essay on poor public bus service in nepal

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The problem with buses in Nepal

A popular proverb describes the local bus services in Bogota, Columbia: ‘la guerra del centavo’ which can roughly be translated into English as ‘the penny war’. It signifies the unhealthy competition between public transportation service providers that would kill hundreds of people every year in accidents caused by buses scrabbling to collect passengers. The cause of this war was old-fashioned, disorganised, unregulated and inefficient method of service in public transportation. Since the drivers of public buses made their living from the fare collected from the passenger, they used to fight with each other for every passenger in the road, resulting in unsafe driving and unreliable service. Returning home, to our capital city Kathmandu, we see a similar war occurring, seriously degrading our public transportation sector. But perhaps we can find a solution to ameliorate the chaotic traffic system. In this article, I will focus primarily on the root cause of unmanaged/chaotic transportation service in town, which resembles the penny war, and the effects of this chaos on the larger system.

Almost a year ago, after the government of Nepal announced the termination of the syndicate system of public transportation, one new private company entered this sector with big promises in one popular route and established itself on that route with the help of the administration and the public. The promises this company made were things like free wi-fi and television on-board; free services for the elderly and people with disabilities; exclusive seats for pregnant mothers, women, the aged; competitive fares; timely services; an efficient ticket system; and friendly behaviour from their staff. It has barely been a year, and almost all of the above-mentioned promises have been left unfulfilled. Even worse, the bus company has contracted out their buses to their ‘staff’ on a daily basis and the staff pay some amount to bus company and, in return, can run the buses as they like. The result is irregular and irresponsible bus service. Regular maintenance is rare, resulting in frequent stoppages and stranded passengers.

Other public transportation service providers are no better; all are engaged in this war. Oversupply during the day-time means that the streets are jam-packed with small, low capacity buses filled with exhausted passengers. At the same time, the sporadic presence of public vehicles during early hours and late nights means that many people are limited in their travel. The fare collection system, moreover, is informal; tickets are non-existent. The root cause of the penny war is this poor fare collection system with no record of how much tariff is collected by the conductor. The more fare they collect, the more the cut of the conductor and driver is. This then leads to unhealthy and risky competition. Extreme rivalry leads to dangerous driving, as they compete to reach the next stop as fast as possible to get passengers. Stops are congested as buses wait there until they are over capacity, or a competing vehicle arrives. This motivates drivers to disrespect time schedules, if there are any, and stop anywhere a prospective passenger may be. Drivers drive zigzag and stop as they wish on the road leading to disturbances for fellow drivers, which could cause long traffic jams or accidents.

Boarding and alighting off the bus is dangerous in such a scenario; sometimes passengers have to get in and out of moving vehicles. The safety of the passengers and other vehicles is compromised. In extreme cases, if the passenger numbers are low, the conductor orders all riders to get off the bus. In short, the penny war has caused unsafe driving, high accident rates, and the maltreatment of commuters, among other terrible consequences. Our streets have been the battlefield of public buses—and daily commuters are being crushed in that fight regularly.

An improvement in the quality of public buses is impossible as long as this penny war continues. The amelioration of this war depends upon the capability of institutions that oversee, manage and regulate this sector. The existing organisation, with the current intuitional and legal arrangements, is not capable of doing this huge task. There is also the need for a form of mass rapid transit system, which will provide efficient and reliable service through reduced travel times, wider networks, exclusive right-of-way infrastructure, efficient fare collection systems, and faster boarding and disembarking methods.

The mayor of Bogota, Enrique Penalosa ended their penny war with the introduction of transmilenio, an efficient and cost-effective new bus transport system which alleviated congestion and reduced air pollutionin the city. As its name suggest this was the system designed with the aim of satisfying the mobility need of the people of new millennium and it actually fulfilled its promise. According to the Centre for Public Impact, transmilenio users are saving an average of 223 hours annually; travel time is reduced by 32 percent; 9 percent of its commuters are new users who used to commute by cars; deaths, injuries and robberies on buses are reduced by 92 percent, 75 percent and 83 percent respectively; and air pollution has decreased by 40 percent. Transmilenio is a bus rapid transit (BRT) system where both the public and private sectors share responsibility for the delivery of public transportation. As transport researcher Alan Gilbert (2007) suggested, transmilenio was a ‘miracle cure’ for Bogota’s public transportation.

It is a pity that neither the new proposal being discussed at the Cabinet nor the new legislation just passed by Kathmandu Metropolitan City regarding transportation mention the BRT system. They are engaged in small scale changes such as the colour coding of buses, stopping only at stations etc. which were already in place but could not solve the problems in the sector. There is no doubt that introduction of a mass rapid transit system in some form is inevitable.

Smaller vehicles and organisations are being displaced by larger vehicles and institutions globally. There are many technological and institutional options available today regarding mass rapid transit. But, unfortunately, our concerned agencies and policy makers are completely out of the loop and are making policies without being informed about the appropriate technology and organisational setting for urban public transportation. They are so enamoured of dreams of metro and mono rail that they have failed to look at examples of other developing cities that have successfully implemented bus rapid transit systems-which are rail-like in efficiency but bus-like in cost.

Timalsina tweets at @lonelybidur

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Public transport in Nepal: What are real problems? What’s the solution?

In the context of Nepal, public transportation remained the most basic means of mobilisation for the majority of the population. Road transportation plays a vital role in Nepal as it is rapidly increasing with the growing urbanisation.

As the National Action Plan for Electric Mobility reported, more than 90 per cent of the total domestic movement of goods and passengers in Nepal depends on public road transportation. However, various studies and my own personal experiences reflected that the existing quality and the system of road transportation have not been passenger-friendly. Yet, the latest scenario indicates that concerned authorities and stakeholders have not been aware of promoting the existing quality of road transportation.

As a result, public transport has become the most problematic and challenging means of transportation. On the other hand, such serious issues of transportation have not become the major agenda of politicians during and after the elections.

So, how can these issues be dealt with? Is not there any prospect?

Mismanagement in public transportation

I observed and experienced in both local and long-route journeys on public transport vehicles various problems related to mismanagement of the in-bus environment and disturbances in the journey from the outside, particularly created by the poor condition of the road .

I remember hearing loud music, crowded passengers even having no space for proper standing, ongoing debates with passengers while collecting fare , and often impolite language of bus staff just to name a few.

They reflect how the rights of passengers of having comfortable, luxurious, healthy, and secure journeys have been ignored and the regulatory mechanism of the government of Nepal has become less effective. As a result, it has become a profit-making mechanism rather than a service provider to the public.

It is obvious that there has not been a lack of rules for regulating the public transport sector. However, there has been a problem in the implementation of such rules. The most challenging aspect is that there have been syndicates and trade unions related to various political parties, which directly and indirectly are responsible to create such an unmanageable situation.

Exploitation of passengers

Moreover, a peer-reviewed research article claims that the syndicate/cartel system of Nepali public transport has become a great means for transporters to exploit passengers. This clearly suggests public transport in Nepal has not been secure and passenger-friendly.

In addition, the study by Prajapati et al.(2019) , conducted in the Kathmandu valley, reported that limited infrastructure of transport and rapid growth of private vehicles spoiled the quality of the pick-hour journey and further brought tremendous challenges related to transport such as pollution, congestion, and accidents to name a few.

That has ultimately become an obstacle to establishing a passenger-friendly public transport system. This further indicates that new strategies and strong regulatory mechanisms need to be maintained to modify the sector to address the rights and maintain a passenger-friendly environment.

The solution

Keeping a passenger-friendly environment in public transportation not only encourages the passengers to use their time for creative activities but also contributes to their perception of the short duration of their journey time. For instance, a study by Watts and Urry (2008) says travel time can be minimised by filling various activities and enjoyments in the journey such as interaction with other passengers, utilising wireless networks, sight scenes etc, and it gets reflected in passengers’ psychological experiences.

Overall, the passengers should get an opportunity to utilise their time involving themselves in certain useful activities without being disturbed on their journey.

Although many attempts were made and a number of luxurious buses were added, the overall condition of the public transport system in Nepal has remained almost the same. Many roads were made and are under construction. However, the focus on transforming and making a healthy passenger-friendly environment has been ignored.

The road transportation system can be more fruitful for both the passengers and the transportation service providers if the quality of roads can be improved, implementing a strict regulatory system, modernising public transportation, and adding the latest facilities such as an online payment system (for those who can).

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Ghimire is an MPhil scholar at Nepal Open University.

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The Official Journal of the Pan-Pacific Association of Input-Output Studies (PAPAIOS)

• Open access
• Published: 08 December 2022

How strong is demand for public transport service in Nepal? A case study of Kathmandu using a choice-based conjoint experiment

• Tulsi Ram Aryal 1 ,
• Masaru Ichihashi   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-1707-7659 2 &
• Shinji Kaneko 2  

Journal of Economic Structures volume  11 , Article number:  29 ( 2022 ) Cite this article

4413 Accesses

Metrics details

A public transport system is the most efficient and equitable solution to the challenges of urban mobility and climate change. To improve public transport, technological innovations, policy interventions, and behavioral changes should all be applied appropriately; however, there is a lack of information about the demand for public transport services in developing countries. This paper aims to measure the degree of demand for public transport services by comparing various factors used as a case study in Kathmandu, one of the most congested urban areas in a developing country. We designed a choice-based conjoint experiment with five attributes: mode of transport, waiting time, one-way fare per km, commute time per km, and payment method. Our results indicate that 73% of the respondents are in favor of changing the current transport policy and wish for a shift to public transport, which means that most commuters are in favor of the proposed mode of transport, that is, MRT. On the other hand, the study reveals that respondents have a negative evaluation of motorbikes, one of the most popular modes of transport in Kathmandu. Our results, showing users’ unsatisfactory situation with motorbikes as a transport measure, provide transport planners guidance for addressing current public transport policies, indicating a massive rapid transit system with a low fare would be highly welcome in a typical congestion area like Kathmandu.

1 Introduction

Kathmandu Valley belongs to Bagmati Province and extends into three administrative districts of Nepal, namely, Kathmandu, Bhaktapur, and Lalitpur, with a total area of 899 sq km (Fig.  1 ). The three districts have two metropolitan areas, the metropolitan city of Kathmandu and the metropolitan city of Lalitpur, and 16 municipalities. Kathmandu is the capital of the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal and is the country’s most important political, administrative, educational, cultural, and commercial center. In the 2011 census year, the total population of the Kathmandu Valley was 2,517,023, with an annual growth rate of 4.63%. This represents 9.32% of the country’s total population, in just 0.49% of the country’s area. The Central Bureau of Statistics of Nepal predicts that the population of the Kathmandu Valley will reach four million by 2035 (CBS 2018 ; JICA 2017 ).

Kathmandu valley and ring road covered area. (Source) Bhattarai et al ( 2019 )

The road transport system provides the main mode of mobility in Nepal. Rapid urbanization and increasing economic activities in cities have dramatically increased the demand for vehicles in urban areas. Due to ineffective public transport services, people are attracted to private vehicles, and the number of private vehicles is increasing rapidly compared to that of public vehicles. In the last 15 years, the number of motorbikes and low-occupancy modes of public transport, that is, minibusses and microbuses increased rapidly. Although the government has invested in the expansion of roads in the city of Kathmandu, the increasing number of private vehicles means that the traffic situation remains unchanged. This shows that expanding the road alone is not a sustainable solution for improving public transport. Considering the geographic area and the distance of the city from business and official areas, it is necessary to offer reliable public transport and nonmotorized transport even in cities such as Kathmandu. The Kathmandu Valley is completely dominated by motorbikes, which constitute 79.1% of the total fleet, followed by private vehicles (cars, vans, and jeeps) at 12.42%, heavy-duty vehicles at 4%, and public transport vehicles at 2.67%, and others, with an overall annual growth rate of 14% (DOTM 2019 ). The share of low-occupancy vehicles, that is, minibusses and microbuses, represents 94% of all public transport vehicles, and large buses make up only 6% (JICA 2017 ). For the past decade, the road transport service in the Kathmandu Valley has been affected by insufficient road length, narrow and busy roads, unattended traffic, poor traffic management infrastructure, a mix of old and new vehicles, and a multimodal public transport system. Kathmandu Valley faces an unprecedented level of traffic congestion, frequent vehicular accidents, and an increasingly unreliable public transit system (Bhattarai et al. 2019 ). The quality of service of the current public transport system in Kathmandu is poor, and public transport involves more travel time than private modes of travel. A mass rapid transit (MRT) system should be implemented to reduce congestion, decrease fossil energy consumption, and decrease air pollution (Dhakal 2006 ; JICA 2017 ; KSUTP 2014 , 2016 ; MoUD 2017 ; IBN 2017 , Bajracharya and Shrestha 2017 ; ICIMOD 2017 ). The current public transport system in the Kathmandu Valley is complex, and the quality of service is poor (World Bank 2019 ). Due to its bowel-shaped geography, gusty winds rarely remove vehicular emissions from the urban atmosphere, making Kathmandu one of Asia’s most polluted cities, the 100th city on the global pollution index (Bhattarai et al. 2019 ).

