$
pphpd
10% decrease 8.705% -2,432,953
5.301% -8,538,396
0% 9.941% -118,703
6.57% - 6,685,018
10% increase 11.065% 2,266,436
7.738% -4,683,745
The sensitivity analysis of the change in demand shows that, the project is sensitive with
passenger demand estimates for sure. If the demand is less than projected then the revenues
generated will be less, and will surely effect the benefits from the project. Even though the
operating cost will be reduced but the infrastructure cost that has been invested will remain the
same. This will have a negative impact on the overall benefit of the project which will make the
project infeasible.
However, if the demand is increased by 10 % then it seems that the project will be more
beneficial, as the revenues collection will be more resulting in the positive result. However, it
can also effect the headway. The current headways are 3 minutes and 2.4 minutes in Corridor I
and Corridor II respectively. Hence if the demand is increased by 10% then the headway will be
decreased to 2.7 minutes and 2.2 minutes during peak hours. However, it is above 2 minutes and
seems to be quite practical.

Chapter 10: Conclusion and Recommendations
10.1 Introduction
Kathmandu is the fastest growing city in Nepal with a decadal population growth of 61.32% as
per CBS (CBS, 2012). The total urban population within Kathmandu Valley is around 1.5
million. (CBS, 2012). The population growth has influenced the land use pattern. The
population density is as high as 20,289 and 14,966 persons per square kilometres in Kathmandu
and Lalitpur urban area respectively. On the contrary, the average population density of Nepal is
1,381 persons per square kilometres. (CBS, 2012) The increase in population directly relates to
the need for improved infrastructure. The transport is one of the main sector that needs to be
improved. Apart from roads, public transport needs to be improved to cope with the growing
population in the city.
At present the Kathmandu Valley as a whole has a modal split of 28% of trips by public vehicles,
whereas 26 % by motorcycle, 4 % by car, the rest is by walking (JICA, 2012). Even though the
public transport plays an important role in urban transport, the quality has not improved much.
That is the reason that there has not been significant increase in the usage of public transport in
2011 from 1991. The public transport is mainly served by private sector. The private sector came
into existence since late 90s. Prior to that government used handle the urban transport with
Trolley buses and Sajha Yatayat. However, it went bankrupt and was revived recently under
Sajha Yatayat Cooperative since March 2013 (Sajha Yatayat, 2013). The urban transport
basically includes mini buses, micro buses and tempos (Safa tempos) operated by private sectors.
The main problem with the existing urban transport the quality of public transport. There is
shortage of fleet numbers, hence the vehicles are usually are overcrowded. The fleet in use are
mostly obsolete (JICA, 2012). There is no proper time tables followed by the operators. The
recently launched Sajha buses have tried to maintain the headway of about 15 minutes, but still
their service hasn’t been punctual. The traffic safety is an additional area of concern, there has
been cases of traffic accidents in the city. Even though serious accidents are in decreasing trend
but the number of accidents still remains the same. (Metropolitan Traffic Police , 2011)
10.2 BRT system and Corridor Selection

In order to cope with the increasing traffic demand, a new and improved mass transit system has
to be introduced. Bus Rapid Transit System is one of the popular mass transit system in
developing nations due to its low cost and equal effectiveness and efficiency as other mass
transit system. It has been observed that the BRT system is comparatively cheaper than LRT for
same passenger volume capacity (Wright & Hook, 2007:72). For developing nation like Nepal, it
can be an appropriate alternative. BRT system is described in bus rapid transit guidebook as a
bus based transit system of high quality delivering fast, comfortable and cost effective urban
mobility (Wright & Hook, 2007:11). The key features of BRT system are segregated bus ways,
effective operations, efficicent management and operations with good customer services. (Wright
& Hook, 2007)
The implementation of BRT system in Kathmandu requires the selection of suitable corridor.
The corridor has been selected from the Primary routes identified by KSUT project based upon
their traffic demand and their capacity to accommodate the type of vehicles. The main roads

have been termed as Primary routes (KSUT, 2010). There are four primary routes selected in the
working paper for pilot routes (Ingham, 2012), among them two have been selected as BRT
corridor. Even though the passenger volume per day and other criterias suggested that BRT
system can be implemented in Ring road as well, onlt two has been selected for further analysis.
There is an ongoing expansion project for Ring Road upto eight lanes,hence there might be some
improvement in the congestion and traffic situation after the construction. The selected two
corridor for the time being are Corridor I : Narayangopal Chowk – Satdobato 12.2 km and
Corridor II: Kalanki- Koteshwor 7.7 km.
10.3 BRT System Design Recommendations

