Mass transit systems are a public sector responsibility. But the current government thinking seems to be limited to opening up space for competition among private players.Surely opening up the monopolized space for more private players—by effectively stamping out the notorious transport syndicates—will bring about some improvement. But it won’t solve the bigger problem of the lack of common standards, uniformity and reliability. And leaving only the private sector to operate transport services will not result in a reliable mass transit system—a hallmark of any great city. Ease of mobility—both daytime and nighttime—is an important factor that determines the quality of life in big cities.
Examples from other great cities show that public transport has to be operated under a public private partnership (PPP) model for it to be reliable and sustainable. This requires a clear legal framework and a designated public entity for each city or town to regulate the standards, quality of services, frequency and cost.
We can draw lessons from the experiences of Delhi, Colombo or Bangkok for reorganizing Kathmandu’s mass transit system. But London—though not exactly a similar context—offers the best template for replication. Transport for London (TfL), a local government body responsible for public transport in the greater London area, is both a regulator and an operator. It provides transport services through wholly owned subsidiary companies, private sector franchisees and licensees.
For Nepal, the first step in this direction could be the creation of a high-powered mass transit authority for Kathmandu Valley. This can be replicated in other cities in subsequent phases. This body can serve purely as a regulator for issuing licenses and defining routes, schedules and pricing. Or it can also double as a service provider operating its own fleet of buses and other modes of transport alongside private operators.
The TfL template can be modified to fit our context. Let’s say that the government creates a Kathmandu Valley transport authority empowering it to work both as a regulator and an operator. Current transport entrepreneurs could then be asked to organize themselves into three or four large companies. It would be ideal if the authority sets up a one-door ticketing and fare collection system for all forms of public transport, excluding taxis.
Private sector operators would work through a tender system—where they bid for set routes and frequency for a five-year period—which would include a provision for adjusting inflation so as to ensure profitability for the private actors. This would allow commuters to buy single rides or daily, weekly or monthly passes. The ticketing system would basically be an improvement on (and consolidation of) the system currently implemented by Sajha Yatayat for its fleet.
Once the buses and taxis are reorganized, the transport authority can set its sight on other modes of mass transit.
Bus rapid transit
Bus rapid transits (BRT) have proven to be an easy way to improve mass transit in cities that do not have resources or favorable conditions for metro rails and trams. They are easy to implement and relatively inexpensive. They have exclusive right of way—through dedicated lanes—similar to that of metros and trams. Now they can be operated by a subsidiary company run by the transport authority or by a new public company involving Sajha, which already has significant investment from local governments.
In the first phase, they could be operated along the Ring Road, Saatdobato-Narayan Gopal chowk and Surya Binayak-Ratnapark routes, as these have wide roads for dedicated lanes. This would require categorizing roads into primary, secondary and tertiary routes and phasing out tempos, micros and minibuses from the primary routes.
The Kathmandu Sustainable Urban Transportation Project, funded by the Asian Development Bank and the Global Environment Facility, had tried to work on some of these reforms. But lack of cooperation from transport syndicates and absence of political will stymied the initiative.
Improving public transport is possible only if there is a dedicated entity empowered with a clear legal and operational framework. Piecemeal approaches may lead to some improvements, but without a major overhaul, they will only bring cosmetic changes that won’t incentivize commuters to leave their private vehicles at home. As a 2012 JICA study shows, only 28 percent of the 3.6 million daily rides in the Valley are made using public transport.
Parajuli is a Kathmandu-based journalist with an interest in public policies