Transport is the most important social and environmental issue in the world (Kingham et al. 2001 ). Transport is the infrastructure of infrastructures (Pokharel and Acharya 2015 ) and is considered fundamental for urban development. The government of Nepal has prioritized the development of the transport sector. The main objective of the “National Transport Policy is to develop a reliable, cost-effective, safe, facility-oriented and sustainable transport system that promotes and sustains the economic, social, cultural and tourism development of Nepal as a whole” (National Transport Policy 2001 ). Chen and Chai ( 2011 ), using the theory of planned behavior, the technology acceptance model, and the concept of habit, studies the intentions of commuters to switch to public transit in Kaohsiung City, Taiwan, and finds that the habitual behavior of private vehicle users obstructs a commuter scheme to switch from private vehicles to public transit. JICA ( 2017 ) recommends the appropriate timing for the commencement of MRT system operation in Kathmandu, based on the introduction of mass transit systems in 24 Asian megacities and related to the gross income and population of the city. In each of these cases, the first MRT operation is launched when the respective city’s gross product is $3 to $30 billion. In the Kathmandu Valley, the population is projected to be four million, and per capita GDP will exceed US$ 900 by 2030. Thus, “based on experience in other Asian megacities, it shall be appropriate to introduce the 1st MRT system in the Kathmandu Valley between 2020 and 2030” (JICA 2017 , p. 122). Shrestha et al. ( 2013 ) finds that increasing vehicle speeds would reduce vehicle emissions, and that increasing urban mobility would improve the overall quality of life in the Kathmandu Valley. Das et al. ( 2018 ) states that technological change may play an important role in minimizing vehicular air pollution in Kathmandu. Ashalatha et al. ( 2013 ), applying multinomial logistics (MNL), finds various factors affecting particular modes of transport. In a case study in the city of Thiruvananthapuram, India, the main reason for shifting from buses to two-wheelers or cars is that the bus transport service is inefficient and unreliable. Jain et al. ( 2014 ) identifies reliability, comfort, safety, and cost as the main criteria for the modal shift from private vehicles to public transport, with Delhi as a case study. Using the pairwise weighing method (analytical hierarchy process), they find that safety is the most important criterion (36%), followed by reliability (27%), cost (21%), and comfort (16%). Lin and Guo ( 2015 ) studies the utility and weight of factors related to bus transit service quality in Nanjing, China, by applying conjoint analysis.

The private sector is responsible for almost 99% of the investment in public transport services in Nepal. There is no integrated policy for the management of public transport services. Government regulations and monitoring capacities are weak. Along with reducing the attraction of private vehicles, encouraging nonmotorized transportation and the use of public transport is an urgent agenda item for sustainable urban mobility. The solution to Kathmandu’s air pollution can be achieved only when the government takes the leading role in addressing the situation (Saud and Paudel 2018 ). For the effective implementation of such an intervention, it is best to know users’ preferences. This study examines the main attributes affecting commuters in the modal shift to public transport service in Kathmandu. Mass transit systems help to connect communities, support local economies, and improve the living standards of disadvantaged individuals. Therefore, a wide range of studies has been conducted in the field of public transport around the world. Researchers are constantly studying ways to improve public transport. They have focused mainly on the infrastructure sector, the behavioral sector, and the psychological sector. The current study is designed to understand the preferences of Kathmandu Valley commuters regarding the modern transport system before implementing future public transport policy, through a case study that provides a unique opportunity to investigate people’s perceptions of potential new services and their willingness to implement them.

The main objective of the choice-based conjoint experiment in this research is to examine the attributes affecting the choices and behaviors of commuters for improved public transport services in Kathmandu by answering the following questions: What factors are associated with commuters’ adoption of an improved public transport service?; Which attributes of the public transport service cause a modal shift?; How does each attribute affect the probability of various preferences?; What is the interaction with the passenger and the causal effect of the attribute? To answer these questions, we have generated attributes of hypothetical improved public transport services that have numerous external impacts on the surrounding environment.

2 Methodology

This experiment is carried out in Kathmandu, Nepal, where the main mode of mobility is road transport. Over the past decade, Kathmandu Valley has experienced rapid urbanization, high population growth, uncontrolled urban sprawl, and increased motorization, leading to problems with congestion, vehicular conflict, traffic accidents, environmental degradation, and poor public transport services. The government of Nepal plans to carry out various projects to improve the existing system. This study helps us to understand the preferences of commuters for improving public transport services in a very densely populated area.

For our study, the data are collected in two phases: the pilot survey and the main survey. The surveys are carried out within the periphery of the Ring Road, which is 27.3 km in length. For the study, we deliberately chose a list of 71 main stops and divide the city into four study areas by central main stop, and then separate the list of 71 stops into four zones . The main survey lasts 9 days and uses the paper-based street survey method. For the everyday survey, the authors prepare a random list of stops/streets in a randomly selected area using the Excel randomization function, from the selected list of stops with that value that connect to the Ring Road area (Fig.  1 ).

The Ring Road area is purposively selected based on four criteria: (1) it covers the central area of the city of Kathmandu; (2) it has connections to the Lalitpur and Bhaktapur districts; (3) it has a high population density; and (4) almost every commuter in Kathmandu Valley must use the Ring Road to get around the city. In the area selected for the study, all federal ministries and offices are situated in there, and the selected districts like Lalitpur and Bhaktapur are one of the most congested areas of Nepal. During the survey, we approached 400 commuters, and 373 commuters participated in our survey, with a response rate of 93.25%.

Conjoint analysis is used to study how buyers appreciate the characteristics of products or services and to predict buyer behavior (preference). It can be used to estimate the psychological trade-offs that commuters make when evaluating different attributes together. In this study, a randomized conjoint experiment is used to obtain the stated preferences of the respondents. In a conjoint experiment, the respondent evaluates profiles based on their attributes and levels, and then either chooses the option that gives them the highest utility or ranks the options. It is assumed that the respondent determines the overall utility by adding the utility provided by each attribute level. Through this experiment, we can determine the influence of each attribute level on the respondent’s choice (Hainmueller et al. 2014 ). While experimenting, we develop survey questionnaires with four parts: (1) information, (2) scenario, (3) choice-set of the randomized conjoint experiment, and (4) background information about the respondent, including age, sex, marital status, level of education, occupation, regional location, employment status, monthly income, the average monthly cost of commuting, vehicle ownership, main mode(s) of transport, typical usage time, and household members.

As suggested by Kløjgaard and Søgaard ( 2012 ), the attributes and levels relevant to the conjoint analysis of the public transport system are identified through quantitative methods. First, a literature search is conducted to identify the relevant attributes of public transport services from the commuters’ perspective. Second, a pilot survey is conducted among 28 commuters from different areas of Kathmandu City using a virtual interviewing method.

In this study, the randomized conjoint experiment consists of five attributes, each with two to five different levels. The attributes and levels of each choice profile are assigned randomly. Details of the attributes, levels, and baseline are shown in Table 1 . In the table, bold items in each attribute show baselines to compare with other levels, which means whether users prefer the level compared with the baseline level.

After reading the scenario, respondents are asked to consider three sets of choices—choice set (A), choice set (B), and choice set (C)—and then rank these 1, 2, and 3 based on their preference for enhanced public transport services. Each profile is designed with different alternatives. An example of the choice set is shown in Fig.  2 .

An example of the choice set

In this study, we try to identify commuters’ preferences for hypothetically improved public transport policies by estimating the probability of internal choice and external choice. Regarding internal probability, we estimate respondents’ preferences under two hypothetical alternative policies: choice (A) and choice (B), which means if there are only two choices like (A) and (B), which choice do you prefer? For external choice probability, we estimate respondents’ preference between the status quo and two alternative hypothetical policies. Each profile has three alternatives; from the left, the first two are hypothetical alternatives with five attributes and levels, and the third alternative is the status quo. The profile means that if there are three choices including the status quo (C), which choice do you prefer? These attributes are randomized for each respondent to avoid any possibility of an ordering effect. Similarly, to avoid cognitive strain, the order is randomized for all three profiles given to the same respondent. To estimate the probability of internal and external choice, we’re following the approach suggested by Hainmueller et al. ( 2014 ). These authors nonparametrically identify the average marginal component effect (AMCE) for each of the attributes and levels based on the probability of choosing a profile by randomized conjoint analysis. The attribute levels are assigned randomly, and ordinary least squares (OLS) are used to estimate the AMCE of each attribute as a coefficient based on a linear regression of the indicator of choice over the set of dummy variables for the attributes and levels. The model is as follows:

where the possible outcome of individual i in trial t of policy j is defined by \({\mathrm{y}}_{\mathrm{itj},}\) l stands for several attributes, and \({D}_{l}\) indicates the number of levels of each attribute l . \({\beta }_{ld}\) is the coefficient of each component to be estimated, \({\mathrm{a}}_{\mathrm{itjld}}\) is a dummy variable for the \(\mathrm{d}\) th level of policy \(j\) in task \(t\) of respondent \(i\) , and \({u}_{itj}\) ϵ {0,1} is an error term. In the internal choice probability estimation, \({y}_{itj}\) = 1 if the preference rank of policy j is higher than its alternative policy and 0 if the rank is smaller. Similarly, in the estimation of the external choice probability, \({y}_{itj}\) = 1 if the preference rank of policy j is higher than the status quo.

During the survey, some general information about the respondents is collected and analyzed. As Table 2 shows, the gender balance is nearly equal: 49.06% are female, and the rest are male. In terms of age, almost 69% of the respondents belong to the 17–40 years category, which represents the young adult population in Nepal. The highest proportion of our respondents (42.36%) has a university degree, followed by secondary education (34.05%), basic education (15%), and no literacy (8.56%). Similarly, 43.16% use public transport to get to work, 20.11% for school, 15.28% for grocery shopping, and 7.24% for leisure. In terms of vehicle ownership, 64% of the respondents have no vehicle, 16.62% have a motorbike, 11.8% have a car, and 2.68% have a bicycle. The respondents’ current travel mode is split between bus (47.45%), microbus (23.59%), motorbike (12.33%), minibus (9.12%), and tempo (auto-rickshaw) (3.75%).

The average marginal component effect (AMCE) is the causal quantity of estimation using a pooled sample for external choice probabilities and internal choice probabilities. AMCE reflects the probability that profile (A) or (B) will be chosen by the respondent (Hainmueller et al. 2014 ). This survey also includes the status quo (C), which allows us to analyze a hypothetical proposal for improved public transport features based on the current Kathmandu public transport service. An airplane dot plot is used to show the corresponding coefficient on the X-axis, with the 95% confidence interval shown using horizontal bars, and the vertical axis shows the proposed attributes and their levels.

First, as a baseline, the most commonly used values for the public transport of each attribute level (written in italics and bold letters in Table 1 ) are used to compare Choice (A) and Choice (B), with the status quo (C), including to analyze the external probability. In the second part, we analyze the internal probability using a baseline the same as the external probability, and we compare the proposed hypothetical policies Choice (A) and Choice (B) only, without the status quo.

The probability of external choice shows that commuters accept the new and improved characteristics of the public transport service compared to the current situation (status quo). The constant term of the regression is 0.7288, which means that 73% of the respondents chose profile (A) or (B) rather than (C). The estimated average marginal treatment effect (AMCE) on external choice probability finds a significant impact for all attributes. The results show that the attributes with the highest impact on the probability of choosing a hypothetical policy are one-way starting fare and mode of transport.

As Fig.  3 shows, the first attribute, modes of transport, had five levels, with the baseline set to bus. However, the second level (microbus) and the third level (taxi) are not significant. The fourth level (motorbike) is negatively significant. Fourteen percent of the respondents do not like to use a motorbike as a form of transport. The fifth level (masstrans = MRT) is preferred over the baseline by 20%. This shows that commuters are eager to move from the current situation to a new public transport system. The second attribute, waiting time, has three levels: 5 min, 15 min, and 30 min. When we set 15 min as the baseline, a waiting time of 5 min has a positive impact probability of 12%, and a 30-min waiting time has a negative influence of − 12% when implemented. For the commute time (per km) attribute, 5–15 min is set as a baseline, and the level of few than 5 min has a positive impact of 12%, while the level of more than 15 min has a negative effect of − 12%, which means respondents do not like an increase in commute. The attribute one-way starting fare is the most influential key attribute in terms of external probability. If the new one-way starting fare is set to 60 Nepalese rupees (NRs), the probability of respondents taking the new public transport is negatively affected by − 54%, by − 45% when set to NRs 45, and by − 28% when set to NRs 30, which is useful information for developing a new policy. The fifth and last attribute, the fare payment method, has a significant effect. It comprised two levels: e-payment and cash. When we set cash as the baseline, the choice of e-payment has a positive impact of 3%, which means that respondents like to use e-payment.

Average causal effect on the external choice probability. Coefficient of Constant Term = 0.728. Cluster standard error is estimated at the respondent level, and the horizontal bar is adjusted within a 95% confidence interval. Rs represents Nepalese rupees

Also, as Fig.  4 indicates, the internal choice probability reveals respondents’ preference between the two proposed public transport improvement packages, package (A) and package (B). They prefer the improved service, which includes a mass transit system, less waiting, shorter commute times, and a lower fare per km. Although it improves the service, they do not care about the fare payment method. The first attribute, mode of transport, has five levels, with the baseline set to bus. However, the second level (microbus) and the third level (taxi) are not statistically significant. The fourth level (motorbike) is negatively significant, and 12% of the respondents do not like to use a motorbike for public transport. The fifth level (MRT) is preferred by 14% over the baseline. The second attribute, waiting time, has three levels: 5 min, 15 min, and 30 min.