The selected corridor have the passenger volume per day in both direction 80,000 in corridor I
and 128,000 in corridor II (Ingham, 2012). The passenger volume has been forecasted for year
2022 AD. The design value of pphpd is calculated to be 3100 and 4000 pphpd in corridor I and
Corridor II respectively with reference to data from JICA survey report and feasibility study of
Mass Transit system in Kathmandu valley.
The suitable solution of BRT selected in trunk and feeder connection services. Even though for
the demand in range of 2000 to 8000 pphpd, the direct services would have been appropriate but
connecting roads nearby the city are quite narrow and hence these BRT vehicles cannot enter
there. The right of way of the selected corridor is mostly 11m on from centre of the road. Hence,
suitable solution for narrow roads have been identified.
There are three most appropriate solutions, they are Median busway and single mixed traffic lane
(eg, Rouen, France), Fixed Guideway and Elongated stations (Wright & Hook, 2007). Among
the three, elongated station is selected as it helps to reduce the station width from 3 m to 2.5
meters.
BRT system will occupy the central verge of the roadway, rather than the curb lanes. Since the
roads are quite narrow, this will save some space. The system is recommended to have a level
platform at the station in order to accommodate around 5100 pphpd as mention earlier. The
ticketing system can be done board with the assitance of conductor for the system carrying 5100
pphpd. The system is recommended to have bus stations at an average distance of 500 m. Hence
the required number of bus stations will be 25 for Corridor I and 15 for Corridor II.
The articulated bus should be used in this case and the total number of buses required is fifty. In
case of corridor I, the total number of buses required is 26 and for corridor II it is 24 articulated
buses with a passenger capacity of 160.
The exclusive lanes with semi permeable barrier should be provided for the buses in order to
obtain the desired efficiency of the vehicle. This will ensure the separation of the BRT vehicle
from rest of the mixed traffic. Along with the vehicle priority at the intersections. The pedestrian
access to the central verge should be at grade with improved crosswalks instead of the pedestrian
overpasses.
The system is designed to have two terminals and depots adjacent to each other. It will also have
a control center and intermediate parking facility at the side of Corridor I. The improvement of
feeder structure is also important however, the cost for feeder infrastructure has not been
considered in the study. The detail study of the condition of feeder connections has to be done

for that. However, the immediate road connecting the trunk routes is Ring road, which is under
improvement.
10.4 Operation and Management

The operational and management task can be done with public private partnership. The
investment for the infrastructure has to be provided by Government and the operational cost has
to be borne by private sector. It is also necessary to have a constant coordination between the
parties. During the operation as well the various governmental agencies need to coordinate and
work at different execution level. There are various governmental agencies such as MoPPW,
DoR, DoTM, KMC and LMC and Traffic police whose involvement is necessary for the proper
execution and also in the operation of the project. The experience of non-governmental
organization such as Sajha yatayat cooperative can be used during the operations. They also need
to be involved in the project execution and operations later on. Hence a separate committee
should be formed which includes all the governmental and non-governmental organization
realted with the project for the management of the project.
10.5 Financial and Economic Analysis

The system designed is then analyzed financially for the total cost of project including the
infrastructure cost, capital cost, cost of fleets and operational cost with the fare revenues to be
collected from the system. The cost estimates is done based on the BRT cost calculator provided
by BRT guide, the cost reference for many items have been taken from BRT cost calculator
(ITDP, 2007). The cost provided is the average value for BRT system implemented in
developing nations. While some relevant values have been taken from KSUT project and
Hyderabad BRT prefeasibility study report as well. All the calculations have been done in US
dollars. The project is estimated to be completed in two years of implementations. The discount
rate of 10% has been taken with reference to KSUT project. The financial analysis shows that the
project is infeasible, the IRR value is 6.57% which is way below 10% discount rate. However
there are various assumptions made during the analysis which has influenced the result. The
mode shift from private to BRT system has not been considered, the inflation has not been
considered over the span of time and the fare has also been considered as constant over the
project period. These values might change within the project period, which will affect the value
of FIRR as well.
The economic analysis of the project has been done by considering the social benefits such as
savings in travel time, reduction in CO2 emissions and reduction in VOC by implementation of
BRT system. The economic analysis is done for 10 years with discount rate of 10%. The IRR
value is 9.941 % which is less than discount rate considered. There are other benefits too that
will occur after BRT system is implemented such as reduction in local air pollutions, reductions
in noise pollutions, reduction in the traffic accidents and etc. These benefits have not been
considered which might have influenced the result.