Average causal effect on the internal choice probability. Coefficient of Constant Term = 0.728. Cluster standard error is estimated at the respondent level, and the horizontal bar is adjusted within a 95% confidence interval. Rs represents Nepalese rupees

Similar to Fig.  3 , for the waiting time, the 5-min waiting time increases the positive probability by 13%, and the 30-min level has a negative influence of − 4%. For the attribute commute time (per km), compared to 15 min, 5 min less has a positive impact of 9%, and 15 min more has a negative impact of − 12%. The one-way starting fare attribute is highly negatively significant with a level of NRs 30, NRs 45, and NRs 60 resulting in − 20%, − 34%, and − 48%, respectively.

To simplify the results above, a comparison of the results of both external and internal probability is summarized in Table 3 by picking some significant points up. For the probability of internal choice, we propose two hypothetical policies on improved public transport service based on the bundles of attributes and estimate the preference of respondents who answered the question, “Which is the most influential among the proposed policies? ” For the external choice probability, we include the status quo as an answer to the question, “Do we need a new proposed transport policy?” The result of the estimation shows that the preference trends are similar except for the fifth attribute; for the probability of internal choice, respondents do not care about the payment method. The comparative results of external and internal choice probability are presented.

4 Discussion

In the context of switching to a new public transport system, several attributes (mass rapid transit as the mode of transport, less waiting time, less commute time per km, and e-payment) had a clear influence on the approval of an improved system. However, commuters had negative feelings toward the use of motorbikes as public transport as well as toward increases in fare, waiting time, and commute time per km, and they did not prefer microbuses and taxis.

Due to the unreliable and inefficient nature of the public transport service, the use of two-wheelers, in particular motorbikes and scooters, has increased rapidly in the Kathmandu Valley, presenting a major challenge for maintaining sustainable urban mobility. This result confirms the JICA study, which stated: “At present, about 90% of buses in the Kathmandu Valley are low-occupancy vehicles, i.e., micro/minibusses. Smaller buses should be replaced by larger ones to operate the public transport system efficiently. The current transport network system of Kathmandu Valley is dependent on private vehicles and will not meet future demand; the introduction of a new public transport system, such as AGT or BRT, is recommended” (JICA, 2017 p. 114). Shrestha et al. ( 2013 ) claimed that low-speed buses and motorbikes were the main sources of emissions in the Kathmandu Valley. Moreover, our results support their finding that commuters are in favor of mass rapid transit.

From our results in Figs.  3 and 4 , we found that MRT, low fares, less waiting time, less commute time, and cashless payment methods are influential attributes promoting switching to public transport for nearly all commuters of different backgrounds. However, Jain et al. ( 2014 ) found that safety is the most important criterion for encouraging urban commuters to shift from private vehicles to public transit, followed by reliability, cost, and comfort. Chen and Chao, ( 2011 ) concluded that the habitual behavior of private vehicle users somewhat hindered individual intent to switch from private vehicles to mass rapid transit. In this study, individual characteristics, such as gender, vehicle ownership, sense of security of the current public transport system, and level of education, may affect modal shifts from private to mass transit differently. Ashalatha et al. ( 2013 ), in their study of the mode choice behavior of commuters in the city of Thiruvananthapuram, India, found that the preference for a car increases with increasing age, while the preference for two-wheelers decreases. Therefore, the switch from private vehicles to public transit depends upon time per distance and cost per distance. The results of a subsample analysis using the background information in this study supported their findings. In a case study of the city of Kalamaria, Greece, commuters placed importance on the attribute of comfort, followed by fare, information provision, and accessibility to a transit network (Tyrinopoulos and Antoniou 2013 ). However, commuters gave comfort (i.e., MRT and negative views of motorbikes) and fare almost equal preference in Kathmandu. Likewise, IBN ( 2017 ) proposed investments in mass transit system projects, i.e., MRT, LRT, BRT, flyovers, and tunnelway systems, for the sustainable mobility of the Kathmandu Valley. This study empirically outlined the effective implementation of proposed mass rapid transit projects in Kathmandu Valley. However, Pathao and Tootle have been using motorbikes and scooters as public transport in Kathmandu since 2018. Legal provisions do not allow the use of two-wheelers as a public transportation service in Nepal. According to the Motor Vehicles and Transport Management Act of 1993, commercial vehicles must obtain a permit to operate and must have registered their public transport service in the DoTM; however, Pathao and Tootle have been operating two-wheelers without registering with the transport service, which is illegal (OAGNEP 2020 p. 304). Motorbikes are the main cause of traffic congestion, air pollution, and road accidents (Shrestha et al. 2013 ). The results of this study confirm that respondents are not in favor of two-wheelers in the city of Kathmandu.

Azimy et al. ( 2020 ) found that acceptance probability of proposed saffron production promotion policies in Herat Province, Afghanistan, which support to change the current policy of transport system. The improvement of the current public transport system is the most important and urgent agenda item for the overall development of the country. Although the government has made efforts to improve the public transport service sector in Kathmandu, these efforts have not been effective. The weak capacity and authority of the regulatory body, scarce resources, weak policy enforcement, and the low participation of stakeholders are the main problems for sustainable implementation.

Both Figs.  3 and 4 indicate that commuters are in favor of a new improved public transport system. It implies while formulating a new policy, it would be best to focus on the introduction of MRT with the e-payment method for public transport services, and to consider low fares or other schemes, such as monthly or yearly ticketing or family packages, to motivate commuters to embrace the new system. Public transport should run on a timely basis, which would enhance commuters’ trust in addition to their comfort and the price. This study also envisages the effective implementation of the BRT project on the Ring Road in Kathmandu, proposed by the IBN, and recommends applying the minimum fare with the cashless payment method. Referring to the subsample analysis, commuters whose permanent residence is outside of Kathmandu Valley also preferred MRT, which shows that MRT is the best means of transport for urban mobility in other large cities as well.

5 Conclusion

This study has focused on examining commuters’ preferences for improved public transport services in Kathmandu Valley. A choice-based conjoint experiment was conducted that included five attributes and 17 levels, all of which may affect commuter preference in terms of switching to public transport.

Now, we can answer our research questions set up in the introduction part according to our results:

First, commuters are strongly interested in changing current transport services including a public one like a bus to a new type of public transport service like MRT, considering cost and time. They are in favor of a modal shift to mass rapid transport and against motorbikes. However, introducing the MRT to the region must usually be costly so financial support like ODA would be necessary to overcome budget constraints. This budget matter is not within the scope of this study, but independently it should be considered.

Second, concretely using attributes such as waiting time for the service, commuting time, service fare, payment method as well as the type of transport service, all five attributes had the expected significant impact on the intention to switch to a new mass transit service. The most significant attributes are one-way fare per km and the mode of transport. They are strongly against increases in the current fare, waiting time, and commute time. Meanwhile, they prefer to switch from cash to e-payment.

Third, however, the improved public service of the bus has been likely to be selected by many commuters. According to our results of choice probability, about 73% of commuters showed their expectations toward a new or improved public transport service.

This case study has focused on an area with high traffic congestion and its suburbs. The results will support transport planners in formulating and implementing an effective transport policy that takes people’s preferences into account. Especially, a massive rapid transit system with a low fare would be highly welcome in a typical congestion area like Kathmandu.

Meanwhile, focusing on one area is a limitation of this study. The congestion problem is very common and serious in many developing countries. Many empirical studies based on the causal inference approach are strongly expected further in other regions and countries as well.

Availability of data and materials

The dataset used and analyzed during the current study is available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.

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Acknowledgements

We would like to really thank the anonymous referees’ comments to improve this paper. However, if some mistakes were left, it is our responsibility.

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Tulsi Ram Aryal

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Aryal, T.R., Ichihashi, M. & Kaneko, S. How strong is demand for public transport service in Nepal? A case study of Kathmandu using a choice-based conjoint experiment. Economic Structures 11 , 29 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1186/s40008-022-00287-3

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Public Transportation Issues, Challenges and way forward

The road network of Kathmandu Valley is around 1800 kms where 700,000 vehicles run every day. In developing countries like Nepal, people strongly believe that the public transport is for poor. Such belief is one of the major causes for the exponential increment of private vehicle ownership in Kathmandu in recent years. The increase of motorised vehicles is around 20% annually.

Owning private vehicles is perceived as a status symbol in Nepal. International experiences have shown that such perception needs to be changed and will change given that safe, cheap reliable, secure and comfortable public transportation is operated

Dwellers of Kathmandu are facing mobility problems for years. Currently, traffic congestion and safety have become public concern.   People suffer severely from traffic congestion and road accidents. Annually 2200 people lose their lives on roads. The situation is worsening by the day.

The government has put focus on widening of roads to solve traffic issues in the valley leaving the issue of sustainable public transportation development in the shadow. Examples of world class cities have demonstrated that traffic issues cannot be solved only through expanding road infrastructure. Nepal needs a strategy shift from road widening to implementation of proper public transportation. The best way to achieve sustainable transport management would be an integrated program of developing public transport systems and road widening simultaneously.

Land is a scarce resource and its use is limited. Therefore, road widening cannot be carried out again and again whenever a city experiences traffic congestion. The current widening of roads in the may ease traffic for some years, but the numbers are on the rise.   Once demand exceeds the capacity of roads, the situation will recur.

There is no possibility to widen roads infinitively. Therefore, Nepal needs to learn from the experiences of other cities to promote public transportation systems immediately. Public transport has the capacity to solve the challenges of increasing mobility, improve quality of life, control road and traffic accidents. Nepal is in strong need of a public transport system that is safe, secure, reliable, integrated, smooth, comfortable, economical, efficient and affordable. Once the level of service of public transport reaches close to that of private vehicles, people will automatically make the shift.

The government has already implemented regulations to restrict private vehicle through high vehicle registration charges, environmental charges, fuel taxes and parking charges. This makes access to private vehicle ownership expensive and unaffordable to all.

Currently there is mix of traffic on the roads of Kathmandu with high capacity public buses (56 seater) to low capacity (12 seater) micro buses. The trunk routes are wider so high capacity buses should ply on these routes with low capacity ones on feeder routes. Currently, availability of public transport in day time is not a big issue but the concerns are of reliability, safety, security, connectivity and comfort. Social as well as economic activities will enhance only once a city has well developed transportation systems.

Transport operators need to be financially sustainable from the service fee. Therefore, they focus on revenue maximisation rather than service. Public transport is a business. This is a contradiction which needs to be balanced. In the current scenario, no operator will run an empty vehicle as a public   service, they will accommodate as many passengers as they can, often running on erratic schedules. A 12 seater micro bus can be seen carrying 20 people or more and a bus keeps waiting till it gets sufficient passengers.

When government can spend millions of rupees to widen roads, it is well capable of investing in developing sustainable public transport systems. The sustainability will also depend largely on public and private partnership outcomes.

A bus service for the night was implemented in Kathmandu on a trial basis in 2069 BS. It was operated from 8pm to 11pm in Kathmandu valley and was inaugurated by then deputy prime minister at Shanti Vatika, Ratnapark. It was operated for six months on trial and subsidy of Kathmandu Metropolitan City and Ministry of Finance.   Fourteen night buses were operated in five different routes in the inner city and one more route on the ring road. 26-seater capacity buses equipped with CCTV and two armed security personnel were assigned to 4 to 6 trips on respective routes per day. The fare maintained was same as that in day time.

KMC provided 2.5 million rupees and the Finance Ministry provided two million rupees for operation of the night bus service for the first six months as fuel cost and wages subsidy to private operators. It was agreed that private operators after six months would operate without subsidy but it couldn’t happen. Each bus collected on average Rs 500-700 on the first trip, but after that, there were minimal number of passengers. Economic sustainability of the night bus service was impossible which resulted in the shutdown of the service.

The government now has the opportunity to improve the transportation system as syndicate in the public transportation sector, prevalent for the last three decades has come to an end. The government needs to plan well on issues such as route permits, capacity of vehicles, departure timing, ticket pricing, integration of time table and ticketing system among others. It needs to ensure scientific and systematic public transport management. All transport operators must register themselves under the company act and come under a single umbrella.

Government involvement in transport operation authority is also required for smooth functioning of public transportation. This is a practice worldwide. In Munich Germany, Munich Transport Authority has been established through shareholding from state government, Munich City, eight administrative districts and 40 public transport companies. All the public transportation (metro rail, bus, tram) are operated through a coordinated system. Similarly, in Berlin, the Berlin Transport Company was established in 1992 with the municipality integrating public and private transport operators. In Delhi, the government owned Delhi Transportation Corporation runs public transportation.

The government needs to expedite the process of registration of current transport committees as companies and work alongside to setting up a transport authority and bring all operators under this authority. This authority must be granted the sole responsibility to plan and operate public transportation. Any investment in the public transport sector can be routed through this authority. This model should be replicated in all major cities of the country. This authority will be led by a Chief Executive Officer with required technical and administrative staffs. Investors will be the board of directors with CEO holding executive power.

To make this authority sustainable and profitable, the government should be ready to subsidise expenses. For instance, in Germany, Italy, Netherlands and Belgium, the government gives subsidy up to 40%, 60%, 60% and 67% respectively.

In recent years, some public transport operating companies like Sajha Yatayat, Mahanagar Yatayat and Mayur Yatayat have been providing comparatively improved urban transport services. Sajha Yatayat has been operating in the cooperative model with involvement of Kathmandu Metropolitan City as a major shareholder. The government now needs to implement 24 hour bus service programs in urban cities like Kathmandu, Pokhara, and Biratnagar.

The population of Kathmandu has already exceeded five million. To manage transportation system in Kathmandu, urban railways has become essential. Principally, a city with more than three million population requires urban railways to manage urban transportation issues. Investment Board Nepal (IBN), a government entity has also initiated developing a metrorail system from Dhulikhel to Nagdhunga. Currently IBN is in the process of selecting a consulting firm to conduct a detailed feasibility study. The Kathmandu Metropolitian City has also permitted a private Chinese company to conduct feasibility study of monorail system on the Ring Road. Considering the population size, Kathmandu Valley needs metrorail system not monorail system. Metrorail system has the capacity to move 85,000 passengers per hour per direction but monorail system only 30,000. Urban railway system will help reduce traffic congestion, emission and improve road safety. Since urban railway projects are in the study phase, it will take more than eight years to come into operations if at all. Therefore, there is no immediate alternative to developing a public bus system in the immediate conditions.

Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) could be operated immediately on the recently widened ring road and other trunk roads, high-capacity buses on trunk routes and smaller vehicles on narrower roads.Government must immediately initiate a public transport company for Kathmandu valley and initiate getting all the current public transport companies under this authority. All companies will be promoters of this authority based on shares that are calculated on the number of buses they own. The authority will have control on planning, staffing, routing, ticketing and scheduling, etc. The first phase must concentrate on institutionalisation of the authority and development of integrated ticketing system and schedules. The state must define standards of service that the authority must deliver.

By Ashish Gajurel, Transport and Traffic Engineer

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My experience using public transport in Nepal

Farhad ahmed.

Transport is a means to an end, not an end in itself. We use transport to access facilities and services - jobs, educational institutions, health facilities, banks etc. Quality and availability of public transport make an impact on the welfare and income earning potential of people. Good quality and targeted public transport also helps in pulling people away from cars. Intensive public transport use not only contributes to people’s welfare but also helps enhance urban environment. For women in developing countries, public transport plays an even more important role, providing access to social, economic and life enriching activities and services. In the above context, cities in Nepal need safe, efficient, reliable and affordable public transport to achieve equitable and sustainable development. The World Bank in Nepal is working with the government of Nepal to develop a National Transport Management Strategy. The strategy will address issues linked to broader transport management, as well as gender and public transport related issues. Findings from the recent gender and transport study is being incorporated into the National Strategy so that the various issues the women and men of Kathmandu face while using public transport will be effectively addressed in the coming days. Read the recently released report: Gender and Public Transport in Nepal Photo: Dee Jupp/World Bank

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Public transportation problems

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With the growing population density of the Valley, commuting in public vehicles to reach one’s destination has become an unpleasant experience filled with discomfort for commuters. While problems like over-crowded public vehicles, lack of proper operating schedule and bus stops, uncomfortable rides and untimely services among others continue to plague the Capital’s public transportation system, ensuring safe, timely and quality public transportation facilities for Valley’s citizens has become the need of the hour.

According to the National Census (2011), Kathmandu has the largest population of 1,744,240 in Nepal with an average annual growth rate of 4.78 per cent while the statistics of the Department of Transport Management (DoTM) of the fiscal year 2016/17 shows the total number of vehicle registrations to be 119,956 in Bagmati zone which includes 1,405 buses, 2,132 minibuses, 14,542 cars and jeeps, 222 microbuses and 94,751 motorcycles.

The statistics are evidence of the fact that while the population density of the Capital and trend of private vehicle ownership is increasing rapidly, the gap between private and public vehicle ownership continues to increase, cementing the fact that the current state and number of public vehicles operating in the Valley is not adequate to serve public transportation consumers.

PASSENGER WOES

For Shristi Maharjan, a resident of Siddhipur, who usually travels from Siddhipur to New Road, waiting for a lengthy period of time to catch a public vehicle has become a habit. She says, “I am usually working till five or six in the evening and it’s difficult to get a bus during the evening hours. There are usually so many people waiting for the same bus and when it finally arrives, everyone tries to get in at once because of which getting a comfortable seat for a comfortable ride in public transportation has become a distant dream.”

On top of that, Maharjan shares that the bus drivers and conductors keep trying to fit more people than the vehicle’s capacity during peak hours — mostly during mornings and evenings which adds to passengers’ discomfort.

Bhushan Tuladhar, CEO, Sajha Yatayat, shares, “The condition of public transportation at present is chaotic and there is a lot that needs to be improved.”

He adds, “Private transport entrepreneurs have invested a lot in public transportation sector but still proper monitoring and regulation on the part of the government is inadequate which has stunted the quality of service that the private sector is providing.” Currently, Sajha Yatayat operates 71 public buses in the Valley but Tuladhar feels that despite adding new vehicles on various routes, the company has not been able to meet the demand of public buses on many of its bus routes.

Saroj Sitaula, General Secretary at Federation of Nepali National Transport Entrepreneurs, shares, “The public transportation sector is degrading day by day and the major problems that have led to its dilapidation are inefficient and unclear rules and regulation, lack of banking facilities and investment security for transport entrepreneurs among others. “There is a lack of public vehicles for the public which needs to be increased to facilitate commuters.”

BREAKING SHACKLES OF SYNDICATE

Last year, the government launched a strict crackdown against the syndicate system, which was prominently prevalent in the public transportation sector of Nepal for long.

Tirtha Raj Khanal, Information Officer at DoTM, says, “Prior to the crackdown on public transportation syndicate system, anyone seeking route permit in the Valley would require a formal recommendation from transport entrepreneur associations and federations even though according to the law, the practice was not a prerequisite.

And this informal practice had been going on for years.”

He adds, “Now, DoTM can issue route permits in accordance to the necessity and demand of the public, which we believe will ease public transportation services.”

As per him, earlier, transport entrepreneurs held the monopoly to decide if new transport entrepreneurs were to be allowed to operate their vehicles on the roads or not. Also, departure timings, number of vehicles for operations and routes were decided by the transport entrepreneurs autonomously. Under the new system, transport bodies, associations and federations also formally announced their shift to company modality on July 19 ensuring public transportation sector’s healthy growth and officially bringing monopoly on the public transportation sector to an end.

Sitaula informs, “As directed by the government, the majority of transport entrepreneurs have transformed and still continue to transform into private companies.”

Bishnu Prasad Timilsina, Deputy General Secretary at Forum for Protection of Consumers’ Right Nepal (FPCRN) shares, “The authorities and transport entrepreneurs feel that introducing company modality and following it has formally ended the syndicate system but that is not true. In the coming days it is highly likely that transport companies will impose similar monopoly system under the company modality and it is vital that the government stops all ill practices related to the syndicate system.”

“We feel that the consumers should get timely service and public vehicles in accordance to commuter’s density should be available. It is the government’s responsibility to manage public transportation system but it has not been able to neither manage nor monitor the public transportation sector because of which consumers continue to face problems,” he shares.

THE WAY OUT

Sitaula shares, “In order to make Nepal’s public transportation sector convenient for people, the government should consult every stakeholder and make transportation regulations and operating systems. The government should also come up with ways of decreasing road accidents while ensuring that victim get compensated for the loss.” He adds, “If the government doesn’t ensure investment and professional security to transport entrepreneurs along with consumer’s security, investment from private sector’s side in the public transportation sector will not increase which will further degrade the sector.”

Tuladhar feels that to tackle the problem of overcrowding of public vehicles, a public standard needs to be maintained while keeping quality of service and affordability in mind. He says, “I feel that there are adequate number of public vehicles in the country but the sector lacks systematic and regular vehicular frequency which has created problems for the public.”

As per him, the increasing trend of introducing big buses has also been beneficial to improve public transportation network.

He shares, “Around six years ago, our transportation system was mainly dominated by small vehicles and big vehicles are being introduced so that it can accommodate many people at once. Having said that, big vehicles cannot operate on every part of the road network and a combination of both small vehicles like microbuses and big vehicles like buses are necessary.”

He adds, “Since private sectors are a huge part of public transportation sector, the government must take their interests into consideration while moving forward. In addition to that the government should also invest in public transportation services and work towards modernising it.”

Timilsina believes that it is essential for the government to create a separate authority which looks after public transportation systems — where queries and complaint related to public transportations are entertained while regularly carrying out efficient monitoring activities.

He says, “Currently, FP- CRN has been conducting studies on the public transportation system of Nepal so that we can identify its drawbacks.”

Khanal shares that in order to improve public transportation system and ease traffic congestion, DoTM is currently conducting a research to add new routes to the transport network. He adds, “We also have plans to systemise existing bus parks in the Valley.”

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Prof. Dr. Parashar Koirala

Nepal is a least developed country with a per capita income of $240. The population living below poverty line is 44.6%, in which the rural poverty is over and above the urban in percentage terms. In total, about 10 percent of the population live in the urban areas where the population living below the poverty line is 17.8 percent; in the remaining 90 percent residing in the rural areas, 46.6 percent of them are living below the poverty line. With regard to rural poverty, the delivery mechanism developed in rural and urban areas consists of Village Development Committee (VDC), Municipality, and District Development Committee (DDC). There is a division of work among the VDC, Municipality, DDC and the line ministries. The VDC is the lowest institution at the grass root level, which send development plan for necessary funding to DDC and the DDC to the Ministry of Local Development and to the National Planning Commission. This mechanism has been in operation for the last forty years. There has been some progress in development works such as in education, electricity, telephone, road and possession of radio. But the report and data show that the level of poverty has been increasing since FY 1976/77. To find out the impact of development activities on per capita income, a regression coefficient of each development activity has been estimated through the method of least squares. Through test statistics, it is demonstrated that there is a significant difference of the impact of independent variables (electricity, literacy, road, radio and telephone) on the dependent variable (per capita income).

• Deficit Financing: Implications and Management
• An Examination of Central Bank Independence and Power
• The Nepalese Stock Market: Efficient and Calendar Anomalies
• Nepal's Trade Sector: Review, Repercussions and Recommendations
• The Impact of Fiscal Deficit on Long-term Nominal Interest Rate in Nepal

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Transportation network analysis in Nepal: a step toward critical infrastructure protection

• Published: 25 July 2018
• Volume 11 , pages 101–116, ( 2018 )

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• Jitendra Parajuli   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0003-3308-7205 1 &
• Kingsley E. Haynes 2 , 3  

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Transportation infrastructure is vital for a nation to function smoothly. However, transportations systems are vulnerable to both natural and man-made hazards and breakdowns can have severe consequences. Therefore, it is important that they are protected and resilient against various types of harmful events. Using a graph-theoretic/social network approach, this study finds that the road and aviation networks of Nepal are different in terms of topology and the influence of nodes vary substantially between and across these networks. While Nepal’s strategic road network is generally robust and the influential nodes are well distributed spatially, the aviation network is less robust and there exists a single dominant node. The enactment of two national policy actions and the adoption of a new disaster response framework indicate that the Government of Nepal is concerned about the national consequences of calamities on these networks as well as responses in the aftermath of a disastrous event. However, the Government lacks a clear plan for protecting these critical infrastructures or limiting the consequential effects. This study provides some first step guidance for the Government of Nepal in developing a prioritization in the transportation element of a critical infrastructure protection plan intended to ensure resiliency against disruption and failure.

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Parajuli, J., Haynes, K.E. Transportation network analysis in Nepal: a step toward critical infrastructure protection. J Transp Secur 11 , 101–116 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12198-018-0194-0

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Service Users’ Confidence in Accessing Public Services in Nepal: What Makes Differences?

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This paper presents the factors associated with service users’ confidence in receiving public services in Nepal. The factors were taken from National Governance Survey 2017/18 (N=7334). The survey respondents were randomly selected from 43 of 77 districts of Nepal by using four-stage multiple cluster sampling from the service users who received public services in a year duration. The result showed that service users’ confidence in receiving public services differs by their locale, education level, caste/ethnicity, not having close contact (Afno Manchhe), and presence of intermediaries. Education, not having a person in close contact (Afno manchhe) and the presence of intermediaries have a negative effect, whereas locale (rural) and caste/ethnicity (Brahman/Chettri) have positive effects on service users’ confidence in accessing public services. Consideration of these factors boosts the confidence of the service users, which, in turn, promotes effective service delivery.

Introduction

In recent years, citizens’ confidence in public service delivery from government institutions has grabbed the research attention globally (Bhattarai , 2017; Miao et al. , 2014; Morrell et al. , 2020; Schario & Konisky , 2008) . In particular, citizen confidence has been extensively studied in numerous fields, such as various levels of government (e.g. Li , 2004 ), local government concerning citizens’ satisfaction (e.g. James & Moseley , 2014 ), public institutions (e.g. Clausen et al. , 2011; Newton & Norris , 2000 ), as well as some particular areas of public service (e.g. Morrell et al. , 2020; Roth et al. , 1990 ). Delivery of quality public services remains central to government institutions since it fosters citizens’ trust and confidence in public services (Cowell et al. , 2012) . Citizens’ confidence in public institutions is also linked with the quality of public services. If citizens receive quality services from public institutions without any hassles, they feel confident and provide a higher rating for the respective public service providers. Meanwhile, low confidence in public institutions may explain skepticism towards the service providers rather than distrust or alienation (Cook & Gronke , 2005) . The legitimacy of government institutions and social norms could be in peril if a substantial number of citizens have low confidence or trust in institutionstowards them (Keiser & Haider-Markel , 2022) . Additionally, such lack of public trust or confidence can also impede the government’s ability to govern effectively (Kang & Park , 2018) .