10.6 Sensitivity Analysis
The sensitivity analysis of the project is done with the change in passenger volume by 10%
decrease and increase from the estimated value. The sensitivity analysis show that the project
becomes economically feasible when the passenger volume is increased by 10 % and it can also
cater the demand. However, if the passenger volume decreases than the projected value then the
project will incur more losses.
However, it can also effect the headway. The current headways are 3 minutes and 2.4 minutes in
Corridor I and Corridor II respectively. Hence if the demand is increased by 10% then the
headway will be decreased to 2.7 minutes and 2.2 minutes during peak hours. However, it is
above 2 minutes and seems to be quite practical.
10.7 Conclusions
The prefeasibility analysis of the BRT system for two selected corridors for Kathmandu city
suggests that technically it is possible to implement BRT system with the forecasted passenger
volume. However, based on financial and economic analysis the project seems to be infeasible or
unprofitable. The analysis shows that the BRT system can resolve the increasing traffic demand
in those corridors. During the analysis, various assumptions have been made, which has
influenced in the result of financial and economic analysis. The following points highlights the
key points of the study:
1) BRT system can be implemented in the selected corridors as its estimated traffic demand
is more than 2000 pphpd.
2) BRT system with articulated bus with on board ticketing with conductor and level
platform at bus station is enough for the projected demand.
3) The system will have a headway of 3min and 2.4 min in Corridor II and Corridor I at
peak hour for 2022 AD.
4) Elongated stations, terminals, depots and control centre are required the BRT
infrastructure required.
5) The BRT system need to address the problem which will arise while replacing the present
transport operators.
6) Since the BRT system requires a segregated lane for BRT vehicles strong traffic rules
implementation is necessary.
7) The operation and management of the project can be done by public private partnership.
The government can invest in infrastructure and operation can be handled by private
partners. However, there should be proper coordination between the organisations.
8) The financial analysis shows that the system is not feasible as the internal rate of return is
less than that of discount rate. It might require government subsidy to sustain. However,
there might be various considerations that have been taken might have played the role.
9) In case of economic analysis, there are various benefits that will occur after BRT system
implementation that has not been considered. The economic analysis done on the base of
three benefits shows that the project is unprofitable.
10) The sensitivity analysis done with change in passenger volume shows that the increase by
10 % will make it profitable economically.

10.8 Recommendations
For the further feasibility study of the project following points are recommended to be
considered.
1) The main assumptions made during the analysis is that all public vehicles will be
replaced by BRT vehicles and it will only influence the passengers using public
vehicles. The modal shift has not been considered. It is recommended to check the
system with possible modal shift which might occur due to BRT system.
2) The detail of the feeder connections have not been considered in the study, it is
recommended to do detail feeder connections analysis in the further study.
3) It is recommended to do the detail analysis of cost factor to carry on the feasibility study
of the project. For preliminary study, cost estimates has been taken with average values
of existing BRT system implemented in developing countries.
4) The financial analysis also shows that the project is financially infeasible. However, there
are certain factors that might have influenced the result. The rates has been considered
from the average value for developing nations which might not be same for context of
Nepal, further the inflation rate and change in fare rates over time has not been
considered as well. It is recommended to take these into considerations during the
feasibility study.
5) The economic analysis also shows that the project is economically infeasible. However,
there are other social benefits too from the system such as reduction in local air
pollutions, noise pollutions, traffic safety which has not been taken into consideration
for this analysis. It is recommended to take into factors such as reduction in local air
pollutions, noise pollutions, traffic safety and others during the feasibility study of the
system to have a real impact of the project.