Although confidence in public institutions is viewed positively (Llewellyn et al. , 2013) , the decline in citizens’ trust or confidence has remained a widespread concern, as observed in World Values Survey (Haerpfer et al. , 2020) and other researches (e.g. Cowell et al. , 2012 ). Many scholars and policymakers have expressed concern over the decrease in trust towards governments globally since the 1990s (Kang & Park , 2018) . The decline of citizens’ trust or confidence in public service providers or the government has grabbed research attention from western democracies (Cook & Gronke , 2005; Cowell et al. , 2012) , and remains a crucial concern in Asian countries as well (Blind , 2010; Naseer , 2010) . The United States Pew Research Center revealed a decline in trust in the government among American citizens, falling from 77% in the 1960s to 54% in 2001, and further to just 17% in 2019, and similar patterns can be seen in European and Asian countries (Nam & Lee , 2021) . Citizen confidence in Asian countries shows varying results. It was 50% in Japan and Iraq, whereas in countries such as Pakistan, Bangladesh, Thailand, Malaysia, and South Korea it is above average, and consistently higher in Vietnam (P. S. Kim , 2010) , China, and the Philippines (Haerpfer et al. , 2020) . Though Nepal was not a part of the World Values Survey Wave 7 (2017-2020), earlier studies showed that 59% of Nepali citizens placed trust in public services (Jamil & Askvik , 2013) , which has gradually increased over time. The Nepal National Governance Survey 2017/18 indicated an increase in citizens’ confidence in accessing public services, with 69% of respondents reporting either complete or partial confidence, reflecting a rise in confidence compared to previous studies ( Nepal Administrative Staff College [NASC], 2018). However, public service delivery in Nepal continues to face challenges, as nearly two-thirds report difficulties in receiving some public services such as drinking water, electricity connection, and land ownership transfer. Moreover, more than one-third believe that public services are not provided on time with specified standards and without the use of intermediaries (NASC , 2018) .

Citizen confidence in public services is complex and is associated with several factors. Even though Askvik et al. (2011) investigated the effect of citizens’ demographics such as age, gender, location, and education on citizens’ confidence or trust in public services in Nepal, the analysis was based on decade-old data, and much has changed in the public administration of Nepal in the present context. Also, factors such as the absence of a person in close contact or the presence of intermediaries in receiving public service with confidence remain largely understudied in the extant literature of Nepal. With this consideration, this study aimed to examine the effect of demographic variables such as locale, education, caste/ethnicity, as well as an absence of a person in close contact and the presence of intermediaries in receiving hassle-free public services with confidence. This paper generates empirical evidence, complements the existing literature and stimulates a discourse on the factors affecting service users’ confidence in accessing public services in Nepal. This paper would be of interest to civil servants, policy makers, politicians, practitioners, citizens and academicians concerned with the quality of public services, particularly the confidence of service users in accessing public services in Nepal.

Literature Review

Confidence in public service.

Confidence in public service delivery is the reflection of the strength of public service. It is the extent to which citizens feel confident that they receive public services as per the expected delivery standards. Hence, it is one of the major indicators of good governance (Van de Walle & Bouckaert , 2003) . It is also the catalyst of tax morale in them (Hammar et al. , 2009) . Confidence in service users also indicates trust in them. Therefore, although studies have exhibited public confidence differently than public trust (e.g. Heintzman & Marson , 2005; Llewellyn et al. , 2013 ), in some studies, they have been used interchangeably or identified closely (Greasley , 2013; Marlowe , 2004) . Nevertheless, confidence and trust in public institutions are interwoven, meaning trust in public institutions also explains confidence in their services (Llewellyn et al. , 2013) , and is shaped directly or indirectly by institutional performance (Gupta , 2021) . Citizens’ confidence in public service is an outcome of institutional performance, and is affected by various factors. Demographic factors such as age, gender, income level, education, and occupation affect levels of trust in government (Nam & Lee , 2021) . The studies carried out in the past indicate that demographic variables such as gender, age, race, education, employment type, income, political orientation, and ideology play a role in trust in government (Brehm & Rahn , 1997; Christensen et al. , 2020; Christensen & Lægreid , 2005; Hetherington , 1998) . In this regard, this study utilized the demographics of service users to examine their confidence in accessing such services in Nepal.

Rural/Urban Cores and Confidence in Public Service

Although the aspirations of service users in receiving public services across urban or rural areas are similar, the geographical differences are claimed to cause differences in the standard and quality of public service delivery. In general, the number of services is lesser and available services are weaker in rural areas than in urban areas ( Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development [OECD], 2010). Dijkstra and Poelman (2008) explore more disparities in welfare measures between urban and rural areas, and the lowest productivity of services in rural areas. These issues of public service delivery in rural cores also persist in neighbouring countries of Nepal (Asian Development Bank , 2013) , specifically India (Krishna & Schober , 2014) , Bangladesh (Mridha et al. , 2009) , and both OECD and non-OECD countries (OECD , 2010) , and various public services in Nepal itself (Sarwar & Mason , 2017; Srinivasan et al. , 2013; World Bank , 2018) .

Difficulties in providing adequate public services to rural cores are attributed to a few key sources, including lack of skilled public service providers, the crunch of regulatory capacity and authority to perform standard performance, favour of central, subnational fiscal transfers on urban cores over rural cores, and possibly their inadequate support to rural areas (Brinkerhoff et al. , 2018) . Besides, providing services in rural areas is challenging due to their distance from service hubs and lower population level resulting in limited local demand (OECD , 2010) . Poor public services in education and health in rural locations in Nepal impel both providers and users to compromise on quality. This is due to the frequent absenteeism of service providers, lack of suitable infrastructure, and scarcity of human and other resources (World Bank , 2018) . Irrespective of numerous reasons discussed in the literature, differences are found in public service delivery among rural and urban continuums, which can influence service users’ confidence.

Past studies have shown that service users from rural areas have lower confidence than those from urban areas (Brinkerhoff et al. , 2018; Krishna & Schober , 2014; Taylor & Lawton , 2012) . Providing public services in remote areas continues to be a significant challenge in Nepal (Regmi et al. , 2010) . Poor public service delivery is frequently cited as one of the primary causes of discrimination observed in service delivery by service users from geographically excluded locations (Bhattarai , 2009; Kharel , 2018) . However, the influence of urban/rural differences on service users’ confidence in receiving public service in Nepal remains largely understudied. So based on the extant literature, we claim that confidence in public service users is influenced by their locale (rural and urban area) and present the below hypothesis.

H1: Public service users from urban cores exhibit higher confidence in accessing public services without hassle than those from rural cores.

Education and Confidence in Public Service

A few studies have tapped service users’ confidence by their educational levels (Marlowe , 2004) . Studies have shown that the education of service users has a positive association with their confidence level in public institutions or government (Christensen & Lægreid , 2005; Tolbert & Mossberger , 2006) . These studies support that service users’ confidence increases as their education level increases. Though education level is shown to be positively related with the confidence level of public, there are other studies (e.g. Aitalieva , 2014 ) which also show contrasting findings.

Educated service users possess the ability to look at public service dimensions critically (Khadka & Bhattarai , 2021) . Thus, educated service users are more apt to demand enhanced services and respond to lack of transparency and inefficiency in service delivery as unacceptable. Many studies show that education level has a negative effect on trust in some public institutions or governments (e.g. Roth et al. , 1990; Taylor & Lawton , 2012; Zhao & Hu , 2017 ). Meanwhile, other studies show that education does not affect confidence in public service providers. S. Kim (2010) , for instance, discovered no significant relationship between citizens’ education and confidence or trust in the government in Japan and South Korea. Furthermore, Vigoda-Gadot (2007) confirmed that there is no significant relationship between years of education and service satisfaction and trust in governance in Israel. In the study of citizens’ trust in Nepal’s public and political institutions, Gupta (2021) found that the effect of education on public trust is massive, but a significant result was only observed among illiterate citizens. Although higher education is associated with a decrease in public trust in public service providers, these findings are not statistically supported. This suggests a shortfall of studies on service users’ confidence in receiving public services according to their education level in Nepal. With consideration of the extant theoretical foundation, we hypothesize the below statement.

H2: Service users with higher education feel more confident in accessing public service without hassles than those with lower or no education background.

Caste/Ethnicity and Confidence in Public Service

In Nepal, the first detailed record of the caste system existed during the reign of King Jayasthiti Malla (B.S. 1380-1394), where 64 different castes were assigned different duties and rank in the hierarchy (Bennett et al. , 2008) . Subsequently, Ram Shah (1609-1636) introduced some rules and regulations on the relations between different groups of people outside the Kathmandu Valley, and in the 17th century, the rulers of the Shah dynasty used the concept of caste hierarchy as an organizing principle to consolidate the diverse people inhabiting Nepal into a nation-state (Bennett et al. , 2008) . When the Kingdom of Nepal was established in the mid-18th century, King Prithivi Narayan Shah adopted a policy that only a few castes, namely Panta, Bohora, Khanal, Aryal, Pandey and Rana, would have administrative jobs (Jamil & Baniamin , 2020) , while other castes, such as Janajatis, Madhesis, and Dalits, were excluded (Bishwakarma, 2008, cited in Dong , 2016 ). During the Rana rule (1846-1951), the first National Code of 1854, also known as Muluki Ain-1854, was promulgated. This national code united all Nepali people under a single legal system and created a hierarchy based on Hindu social stratification, and organized in terms of relative ritual purity in the four broad varnas, namely Brahman (priests), Kshatriya (kings and warriors), Vaisya (Traders and businessmen), and Sudra (peasants and laborers). This national code created a caste-based system of exclusion, in which the Brahmans and the Chhetris were considered to be upper class, and were rewarded in a social, administrative and political system. This traditionally created caste-based exclusionary practices have a greater impact on the civil service of Nepal. In 1991, Brahmins, Chhetris and Newars represented 36% of the total population but secured 89.2% of civil service jobs (United States Agency for International Development , 2007) . The government of Nepal has been following an inclusive policy since 1990 A.D. in general and 2006 in particular, because of the people’s movements of 1990 and 2006 A.D., correspondingly (N. R. Paudel , 2016) . The people’s movement 2006 overthrew the monarchy and enacted the interim constitution of Nepal in 2007. This constitution envisioned an inclusive state. To create a representative public service and integrate excluded people, the government of Nepal formulated an inclusive policy in 2007, reserved 45% of seats for excluded people, as suggested by the Interim Constitution of Nepal 2007 via the second amendment of the civil service act 1993 (Gupta et al. , 2020) . Although the second amendment of the Civil Service Act 1993 increased the representation of excluded groups of people in the civil service, Jamil and Baniamin (2020) , by referring to the data of the highest levels of civil service (secretary, joint secretary and undersecretary), indicated that the Brahmans were only 12.74% in the national population, but secured 66.33% of the civil service jobs. The Chhetris represented only 15.80% of the population, but secured 19% of the Nepali civil service jobs, while indigenous, Dalit, Muslim and other ethnicities represented 71.46% of the population, but secured only 5.19% of the civil service jobs. These statistics indicated that upper-class Brahmans and Chhetris dominated the public service sector in Nepal, which had a substitutional impact on public service delivery and service users’ confidence.

Studies have shown that service users’ confidence in receiving public services may differ across ethnic backgrounds, caste/ethnicity, and religions (Ramesh , 2017) . The decline in public trust is also associated with the increase in ethnic diversity among service users (Hooghe et al. , 2009) . Ethnic minorities have less trust in public institutions than the ethnic majority in Sri Lanka (Ramesh , 2017) . Similarly, mistrust among ethnic minorities regarding land settlements has also been documented in Bangladesh (Siddiquee , 2017) . Gupta (2021) also found that citizens’ confidence and trust in public and political institutions in Nepal are both positively and negatively influenced by caste/ethnicity. Confidence is found to differ by caste/ethnicity in Nepal because traditionally, caste-based social systems were awarded the highest rank to the Brahmans, Chhetris and Thakuris (Kshatriya) (Bennett et al. , 2008) . Inequalities in opportunity and access to public services persist across ethnic differences in Nepal (World Bank , 2018) . According to Nepal National Governance Survey 2017/18, 62% of citizens perceived that caste or ethnic background creates barriers to receiving public services (NASC , 2018) . Further, Pokharel et al. (2018) found that the share of people who perceive that ethnic background creates a barrier in receiving public services is higher among Tarai Janajati (51%), Tarai caste (49%), Dalit (49%), and Muslim (45%) as compared to Brahman (30%) and Chhetris (31%). This indicates that the level of confidence may differ among various service users of various ethnic backgrounds. Thus, we set the below hypothesis from the studied context.

H3: Brahman/Chettris feel more confident in accessing public services without hassles in Nepal than do service users of other ethnicities.