References
Bank, W., 2013. World bank. [Online] Available at:
http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/NY.GDP.PCAP.CD [Accessed 15 November 2013].
CBS, 2012. National Population and Housing Census 2011 (National Report), Kathmandu:
National Planning Commission Secretariat.
Dhakal, S., 2006. Urban Transportation and the Environment In Kathmandu valley, Nepal,
Kathmandu: Institute for Global Environmental Strategies (IGES), Japan.
DOR, 1988. Nepal Road Standards (First Revision), Kathmandu: Department of Roads.
DOR, 2012. Improvement Project of Kathamndu Ring Road, Kathmandu:
DOR, 2012. Statistics Of Strategic Road Network SSRN 2011/12. Kathmandu: HMIS Unit,
Department of Roads.
DoTM, 2012. Department of Transport Managemnt. [Online] Available at:
http://www.dotm.gov.np/[Accessed 14 November 2013].
DOTM, 2013. Department of Transport Management. [Online] Available at:
http://www.dotm.gov.np/en/page/56/57/[Accessed 23 October 2013].
Edusanjal, 2013. Edusanjal. [Online] Available at: http://edusanjal.com/blog/2013/08/salary-of-
government-officials-of-nepal[Accessed 15 November 2013].
Esc-pau, 2011. www.esc-pau.fr. [Online]
Available at: http://www.esc-pau.fr/ppp/documents/featured_projects/colombia_bogota.pdf
[Accessed 15 November 2013].
European Commission, 2008. IMPACT: Internalisation Measures and Polices for All external
Cost of Transport, , Brussels:
Ingham, D., 2012. Working paper for Pilot Routes, Kathmandu: MPPWTM.
ITDP, 2005. Pre-Feasibility Study for Bus Rapid Transit Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh ,
Hyderabad: US Agency for International Development.
ITDP, 2007. Institute for Transport and Development Policy. [Online] Available at:
http://www.itdp.org/library/publications/details/brt-planning-guide-infrastructure-cost-calculator
Jha, P. K., 2001. Transport Sector Technical Inspection System In Nepal. Bangkok, Global
Initiative on Transport Emissions.
JICA, 2012. Data Collection Survey on Traffic Improvement In Kathmandu Valley Final Report,
Kathmandu: Departments of Roads, Nepal.
Korea Transport Institution, Chungsuk Engineering Company, Kunwa Consulting and
Engineering Company, Korea Rail Network Authority, BDA Nepal Private Limited and EMRC
Private Limited, 2012. Feasibility Study on Mass Rapid Transit (Underground and Elevated
Railway System in Kathmandu Valley, Kathmandu: Departments of Railway.
KSUT, 2010. Final Report, Kathmandu: MoPPW Nepal/ADB.

KSUTa, 2010. Final Report Annex, Kathmandu: MoPPW Nepal/ADB.
KVTDC, 2007. Building by Laws for Kathmandu Valley, Kathmandu: KVTDC.
Levinson, H. et al., 2003. Bus Rapid Transit, Volume I: Case studies in bus rapid transit,
Washington, US: TCRP.
Matsumoto, N., 2006. Analysis Of Policy Processes To Introduce Bus Rapid Transit Systems In
Asian Cities From The Perspective Of Lesson-Drawing: Cases Of Jakarta, Seoul, And Beijing,
Kanagawa, Japan: Institute for Global Environmental Strategies.
Metropolitan Traffic Police , 2011. Nepal Traffic Police. [Online] Available at:
http://traffic.nepalpolice.gov.np/traffic-activities/annually-accidental-descriptions.html[Accessed
27 October 2013].
MoPPW, 2012. Ministry of Physical Infrastructure and Transport. [Online] Available at:
http://www.moppw.gov.np/[Accessed 14 11 2013].
Nepalnews, 2013. Nepalnews. [Online]Available at:
http://www.nepalnews.com/archive/2013/feb/feb10/news16.php[Accessed 19 November 2013].
Nepal Rastra Bank, 2013. Foreign Exchange Rates. [Online] Available at:
http://www.nrb.org.np/fxmexchangerate1.php [Accessed 11 November 2013].
Nepal Rastra Bank, 2013. Foreign Exchange Rates. [Online] Available at:
http://www.nrb.org.np/fxmexchangerate1.php [Accessed 11 November 2013].
Rabenau, H., 2012. Class Notes on Project Planing and Appraisal SS 2012. Stuttgart:.
Rimal, B., 2011. Application of Remote Sensing And GIS, Land Use/ Land Cover Change In
Kathmandu Metropolitan City, Nepal. Journal of Theoretical and Applied Information
Technology.
Rimal, B., 2012. [Online] Available at:
http://www.geospatialworld.net/Paper/Application/ArticleView.aspx?aid=1431
Sajha Yatayat, 2013. Sajha Yatayat. [Online] Available at: http://sajhayatayat.com.np/ [Accessed
14 November 2013].
Smith, G. C.-., 2011. Cost/Benefit Analysis of Converting A Lane for Bus Rapid Transit-Phase II
Evaluation and Methodology, s.l.: National Cooperative Highway Research Program.
The World Bank Group, 2011. The World Bank. [Online] Available at:
http://go.worldbank.org/FF0CT8M770 [Accessed 15 November 2013].
The World Bank, 2005. Transport Notes, Notes on the Economic Evauation of Transport
Projects, Wahington DC: The World Bank.
Udas, S., 2012. Public Transport Quality Survey, Kathmandu: Clean Air Network Nepal.
Word bank, 2013. World Data Bank. [Online] Available at: www.worldbank.org
Wright, L., 2003. Sustainable Transport: A Sourcebook for Policy- makers in Developing Cities
Module 3b: Bus Rapid Transit, Eschborn: GTZ.
Wright, L. & Fjellstrom, K., 2003. Mass transit options, Germany: GTZ.

Wright, L. & Hook, W., 2007. Bus Rapid Transit Guide. 3rd ed. New York: Institute for
Transportation & Development Policy.
Yatayat, S., 2013. Sajha Yatayat. [Online] Available at: http://sajhayatayat.com.np/ [Accessed 23
October 2013].

Appendix I
Annex 1Cities with BRT System as of March 2007 (Source: (Wright & Hook, 2007:15)
Continent Country Cities with BRT systems
China Beijing, Hangzhou, Kunming

India Pune
Asia Indonesia Jakarta
Japan Nagoya
South Korea Seoul
Taiwan Taipei
Caen, Clermont Ferrand, Lyon, Nancy, Paris,

France Rouen, Toulouse
Europe
Netherlands Amsterdam, Eindhoven, Utrecht
UK Bradford, Crawley, Edinburgh, Leeds

Germany Essen
Brazil Curitiba, Goiania, Porto Alegre, Sao Paulo

Chile Santiago
Latin America and
Columbia Bogota, Pereira
Caribbean
Ecuador Quito, Guayaquil
Guatemala Guatemala City
Mexico Leon, Mexico city
Canada Ottawa
North America
Boston, Eugene, Los Angeles, Miami.
United States Miami-Dade, Orland, Pittsburgh
Oceania Australia Adelaide, Brisbane, Sydney

Appendix II
Annex 2 List of Existing Valley Routes Source: (KSUT, 2010 : 26)
Route No Route Description
1 Old Bus Park -Singhdurbar-New Baneswor-Tinkune-Airport-Gaushala-Chabhil-Gopikrishna-

Sukedhara-Narayan Gopal Chowk-Samakhusi-Kathmandu Bus Park Terminal –Reverse
2 Old Bus Park -Singhdurbar-New Baneswor-Tinkune-Airport-Gaushala-Chabhil-Bauddha-
Jorpati- Maitidevi-Putali Sadak-Ghantaghar-Reverse
4 Old Bus Park-Singhdurbar-New Baneswor-Tinkune-Airport-Gaushala-Chabhil-Bauddha-Jorpati-
Maitidevi-Putali Sadak-Ghantaghar-Gokarna-Saakhu-Reverse
5 Old Bus Park-Shahidgate-Bir Hospital-Jamal-Keshar Mahal-Lazimpat-Narayan Gopal Chowk-
Hattigauda-Budanilkantha-Reverse
7 Old Bus Park-Singh Durbar-Maitighar-New Baneswor-Tinkune-Koteswor-Bhaktapur- Reverse
9 Old Bus Park-Singh Durbar-Maitighar-New Baneswor-Tinkune-Koteswor-Bhaktapur- Reverse
10 Old Bus Park-Singh Durbar-Maitighar-New Baneswor-Tinkune-Koteswor-Thimi-Dhadhikot-