Afno Manchhe/Person in Close Contact (Social Networking) and Confidence in Public Service

The term ‘people in close contact’ or Afno Manchhe (in Nepali) is used to describe the inner circle of associates, which means one’s own people, and refers to those who can be approached if there is a need (Bista , 1991) . Bista also argued that ‘Afno Manchhe’ is an intrinsic part of Nepali society, and is deeply ingrained in the history of Nepali bureaucracy. ‘Afno Manchhe’ is also referred to as a familiar person or personal contact and is thus linked with the notion of social networking which connects service users with service providers in public service. Service providers help to streamline the processes in receiving public services if the service users are connected/networked to them and they become more responsive to providing services in a simpler, more efficient, scalable, and prompt manner if service consumers have a previous relationship or network with them (Bhattarai & Gupta , 2022) . Hence, service users’ prior relationships or networks with service providers increase their confidence in receiving public services without any hassles. If citizens receive public services from public and political institutions without knowing the officials personally and without getting into any trouble, they show high confidence in public services (Gupta , 2021) . In this regard, the impact of Afno Manchhe (social networking) is enormous on service users’ confidence in public service. However, this theoretical standpoint has received little research attention, and is yet to be studied in the context of Nepal. In this backdrop, we set the below hypothesis.

H4 : Public service users, who believe that not having a person in close contact/Afno Manchhe (social networking) creates a barrier in accessing public services without hassles in Nepal, have less confidence.

Presence of Intermediaries and Confidence in Public Service

A citizen may obtain public services himself or with the help of a third party (Lamsal & Gupta , 2022) , which is often known as an intermediary. An intermediary is a person, who usually stays around the public service institution’s premises, and approaches and persuades service users to ask for their help to receive a problem-free public service. Sometimes the service provider intentionally creates the hassle of seeking the obligatory help of intermediaries. Service users may encounter complex administrative procedures if they wish to receive it alone. Service users, sometimes, also approach intermediaries themselves (Bussell , 2012) . Service users who are unfamiliar with the required documents and administrative procedures seek the help of intermediaries to obtain services conveniently. Standing in line, managing all documents correctly, and following bureaucratic protocols are complicated for service users. Intermediaries capitalize this complexity to solicit their help. Service users follow the cost-benefit analysis and seek the help of intermediaries when the benefits outweigh the costs.

Earlier work of Bailey and Bakos (1997) has shed light on some critical roles of intermediaries including providing legal contacts between public service providers and users, providing authentication, facilitating information transfer, and enhancing trust between them by ensuring complete transactions and keeping them up-to-date with information, and reducing operational costs. Other studies also suggest more benefits of having intermediaries than costs incurred (Al-Sobhi et al. , 2010; Löbel et al. , 2016) . Meanwhile, a few studies have focused on developing e-government that predicts direct interaction between service providers and users and minimizes transaction costs by evading intermediaries (Janssen & Klievink , 2009) . With the dearth of sufficient literature to substantiate the role of intermediaries in effective public service delivery (Löbel et al. , 2016) and debates prevailing on the extant literature on whether the presence of intermediaries builds service users’ confidence or not, it would be inconclusive to argue favoring disintermediation based on the cost of intermediation only (Janssen & Verbraeck , 2005) .

The presence of intermediaries is commonly found in public services in Nepal. In Pokharel et al. (2017) , 30.3% of services reported to have used paid intermediaries. The study claimed an increase in both value and cost of transactions with the use of intermediaries but importantly highlighted that there is no regulation in such intermediation process and that they often promote bribery. Nepal National Governance Survey 2017/18 showed that 45% of citizens reported that they sought third-party assistance, including family/friends, government employees, and paid intermediaries (NASC , 2018) . Among the service users using intermediaries’ assistance, 69% reported that they were technically required to access the service, 16% reported a lack of knowledge of office procedures, and 8% reported that they lacked self-confidence. Gupta and Shrestha (2021) found that one in every five (22%) service users receive public services by asking with the service provider, followed by friends/family (21.5%), asking other service users (17.5%), and intermediates/agents (17.5%) which are all higher than Citizen Charter (15.8%). Such data delineate the need for having their people or intermediaries to some extent in receiving public services to build their confidence. Janssen and Klievink (2009) also opine that the use of intermediaries helps bridge the gap between services offered by public service providers and the hassle-free service the users desire and may add confidence in them. In this backdrop, we hypothesize the following:

H5 : Public service users who perceive that the presence of intermediaries creates barriers in accessing public services in Nepal show higher degree of confidence.

Study Methods

The study uses the data from Nepal National Governance Survey 2017/18 (NASC , 2018) . It is a nationally representative survey conducted by NASC with technical support from the Central Bureau of Statistics, Nepal. A total of 12920 individual respondents aged 18 and older were selected using four-stage multiple cluster sampling designs covering districts, municipalities/rural municipalities, polling centers, and finally individuals to obtain a nationally representative sample. In the first phase of the sampling, 43 districts from 77 districts were selected, taking into account all seven provinces and three ecological zones. In the second stage, 164 urban and rural municipalities were randomly selected from 43 districts, and then in the third stage, 4 polling centers, developed by the Election Commission of Nepal for the 2017 local-level election, were randomly selected from each urban and rural municipality. In total, 646 polling centers (300 in urban and 346 in rural municipalities) were selected. In the final stage, 20 respondents were selected from each of the 646 polling centers using systematic random sampling. The registered voters’ list of each polling center, prepared by the Nepal Election Commission, was adopted as a sampling frame to make the final selection of the respondents. Using a standardized questionnaire, trained and skilled research associates collected data by conducting face-to-face structured interviews between December 2017 and March 2018. Of the 12920 selected respondents, 12872 interviews were conducted successfully, totalling a response rate of 99.6%, but not all were from the original target respondents. The response rate was high because the survey allowed the replacement of unavailable respondents from a replacement list, which is a pre-selected additional respondent list. This survey assumed that not all pre-selected respondents would be available or interested in participating in the survey for various reasons, including reluctance, death or absence. To address this issue and ensure a higher response rate, a replacement plan was prepared for each polling center adopting a process similar to stage 4, and 10 ‘reserve’ respondents were selected to replace unavailable respondents. If a selected respondent didn’t appear for the interview, a replacement was selected from the replacement list, preferably of the same gender and age group. Even if respondents from the replacement list were unable to participate, a secondary replacement was further drawn from the household of the original targeted respondents. A total of 68% of the original respondents were interviewed, and 32% were not interviewed. Of the 32% of original respondents who weren’t interviewed, 22% were interviewed from the replacement list, and the remaining 10% were interviewed from secondary replacement list from the household of the original targeted respondents.

This survey collected information on three broad parameters of governance, namely the foundation of governance, the infrastructure of governance, and service delivery, among which this study is based on the service delivery section. This survey collected information about the public service that citizens received from various government organizations such as district administration offices, municipality/rural municipality offices, education offices, agriculture offices, land revenue offices, police offices, health institutions, transportation offices, forest offices, central ministries/agencies and so on (NASC , 2018) . The analysis of this paper is based on citizens’ confidence in accessing services from these institutions without any hassles with various factors such as location, education level, caste/ethnicity, presence of own people, and intermediaries.

Measures: Dependent and Independent Variables

Citizen confidence in accessing the public service without any hassle (hereafter referred to as citizen confidence) from the government office was used as a dependent variable. The dependent variable used in this study seems to be the combination of two variables: confidence and access to public service. However, in many researches, trust/confidence and public service delivery are treated separately, and referred to as dependent and independent variables, respectively (See: Askvik et al. , 2011; Cowell et al. , 2012; Gupta , 2021; Jamil & Askvik , 2013; Ramesh , 2017 ). Although different studies have used trust/confidence and public service delivery separately, this study used confidence in accessing the public service as the dependent variable, as this survey assessed service users’ confidence by asking, “At present, how confident do you feel that you can access services without any hassles from government offices?”. This question was asked to individuals who received public services from government offices in the last two years. Of the 12872 respondents, only 7437 received public service in the last two years. This question had four answers: fully confident, partially confident, not confident, and don’t know/can’t say. This study excluded 103 respondents who reported can’t say/don’t know the answers, because it did not offer an articulated view. So the sample size for the study was 7334. This study only covered five independent variables: public service users’ urban/rural cores, their education level, their caste/ethnicity, belief that not having Afno Manchhe/a person in close contact creates barriers in accessing public service, and the belief that the presence of intermediaries does not create barriers in accessing public service. These independent variables were used to examine the likelihood of feeling confident in accessing public services.

The influence of the dependent variable (citizen confidence) on the independent variables seems to be negligible due to the demographic nature of the independent variables. In the Nepali public services, the presence of intermediaries or having an Afno manchhe/person in close contact is not affected by citizen confidence in accessing public service. The presence of intermediaries in Nepali public services lies beyond the control of service users, and whether they have an Afno manchhe/person in close contact within public service institutions depends on their previous connections, which is largely unaffected by their confidence in accessing the services. In this study, both the independent and dependent variables were obtained from the same survey, which is very common in survey research-based articles. Using variables from the same survey allows us to counteract the effects of confounding variables that might skew the relationship between dependent and independent variables. It also helps us ensure consistency in the measurement, definition and quality of variables, which is important for obtaining accurate and meaningful results in the analysis. To test whether the response to the dependent variable influences the response to the independent variables, and to produce a reliable/unbiased model and obtain a good estimate of the effect of the independent variables on the dependent variable, multicollinearity was tested before performing binary logistic regression, as shown in Table 1 . The tolerances values are closer to 1, and VIF values are less than 2.5, signifying that there is no multicollinearity issue to fit the logistic regression model.

Logistic Regression Model

This study used binary logistic regression to examine the likelihood of feeling confident in accessing public service by urban/rural, education, caste/ethnicity, not having Afno Manchhe/person in close contact, and presence of intermediaries with or without statistical significance. This is because the dependent variable (feeling of confidence) is categorical, which is suitable for logistic regression. The dependent variable was coded as a ‘0’ for not feeling confident and ‘1’ for feeling confident in accessing public service as shown in Table 2 .

The Logistic Regression Equation Model:

        where,

        P = Probability of feeling the confidence to access public service

        X = Independent variables (urban/rural, education, caste/ethnicity, not having Afno manchhe/person in close contact and presence of intermediaries)

SPSS 26 was used for analysis and the odds ratio was stated. An odds ratio enables the effects to be captured in terms of a probability statement and the results to be interpreted intuitively (Berglund et al. , 2008; Lee & Whitford , 2008) . The odds ratio greater than 1 indicates a positive (event probable to occur) relationship, while odds ratio less than 1 indicates a negative relationship (event less likely to occur).

Descriptive Statistics

The study variables include demographics and variables related to having Afno Manchhe (person in close contact) and the presence of intermediaries as shown in Table 3 . Table 3 shows a fairly equal distribution level of public service users from municipalities (56%) and rural municipalities (44%). It also shows their level of education and reveals that nearly half (48%) of service users do not even have up to the basic level of education. Further, more than one-third of the service users are Brahmin/Chhetri (38.1%) while the remaining share represents all the other castes/ethnicities. Similarly, 85.1% of them believe that the absence of Afno Manchhe (person in close contact/familiar person) creates barriers in accessing public services and 66.1 % believe that the presence of intermediaries creates the same barriers. The distribution of confidence level among each group with the service users’ locale, level of education, ethnicities and opinions regarding Afno Manchhe or intermediaries is fairly proportionate to the total demographic distribution. It is interesting to note that the share of service users exhibiting confidence was higher in all the groups compared to those with no confidence.

Logistic Regression Results

Results obtained using logistic regression highlighting confidence in service users differ across various variables, as shown in Table 4 . Table 4 provides the beta (β) and odds ratio of logistic regression for each category of the variables. Place of residence which is classified as i) urban areas (represented by municipalities) and ii) rural areas (represented by rural municipalities) and education which is categorized under five levels ranging from no education to higher education were used as independent variables. Caste/ethnicity is broadly categorized into Brahman/Chhetri and others as another independent variable. Likewise, two other independent variables are ‘not having Afno Manchhe/person in close contact and presence of intermediaries’. As the dependent variable, confidence in accessing public service was used. Results have shown that confidence in accessing public services from government offices differs positively and negatively with different independent variables.

Nagelkerke R Square = 0.030, ** p<.001

Taking municipal service users as the reference group, it is found that service users living in rural municipalities are more likely to feel confident ( OR = 1.224, p < .001) in accessing public service from government offices. The result implies that service users living in municipalities feel less confident in accessing public services than those living in rural areas. Similarly, regarding service users having no education (Illiterate) as the reference group, it is found that the service users with no school education, basic education, secondary education and higher education have lower confidence than those without education ( OR = .920, p > .05; OR = .797, p < .001; OR = .702, p < .001; OR = .613, p < .001 respectively). The result indicates a negative relationship between the level of education and confidence in accessing public service. The confidence of the service users sequentially declines with an increase in their level of education. Similarly, the results showed that compared to Brahman/Chhettri service users, those from other ethnic backgrounds are less likely to feel confident in accessing public services ( OR = .821, p < .001). Brahmans/Chhettris, in other words, feel more confident in accessing public service than other castes/ethnic groups.

The study also observed that service users who think that not having Afno Manchhe/person in close contact (social networking) creates a hassle in accessing public service are less likely to feel confident in accessing public services (OR = .663, p < .001). It suggests that having Afno Manchhe/a person in close contact (social networking) would lead to a feeling of more confidence in accessing public services. Likewise, service users who think that the presence of intermediaries creates barriers in accessing public service are less likely to feel confident in accessing public services (OR = .514, p < .001). This finding thus indicates that service users have a negative perception of the presence of intermediaries in the process of accessing public services with confidence.