Reverse
11 Old Bus Park-Singh Durbar-Maitighar-New Baneswor-Tinkune-Koteswor-Thimi-Nalin Chowk-
Banepa-Panauti-Reverse
12 Old Bus Park-Singh Durbar-Maitighar-New Baneswor-Tinkune-Koteswor-Thimi-Nalin Chowk-
Banepa-Reverse
14 Old Bus Park-Singh Durbar-Maitighar-Kopundole-Jawalakhel-Lagankhel-Godabari-Dhapakel-
Chapagaun-Dhungen-Lele-Tika Bhairab-Reverse
19 Old Bus Park-Shahidgate-Tripureswor-Kalanki-Swayambhu-Kathmandu Bus Park Terminal –
Reverse
20 Old Bus Park-Shahidgate-Tripureswor-Kalanki-Thankot Check Post-Reverse
21 Old Bus Park-Kalimati-Swayambhu-Kathmandu Bus Park Terminal-Reverse
22 Old Bus Park-Shahidgate-Tripureswor-Kalimati-Balkhu-Chobhar-Dakshinkali-Reverse
23 Old Bus Park-Shahidgate-Bir Hospital-Jamal-Kesharmahal-Lainchaur-Kathmandu Bus Park
Terminal-Boharatar-Mudkhu-Reverse
26 Old Bus Park-Shahidgate-Bir Hospital-Jamal-Kesharmahal-Lainchaur-Naxal-JayaNepal-
Ghantaghar-Singhdurbar-Maitighar-Kopundole-Patandhoka-Reverse
27 Old Bus Park-Shahidgate-Bir Hospital-Jamal-Durbarmarg-JayNepal-Bishalnagar-Chappal
Karkhana-Reverse

Appendix III
Annex 3: Selection of Corridors Source (Ingham, 2012)
Existing
Passenger Transport Roadway
Road Name Directional Split Economic Linkages Operators in
Volume / day Linkages Geometry
corridor
Ring Road 27.3 106,000 North of Non-directional. Balaju Industrial Estate Extensive linkages Generally 2 8 Minibus &
km Kalanki to Airport and road lanes with Microbus
based terminals as limited operators run the
follows: portions 4 whole route.
98,000 at Balaju This is a circular Patan Industrial Estate · Kalanki lanes. Many operators
107000 between route requiring Swayambunath & · Sitapalia use portions of the
Sinamangal & separate services per Pashupati temples route. Ave 5-6
Tinkune direction microbus and
92000 Manahara Commercial hubs at · Shwayambunath minibus routes on
Bridge Kalanki, Gongabu, any section.
73000 between Maharajganj, Chabahil · Gongabu
Ekantakuna & & Koteshwor · New Bus Park
Balkhu
· Samakhusi
· Chapal Karhana
· Sinamangal
· Koteshwor
· Gwarko
· Satdobato
· Bagdole
· Balkhu

Narayan Gopal 66000 Northern and High concentration of Terminals at both Generally 4 Northern section:
chowk- (Lazimpat) – Southern portions of Commercial activity southern route end: lanes, with 4 Minibus, 2
Ekantakuna and 80000 the route have all along route,Satdobato & northern and Micro, 1 Tempo.
satdobato 10km (Pulchowk) opposite directional including City Centre. Lagankhel southern
+ 2.2 km spur to flows, both inbound extremities 2
Satdobato to City Centre in lanes
AM and outbound in Southern section:
PM Institutional hubs of 2 Minibus, 1
Harihar Bhawan, Micro, 2 Tempo.
SIngha Durbar,
Panipokhari and Mid route at NAC &
Maharajganj. Old Bus Park
Tourist / cultural area No existing terminal
of Royal Palace on northern route
directly served end.
Kalanki – 124,000 – Eastern and High concentration of Existing terminals at 4 Lanes Western
Koteshwor 7.7 128,000 Western portions of Commercial activity both route ends: section: 5
km the route have all along route. Minibus, 7
opposite directional Micro, 1
flows, both inbound Tempo.
to City Centre in Close proximity to Kalanki & Eastern
AM institutional area of Koteshwor section: 10
and outbound in PM Singha Durbar. Minibus, 6
Micro, 2
Tempo.
Mid route at New
Baneshwor