Constitutionally, citizens are entitled to receive quality public services on time without any inconvenience from the government offices as one of their primary responsibilities (Government of Nepal , 2015) . The Government of Nepal periodically recruits highly competent service providers through a merit-based system to fulfil this responsibility (R. C. Paudel & Gupta , 2019) . However, service users are not highly satisfied with the public services they receive and feel less confident in accessing public services. According to the Nepal National Governance Survey (2017/18), only 15% of citizens are fully satisfied with the services they received, while 65% are partially satisfied. The survey also revealed that only 9% of citizens have full confidence in the services they received, while 60% have partial confidence (NASC , 2018) . Although there are more partially satisfied and confident citizens, the proportion of fully satisfied and confident citizens is very low. A high-quality public service not only ensures satisfaction, but also fosters citizens’ confidence (Lamsal & Gupta , 2022) .

Service users’ confidence in receiving public service depends on several factors such as residence (urban/rural), education level, caste/ethnicity, not having Afno Manchhe/person in close contact (social networking), and the presence of intermediaries. Out of the factors, there are remarkable urban-rural variations in public service (World Bank , 2018) . Service delivery is relatively challenging in rural areas as compared to urban areas, particularly due to the lower population density, the greater distances to be travelled, and the limited number of people in every place that precludes economies of scale (OECD , 2010) . Kosec and Wantchekon (2020) also argue that service delivery is particularly challenging in rural areas, confronted with unique logistical difficulties due to their remoteness. Public services available in rural areas are comparatively lower in quality, have fewer choices, and are available at higher costs (OECD , 2010) . Despite this, our study confirmed that service users living in rural areas are more likely to feel confident in accessing public service than those living in urban areas. Compared to urban service users, rural service users have a much more favorable view of public service. This may be because rural service users have a greater feeling of self-reliance and social connectivity, and are more attached to government offices. On the other hand, urban service users are more likely to believe themselves as the right holders than rural service users. Urban service users are generally more educated than rural service users. Therefore, they assess the performance of public service providers more critically, and expect higher performance from them than the rural service users do. This indicates that even a minor performance gap would lead to a decline in their satisfaction level and consequently their confidence in accessing public services.

Educated service users appear to have a more practical view and they better understand the political-administrative system (Marlowe , 2004; Richardson et al. , 2001; Tolbert & Mossberger , 2006) . As a result, they may demand high-quality public services. The gradual drop in their confidence level with the escalation of their educational level aligns with the theoretical underpinning. This is because educated service users demand high quality public services, critically examine public service performance, and have a more critical attitude towards civil servants (Marlowe , 2004; Zhao & Hu , 2017) . Educated service users assess all facets of public services, and if they find a gap between expectations and actual performance, their level of confidence declines. Users with higher education have varied demands and higher expectations, and as a result, they accept less administrative inefficiency and are less satisfied with public services (Roth et al. , 1990) . Thus, expectations and demands of the public service users grow as the level of education increases, and if expectations and demands are not met, both satisfaction and confidence decline.

Nepal is a multi-ethnic, multilingual and multi-religious country with diverse cultures and comprises approximately 126 caste/ethnic groups, speaking 123 languages and practicing 10 different religious beliefs (Central Bureau Statistics , 2012) . People of different caste/ethnicity have different beliefs and experiences in public service, and have a different levels of confidence in accessing public service. In Nepal, the effect of caste/ethnicity on service users’ confidence in receiving public services is considered very high. It is because the caste/ethnicity hierarchy structure and system pose an obstacle for the smooth public service delivery in Nepal, and it is perceived as an obstacle to access services for at least 30 % of Nepali citizens with a higher proportion of Tarai Janajati (51%), Tarai caste (49%), Dalit (49%) and Muslim (45%) (Pokharel et al. , 2018) . Such data show that the government has been unable to fully guarantee fair access to public services to those lower in the caste/ethnic hierarchy, even though everyone legally has the same right to access public services. Brahman/Chettri service users are more likely to feel confident in accessing public services than the other caste/ethnicity group, which is also confirmed by this study. This is possibly due to the higher representation of Brahman/Chettris in government offices than other castes/ethnic groups. Seeing a service provider of the same caste or ethnicity in government offices can increase the feeling of belongingness in service users, which in turn, increases their confidence. Similarly, language affects many ethnolinguistic groups seeking access to public services in Nepal, either directly or indirectly (Dong , 2016; Lawoti , 2014) . Bennett et al. (2006) argue that 52% of the population of Nepal does not speak Nepali as their mother tongue. Public services are usually provided in Nepali, even though the Central Bureau of Statistics (2012) reports numerous spoken languages and castes/ethnic groups. Service users from all caste/ethnic groups do not adequately speak and understand the Nepali language clearly and this language barrier makes them less confident in accessing public service. In this way, caste/ethnicity, directly and indirectly, influences service users’ confidence in accessing public services.

Service users can access public services by three means, namely through normal procedures, through direct bribing, and through intermediaries (Fredriksson , 2014) . Principally, service users should receive public services through regular procedures. However, in many cases, service users cannot receive services through regular procedures. They tend to use intermediaries instead of offering bribes directly to officers because they cannot identify corrupt officers and how much should be offered (Bayar , 2005) . In general, corrupt service providers deliberately create hassles for making extra money from service users. To escape from this hassle and avoid procedural complexity, service users take the help of intermediaries. Service users who are not fully informed about the needed documents and administrative procedures, and are unaware of the complicated bureaucratic protocols often face dilemmas (Neupane et al. , 2022) . Hence, they seek the assistance of intermediaries to receive services conveniently. Intermediaries use this complexity as an opportunity to offer them their services and reap financial benefits. The existence of intermediaries thus creates barriers in accessing public services with confidence which was confirmed by this study. This is because intermediaries impose an additional financial burden on service users. Similarly, in some cases, intermediaries with the assistance of service providers make it difficult to receive public services without their assistance. Hence, the environment of seeking mandatory help from intermediaries reduces service users’ confidence in public service.

The influence of Afno Manche/person in close contact (social networking) in Nepal’s public service system seems to be strong. Nepali citizens believe that the presence of their people in the service-providing offices can ease to obtain services without any difficulties. Service users who do not have connections and networks with the service provider may feel less confident owing to various reasons such as complicated administrative processes, inadequate knowledge of documentation and service procedures, long queues, and uncooperative behavior from the service providers. The results of the study revealed that service users, who perceived they had no connections or network (Afno Manchhe) and saw it as a barrier, have lower confidence in accessing public services. This is because those having person/s in close contact or Afno Manchhe in public service receive the privileged treatment. Persons in close contact are inclined to personal relations that Putnam (2000) has termed as bonding social capital. Indeed, confidence in accessing public service depends on the social capital of the service users. Social capital relies on the principle of radius and network trust (Fukuyama , 1995) , which is related to bonding and bridging social capital (Putnam , 2000) . Bonding or bridging and narrow or more comprehensive radius impact service users’ confidence in accessing public services. Service users who have a wider radius and bonding social capital are more confident in accessing public services, as service providers simplify the bureaucratic process, and show service-friendly behaviour. The problem is that all service users do not have the same wider radius and bonding social capital. In the Nepali public service sector, service users’ confidence in accessing public services relies heavily on bonding and bridging social capital. This is because the culture of Afno Manchhe/person in close contact is deeply ingrained in Nepali public services. This culture violates the principle of justice, makes public service less effective and ethical (Khanal et al. , 2022) , and diminishes the confidence of service users.

Implications of the Study

The study used the data from Nepal National Governance Survey 2017/18 which is a single survey. Since this may lead to common method bias, further research can be carried out using dataset from multiple surveys. The study also offers policy implications since its results caution and compel the concerned stakeholders to pay close attention to factors such as location (urban/rural), education, caste/ethnicity, presence of people in close contact and intermediaries to ensure higher service user confidence in accessing public services. It also offers insightful evidence to public service providing institutions for quality public service, which not only leads to satisfaction, but also fosters citizen confidence and trust. This study proposes a list of potential suggestions, which can be useful not only for policy makers, but also for service providers, as below:

The confidence of service users in accessing public services depends severely on their demographics. Therefore, when designing and delivering public services, particular attention should be paid to the demographic characteristics of service users.

Service users believe that having a connection/network with a service provider can make it easier to get services without any difficulties. The preferential treatment of service users within their connection/network violates notions of justice and fairness, thereby reducing service users’ confidence in accessing public services. Therefore, service providers must be fair in their work, particularly when dealing with service users, and never give undue favor to service users they know personally.

It is the best notion to have a direct relationship between service users and public service providers, but sometimes there is a presence of intermediaries in public services, particularly in services with complex administrative procedures. Therefore, a help desk and digital citizen charter should be set up in the public service institutions, from which service users can easily get all the information about the administrative process and procedures of the services. Similarly, the service providers can also support service users by simplifying the bureaucratic process as needed. It somehow supports to minimize the presence of intermediaries in public services, which ultimately helps ensure service users’ confidence in accessing public services.

Public service is a means of strengthening the relation between the state and citizens. Meeting the demands and expectations of service users with the quality of public services is the state’s primary concern. While the Government of Nepal has implemented a range of interventions to provide quality public services according to their needs, it has not been able to meet their expectations since many service users still do not feel completely confident in accessing public services. Factors such as locale (urban/rural), education level, caste/ethnicity, and belief that not having Afno Manche/person in close contact creates barriers in accessing public services and belief that the presence of intermediaries creates a barrier in public services have direct or indirect and positive or adverse effect on accessing public services with confidence. Ensuring the service users’ confidence in public services is challenging, but possible. It is therefore imperative that the public service providers bring a reform in public service design and delivery aligning with the demographic structure and its dynamics to improve public service performance, which would ultimately lead to maintaining, restoring, and sustaining service users’ confidence.

Authors’ Contributions

The author/authors listed have made a substantial, direct, and intellectual contributions to the work and have approved it for publication.

Conflict of Interest Statement

The authors declare that they have no potential conflict of interest.

Acknowledgement

The authors thank Nepal Administrative Staff College for the data of Nepal National Governance Survey 2017/18. Similarly, the authors would like to thank the anonymous referees for their insightful comments and feedbacks on the earlier drafts of this article.

Submitted : June 16, 2022 KST

Accepted : February 10, 2023 KST

Urban Public Transportation | Financing | Infrastructure | Local Governments | Public Investment

Public transport system financing around the world: Lessons for Nepal

To build a sustainable transport system, nepal shouldn't shy away from making large public investments and must pave the way for private sector engagement and public-private partnership.

NEPAL IS INCREASINGLY being exposed to the malign forces of bad public transport systems, particularly cities. Take its capital Kathmandu, for instance. Its population has increased more than 60% in the last decade, resulting in more than 400% increase in vehicles. Some estimates suggest that about 450,000 vehicles are in the valley alone. Increasing vehicle ownership, rapid urbanization, and narrow roads are fuelling more traffic jams. Poorly financed transport systems have led to inefficiency with added financial burden on households. Deteriorating air quality is raising health concerns. Rising import of private vehicles is another addition to the list of problems.

Demand for two-wheelers and four-wheelers in the country is skyrocketing. Annual growth rate of vehicle registration exceeds 16 percent. Number of vehicles increased from 0.48 million in 2005 to 3.22 million in 2018. 

In 2018 alone the Department of Transport Management reported that 96% registered passenger vehicles were private. Only 4% represented public vehicles. Motorbikes are the most registered vehicle (78%). Car registration is increasing at an annual rate of 12%. Their contribution to road congestion and air pollution has exponentially risen over the years. Yet there are no signs urban population and demand for private vehicles will slow down in the coming days.

The government apathy towards improving the crumbling and unsustainable transport system is a sign of trouble, though doable. Implementation of strong policies, strict enforcement of existing laws and financing alternative means of public transport are necessary to reverse this notorious trend. Planners will have to think about their sustainability, too.

The stodgy public transport system demands massive investment. But challenges are myriad: financing, technology and infrastructure gap at the resource level, knowledge gap at the planning level, lack of willpower at the political level and overall policy gaps.

For years now, however, Kathmandu’s city planners have been contemplating different alternatives, though. They are looking into the feasibility of different mass transport alternatives, such as metro rail, bus rapid transit and urban cable car system, but have failed to agree on one solution so far. In the meantime, transport problems have only multiplied.

In this compilation, we take a look at a few public transport systems around the world, and their financing and operations:

Hong Kong’s MTRC and Land Value Capture strategy

Hong Kong’s experience of Land value capture (LVC) is promoted as a model for developing countries seeking to pursue sustainable urbanization, including mass transit rail network. Its railway network’s efficiency and profitability is attributed to the LVC strategy developed by its operating company, the Mass Transit Railway Corporation (MTRC). The strategy recoups its initial investment and revenues from gains in land value and real estate activities

MTRC, a majority government owned (75%) public transport operator, follows a “rail and property” development model. The gains from property development around railways stations and depots are used to cover capital costs of railway development along with their running costs.

Sydney Light Rail

Conceptualisation

Sydney saw its first tram in the 19th century, which was horse-drawn. The tram was built not to serve passengers, but to supply the city with goods and return cargo from the docks at Circular Quay. Serving the passengers was an after-thought. Then came the steam tramway and now electric tramway (electrification started in 1898).

Transport for NSW, a state government body, owns the network. Day-to-day operations are handed to Transdev—a France-based international private sector firm that specialises in public transport. The body operates bus, ferry, light rail and rail services in many parts of Australia and New Zealand under the subsidiary of Transdev Australasia. 

Transdev is now working on Sydney’s light rail expansion works — the Parramatta Light Rail project — under the Supply, Maintain and Operate contract. The project is planned for completion by 2023 and is expected to serve the growing economic needs of Sydney, which is also growing demographically.

Revenue The costs of operating the Sydney Light Rail network are funded through fares income (passenger ticket revenues), contract revenues from private transport companies, government subsidies to provide social services and revenues from leveraging assets, such as stations and right-of-way.

Berlin U-Bahn (Underground metro)

The creation of the Berlin U-Bahn (BBH) is credited to Werner Siemens, who in 1880, thought of building an urban railway in Berlin. The first construction of the railway began in 1896. It was built in three different stages: up to 1913 small profile networks were constructed; large profile networks were then introduced till 1930. The U-Bahn saw further developments after 1953.

Berliner Verkehrsbetriebe (BVG), a state-owned transport company maintains and operates the U-Bahn. BVG also operates a network of buses and tram and ferry services. BVG has various subsidiaries which provide financing. 

One of the subsidiaries, BBH provides commercial services—IT, human resource, finances—and carries out the investment management of the BVG. Another subsidiary BVG-FFG finances the procurement of metro and tram vehicles. 

Mass Rapid Transport (MRT) in Singapore

The idea of building the MRT emerged from a forecast by city planners, who in 1967 concluded the need for a rail-based urban transportation system by 1992. It began its operation in 1987 covering only 6 kms. Later, Singapore expanded the rail network more comprehensively.

In its early years, the MRT system was operated by the state, and then its management and operation was handed over to SMRT corporation, a government subsidiary. It was then managed and operated by two listed companies, SMRT and Singapore Bus Service (SBS) Transit, which is Singapore’s largest public bus operator. The MRT now runs on a public-private hybrid model where operations are privatized, but operating assets are state-owned. 

SMRT and SBS Transit are rival multimodal public transport operators — mainly bus and rail services. SMRT is a subsidiary of Temasek Holdings, a Singaporean state holding company, while SBS Transit is a public company, a subsidiary of multinational land transport company ComfortDelGro Corporation.

The firms make revenue through rail, bus and taxi passenger fares, management of transit retail and advertising spaces, and properties and retail management. SMRT also provides engineering solutions and transport-related technical and consulting services both locally and overseas.

London Buses

London Buses was formed after the UK government passed the Greater London Authority Act 1999 that gave Transport for London (TfL) the authority to manage bus services—which was until then controlled by London Regional Transport (now a defunct organisation). 

TfL, which controls London Buses, is funded through a variety of sources, including fares, commercial activities such as advertisements, congestion charge income from private vehicles, central and local government grants and borrowing. It borrows from ‘a variety of sources using a combination of mechanisms, including bonds, commercial paper, loans for specific projects from the European Investment Bank and the Public Works Loan Board’. 

TfL explains : 

We are a public body, with no shareholders or parent companies, which means we can reinvest every pound of income in the transport network. For every pound we receive, around 79% is spent on the everyday running costs of the network and around 21% on improving it for the future.

London Buses follows a Tendering system model. Bus operators bid for routes, and those awarded with the London Buses contract provide staff with buses. In return, they are paid for every mile that each bus runs. 

Metrocable (Medellín)

The City Council of Medellín, Colombia, started metro cable operation in 2004 to provide transport service to people living on the steep hills (which are unreachable through MedellínMetro). It was designed to promote social inclusion and equitable urban mobility, and to improve the quality of life of the residents of the hillside barrios. 

The Metro Cable, along with Medellín Metro, which compliment the metro cable, is a part of SITVA, the integrated public transport system of Aburrá Valley. SITVA integrates other three transit types; Metroplús — a Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) system; EnCicla — a bicycle sharing system with a fleet of 1,300 bicycles; and Translohr — a tram transit system. Medellín, located in Aburrá Valley, is the second largest city in Colombia. 

These public transport systems serve as good examples for Nepal that building an efficient public transport system is not a far-fetched feat. They also provide important lessons. 

One thing these transport systems have in common is—the priority their governments accorded to the public transport system many decades ago. Governments didn’t shy away from making large investments because there were larger socioeconomic gains to it.

These systems also reveal that large and growing cities require a good mix of different transit types to serve their growing demographic and economic needs. As these systems evolved, it paved way to add new amenities and new line of services, identify new ways of financing and revenue streams, and forge new partnerships.

On the contrary, Nepal shut down its trolly bus operations after running it for over 25 years, instead of reforming or building on it, leaving the public transportation system to unscrupulous private operators and without oversight. 

Yet, one important lesson that Nepal cannot miss out on is—to build a sustainable transport system, private sector engagement is critical, and federal and sub-national governments should work in public-private partnership to finance, build and/or operate the public transportation. Collaborating this way makes project financially sustainable, allows projects to be completed sooner and most importantly make it a possibility in the first place.

Karan Poudel is an Investment Writer/Editor at Ansu Group. He was a former writer-analyst at the_farsight.

Sabin Jung Pande is the editor at the_farsight.

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Condition Of Public Transport In Nepal

Although private owners have their monopoly in the public transport, they do not abide by the universal meaning., reezan poudel.

Whatever the universal definitions and functions of public transport may be, Nepal has its own kind of public transport. According to the universal definition, public transport means all the buses, trains, cars, and other forms of transport that are available to the public in their nearby station, charge set fares, and run on fixed routes at different times.

Examples of public transport include city buses, trolleybuses, trams, and passenger trains. Public transport is a vital form of transport in all parts of the world. The public transport system must have some good qualities or features such as being affordable and accessible, with proper management of seats and so on. Public transport is very crucial for all the people. It has a lot of importance and many advantages. It helps people to travel and meet different needs. A single public bus can carry tens of people and still occupies almost the same space as some large personal vehicles. Moreover the public transport tends to be cheaper than using a private car.

Apart from generating employment opportunities, from drivers to attendants, the public transport systems are also the means of livelihood for many, either directly or indirectly.

However, Nepal’s public transport does not follow the universal definition. Although Nepal’s Transport Management Act has defined the term public transport, no one follows the term. The regulations prepared under the act have often been amended to suit the interest of the persons in power. Nepal’s act is so flexible on the definition. From six-seat three wheelers to big bus up to 70 seats, all are regarded as public transport.

Although private owners have their monopoly in the public transport, they do not abide by the universal meaning. Riding a public transport in Nepal is like a curse as they often violate the capacity rule, allowing as many passengers as possible. Thus, they are overcrowded and cramped. Nepal’s main public transport systems have middle size buses with the capacity of up to 30. However, they run with people double the capacity. Due to over loading, public buses are prone to fatal accidents.

Besides all these, the condition of public transportation in the context of Nepal is extremely poor. It has been causing noise pollution, air pollution, and so on. The rules and conditions are not being followed by the people and transport owners. The fare rate has increased at a very high level. Conductors are using advantages from it and taking fares more than its original fare rate. Suppose the fare rate from JADIBUTI to Maitighar is Rs.18, but it is common that they are asking Rs. 20 as fare rates. They are breaking the rules and regulations made by the government just to get more profit. Public transport in Nepal does not stop at the precise address that a passenger is traveling to, forcing them to look for additional means.

Proper hygiene is also not maintained. People gather at gangway area, there is no proper place to walk, Youngsters go and sit at the female and orphanage seats. Some public transport crews play too loud music forcing the passenger to signal at the driver to stop. There is a limited number of seats but to get profit public transporters add more and more people no matter what the passengers are thinking. They use all kinds of offensive and vulgar words. The condition is very bad in the context of Nepal about public transportation because of these and similar reasons as mentioned above.

In the context of transport and public transport anarchy, Sajha Yatayat, a cooperative, has been making efforts to offer international level public transport service in the Kathmandu Valley. However, it is yet to receive full hearted support from the entire sector. With the monopoly of certain transport owners, Sajha has been facing resistance.

Sajha Yatayat has also shown how public transportation should be. However, majority of public transport owners are just concerned about profit over the service. To improve public transport in Nepal, the owner of public vehicles should be aware of the rules and regulations and follow those rules and regulations strictly. Also, the government should focus on bringing various advanced public transportation vehicles which can run from alternative sources of energy like electric vehicles rather than vehicles that use petrol and diesel which will help to save the non-renewable sources of energy as well as there will be proper utilization of alternative energy sources and thus it cannot have any negative impact on the natural environment. In conclusion, public transportation can be useful for the country only if all the passengers and owners follow the proper rules and regulations provided by the government and government should also be aware as to whether the rules and regulations are being properly followed. If not, strict actions should be taken against violators.

Poudel is a student

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Public Service System in Nepal: Historical Background and Challenges in the Changing Context

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Home » News & Updates » SIMPLEX Model- Improving Public Service Delivery in Nepal

SIMPLEX Model- Improving Public Service Delivery in Nepal

-This article has been originally published by Sneha Pradhan in The Himalayan Times on March 4, 2018.

Change – it is incredible how much emotion this simple word so competently elicits. That of fear and uncertainty, but more importantly, of opportunity and hope. As Nepal rides the waves of historic changes in the form of promulgation of the new constitution, the transition to a federal government, successful elections and of what we hope a stable government appointment; we are optimistic. Needless to say, the journey ahead will be full of challenges – one of which is certain to be public service delivery.

It should come as no surprise that economists and private sector representatives alike have voiced the urgent need for effective governance, particularly in the form of better public administration and service delivery. The citizens of Nepal have faced the brunt of political turmoil and disjointed red tape for decades. Delayed project implementation, inadequate infrastructure, and low FDI inflows have all been unfortunate by-products. It is high time that the government listens to the needs of our people and provides services that make our lives easier and subsequently help our businesses and the economy flourish.

In 2006, Portugal faced similar difficulties and sought to address it through the launch of the Simplex programme. Having gone through years of deep-seated structural and economic problems, civil servants and political leaders understood the importance of transforming the administrative culture altogether, primarily by implementing cost-efficient administrative simplification and promoting e-governance. The programme has been widely successful in garnering strong political support, reducing compliance costs and uncoordinated bureaucracy, as well as delivering better public service. This can be reflected through the achieved simplification of laws and procedures, elimination of unnecessary certificates, consolidation of existing legal rules and easier access to public services.

The simplex programme and how it works.

Simplex aims at making the everyday lives of citizens and businesses easier by bringing together policies that reduce red-tape and promote e-governance under one programme. Not only does it strive to reduce the administrative burden from Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs), but also tries to facilitate investment and innovation through smart regulation by encouraging digital solutions. It makes a conscious effort to ensure that the regulations proposed and implemented do not add unnecessary burdens to the people. This is done with the help of the Simplex Test via impact assessment.

Every year government offices from different departments propose a plan for simplifying specific processes and set deadlines for its implementation. Additionally, simplification initiatives are also proposed by bureaucrats in the ‘Simplex Idea Awards’ and by external stakeholders such as entrepreneurs, citizens, and associations during public consultations. Moreover, municipalities partner with the central government to carry out a joint simplification programme for local government. Transparency and accountability are crucial parts of this equation. Therefore, the executive releases the results of all the projects each year and also discloses the reasons for any delay in implementation.

The Prime Minister and the Minister of Presidency of Council of Ministers are directly responsible for the Simplex programme and efforts that concern cutting red tape and e-governance. The coordination and monitoring of these programmes are carried out by the Secretary of State for Administrative Modernisation. The Agency for Administrative Modernisation serves to provide technical support to modernise public services by carrying out cross-departmental initiatives and ensuring cooperation among all relevant agencies.

Lessons for Nepal

The government of Portugal has compiled a list of best practices they have been able to achieve. Some that are particularly relevant to Nepal are:

On the spot firm A firm can be set up in less than an hour. No application has to be filled since all required information is internally exchanged among relevant public agencies: registry, social security, tax and economy.

Online firm A firm can be created entirely online by using a digital certificate number for authentication.

Simplified company information Companies have to only fill a single form which is available online to submit financial and accounting information. Earlier, entrepreneurs had to fill in different forms while adhering to various deadlines and report the same information to four government bodies: Directorate General for Taxation, Business Register Centre, National Statistics Agency and the Portuguese Central Bank.

One-stop house service A single counter can handle numerous procedures such as tax payment, contract drafting and signing, municipal tax exemption and property registration.

‘I lost my wallet’ counter This integrated service available at the one-stop office can reissue and renew several IDs at once.

Citizens’ card This card replaces five different cards from different public services. It can also be used for online identification and digital signatures.

Valuable lessons and parallels can be drawn from the Simplex Model. The commitment to reduce bureaucracy by both modernising and simplifying the structures and procedures of public services were made by the then new government, building on the momentum of their recent victory. They chose easy wins in the beginning so they could build from their successes. Staff capacity building was an integral part of the process of reform which was supplemented by rigorous training. Further, they changed the criteria for civil servant promotion according to merit instead of previously stated seniority. The time now is perfect to follow suit and strike while the iron is still hot. Let’s use this momentum and work towards effective reform. Let’s make all these historic changes count!

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