Balaju – 30,000 (Rato Cross city, avoiding Balaju Industrial Estate Airport. Generally 2 Northern
Airport Pul crossing of CBD. Moderately Commercial activity in Road terminal on lanes, with section: 1
7.0 km Dhobi Khola) – directional Naya western end only: 1km Minibus, 9
48,000 Bazaar & Sorhakhutte. Gongabu & New Pashupati Micro,
(Bishnumati Proximity to tourist Bus Road 1.5 Eastern
Bridge at area of Thamel. Park lanes section: 1
Balaju) Minibus, 1
Micro,

Appendix IV
Calculation of pphpd in 2022
1. Method II:
The passenger volume / day in corridor 1 and corridor 2 for year 2022 is estimated to be 128,800
and 206,080 respectively. For estimation of pphpd for each corridor, peak hour factor has to be
calculated. In the absence of the exact values, the peak hour factor was calculated from the
survey done by KSUT Consultant. The peak hour values observed in 11 different location in
Kathmandu city for public transport were as shown in Table 43. So, taking an average of these
values, it comes as high as 13.33% of AADT for peak. Hence, we can have 2.22% of AADT for
peak value per hour as shown in table below.
Table 43: Peak, Off peak and AADT

Peak
Peak factor
Total
Vehicle Total Off Average Total factor ( per
AADT passengers
Type Peak Peak occupancy passengers for 6 hour
in peak
hours) of
total
Motorcycle 50954 178648 297747
Car 9168 38708 64513
Taxi 3745 15810 26351
Utility 4046 17783 29638
Big Bus 190 1388 2314 33 6283 76516
Mini Bus 1371 6443 10738 26 36149 283125
Micro bus 2470 10892 18153 14 34498 253537 13.33% 2.22%
Safa
1818 5828 9714 9 16786 89693
Tempos
Heavy
50 829 1382
Truck
Light
45 827 1378
Truck
(Source: KSUT Report 77, 90)
If we consider these values, then the pphpd will be as follows in both the corridors.
Table 44: pphpd in 2022 by Method II
Corridor Passenger Volume in pphpd in

2022 2022
1: Narayangopal Chowk - Satdobato 128,800 2862
2: Koteshwor- Kalanki 206,080 4580

Appendix V
Calculation of Vehicles in absence of BRT
From the survey conducted in the intersections in Kathmandu city, it is seen that three important
vehicles in public transport are Mini buses, Micro buses and Safa tempos. From the data of the
survey, we can derive the following modal share among the public transport. (KSUT, 2010, p.
190)
Table 45: Public Transport Modal Split

Public Transport AADT Average Vehicle Modal Split
Occupancy
Mini Bus 13052 26 50%
Micro bus 18153 14 37%
Safa Tempos 9714 9 13%
Hence the required number of Vehicles in absence and presence of BRT is as follows:
Table 46: Vehicles Projection with and without BRT system
Year Without BRT With BRT

Mini buses Microbuses Safa Tempo BRT Vehicles
2015 96 136 71 33
2016 102 144 75 35
2017 107 152 79 38
2018 113 159 83 40
2019 118 167 87 43
2020 123 174 91 45
2021 129 182 95 48
2022 134 190 99 50

Appendix VI
Calculation of the CO2 emission:
Without BRT system:
CO2 emission without BRT system, it is assumed that most of vehicles use then will be
microbuses and mini buses. In respect of the existing composition with 37% of microbuses with
15 seats and mini buses with 50 % with occupancy for 25 passengers and 13 % of safa tempos
with occupancy of 9 passengers in general. Then mileage of similar vehicles will be 12.6l/100km
and 15 l/100km respectively.
Table 47: Calculation of Co2 emission in 2015 without BRT system
Passenge Mini Microbuses Safa Total Total Fuel Fuel used CO2
rs per day buses Tempo distance distance used in in US gal emission
travelled travelled lit in Kg
by Mini by Micro
buses in a buses in a
year year
Corridor I 2200 42 59 31 913,175 1,291,049 299,648 79,203 798,682
Corridor II 2900 55 77 40 759,732 1,074,110 249,298 65,894 664,477
Total 96 136 71 1,463,160
CO2 emission g/US gal of Diesel 10,084.00

(KSUT, 2010, p. 138)
Table 48:CO2 emission by BRT

2015 No of buses Fuel used in CO2 emission in
US gal Kg
Corridor I 2200 14 57,184 576,642
Corridor II 2900 19 48,981 493,927
Total 33 1,070,569
It has been assumed that the Fuel consumption for BRT vehicle is 18.6litre/100 km. (Wright &
Hook, 2007, p. 580)
Similar Calculation were done for other years too shown in Table 49.

Table 49: CO2 emission Difference
Year CO2 emission Difference CO2 in MT
Without BRT in MT With BRT in
MT
2015 1463 1071 393
2016 1546 1124 421
2017 1629 1178 450
2018 1711 1232 479
2019 1794 1286 508
2020 1877 1340 536
2021 1959 1394 565
2022 2042 1448 594

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Universität Stuttgart

November 21st, 2013

Masterstudiengang Infrastructure Planning

Prefeasibility Study of Bus Rapid Transit System in Kathmandu City 1

Prof. Dr.-Ing. Markus Friedrich

Prof. Dr. Frank C. Englmann

Prefeasibility Study of Bus Rapid Transit System in Kathmandu City 2

Name: Kesha Shrestha

Prefeasibility Study of Bus Rapid Transit System in Kathmandu City 3

I would also express my sincere gratitude to governmental and non-governmental

Prefeasibility Study of Bus Rapid Transit System in Kathmandu City 4

Prefeasibility Study of Bus Rapid Transit System in Kathmandu City 5

Prefeasibility Study of Bus Rapid Transit System in Kathmandu City 6

Prefeasibility Study of Bus Rapid Transit System in Kathmandu City 7

Prefeasibility Study of Bus Rapid Transit System in Kathmandu City 8

Prefeasibility Study of Bus Rapid Transit System in Kathmandu City 9

Prefeasibility Study of Bus Rapid Transit System in Kathmandu City 10

Prefeasibility Study of Bus Rapid Transit System in Kathmandu City 11

Table 1: Land Use Statistic of Kathmandu City 1976-2009

Years 1976 1989 2001 2009

Landuse Type km2 % km2 % km2 % km2 %

Urban/Builtup 10.90 16.85 17.70 27.35 27.60 42.66 43.10 66.61

Total 64.70 100 64.70 100.00 64.70 100.00 64.70 100.00

Source: (Rimal, 2011)

Prefeasibility Study of Bus Rapid Transit System in Kathmandu City 1

 To review existing transport situation

Prefeasibility Study of Bus Rapid Transit System in Kathmandu City 2

1.3 Methodology and Limitations

Prefeasibility Study of Bus Rapid Transit System in Kathmandu City 3

1.4 Thesis Structure

Prefeasibility Study of Bus Rapid Transit System in Kathmandu City 4

Prefeasibility Study of Bus Rapid Transit System in Kathmandu City 5

2.2 Vehicles Registered

Prefeasibility Study of Bus Rapid Transit System in Kathmandu City 6

2,001 710 2,649 22,852 782 26,993 179,155

2.3 Modal Split

Prefeasibility Study of Bus Rapid Transit System in Kathmandu City 7

Travel Mode Number of Trips Percentage

Walk 1,398,378 41%

(Source: JICA, 2012 : 6-11)

Prefeasibility Study of Bus Rapid Transit System in Kathmandu City 8

2.4.1 Means of Public transport

Mini buses 2,818

Microbuses ( Indonesian Blue) 300

Safa tempos 603

Gas Tempos 8601

Prefeasibility Study of Bus Rapid Transit System in Kathmandu City 9

2.4.1.d Taxis and rickshaws:

Prefeasibility Study of Bus Rapid Transit System in Kathmandu City 10

2.4.2 Fares Structure:

Table 5: Fares Structure

2.4.3 Route Network:

Prefeasibility Study of Bus Rapid Transit System in Kathmandu City 11

2.4.4 Problem with existing bus services:

2.6 Safety and Traffic Enforcement

Prefeasibility Study of Bus Rapid Transit System in Kathmandu City 12

Prefeasibility Study of Bus Rapid Transit System in Kathmandu City 13

Table 6: Number of traffic accidents in Kathmandu valley

S. No Fiscal Year Fatality Serious Accident Normal Accident

1 2004/2003 86 471 1894

(Source: Metropolitan Traffic Police, 2011)

Prefeasibility Study of Bus Rapid Transit System in Kathmandu City 14

Prefeasibility Study of Bus Rapid Transit System in Kathmandu City 15