SUTI REPORT FOR THIMPHU CITY Sanjeev Mehta UNESCAP Bangkok 1 Contents 1. Introduction .................................................................................................................................... 3 1.1 Bhutan ..................................................................................................................................... 3 1.2 Transport sector in Bhutan ..................................................................................................... 4 2. Thimphu .......................................................................................................................................... 5 2.1 Introduction .................................................................................................................................. 5 2.2 Land Use Pattern in Thimphu ................................................................................................. 6 2.3 Major Transport Networks in Thimphu .................................................................................. 7 2.4 Motorisation level and Growth ............................................................................................... 8 2.5 Travel Pattern........................................................................................................................ 10 2.6 Transport sub systems ................................................................................................................ 11 2.6 Urban Transport Governance and Institutions ..................................................................... 12 2.7 Demand Management .......................................................................................................... 12 2.8 Major Concerns ........................................................................................................................... 13 3. SUTI Index for Thimphu City ......................................................................................................... 13 3.1 Indicator 1: Extent to which transport plans cover public transport, intermodal facilities and infrastructure for active modes ........................................................................................................ 15 3.2 Indicator 2: Modal Share of Active and Public Transport in Commuting .................................. 18 3.3 Indicator 3: Convenient Access to Public Transport Service ...................................................... 20 3.4 Indicator 4: Quality and Reliability of Public Transport .............................................................. 21 3.5 Indicator 5: Traffic Fatalities per 100,000 Inhabitants ................................................................ 23 3.6 Indicator 6: Affordability- Travel Cost as a Ratio of Income ....................................................... 24 3.7 Indicator 7: Operational cost of Public Transportation System .................................................. 25 3.8 Indicator 8: Investment in Public Transportation System .......................................................... 26 3.9 Indicator 9: Air Quality (PM 10) .................................................................................................. 27 3.10 Indicator 10: Green House Gas Emission from Transport ........................................................ 28 4. Conclusions ................................................................................................................................... 29 References ............................................................................................................................................ 30 2 List of Figures Figure 1: Major Urban Centres in Thimphu ............................................................................................ 5 Figure 2: Land Use Pattern in Thimphu .................................................................................................. 7 Figure 3: Thimphu City Transport Circulation System ............................................................................ 8 Figure 4: Number of Registered Vehicles in Thimphu ............................................................................ 9 Figure 5: Compound annual growth rate of vehicles in Thimphu .......................................................... 9 Figure 6: Modal Transport Share in Thimphu (in %) ............................................................................. 10 Figure 7: Trip share, mode wise for workers and students (in %) ........................................................ 11 Figure 8: SUTI Thimphu city spider graph ............................................................................................. 15 Figure 9: Modal Share in Thimphu City Transportation (in %) ............................................................. 20 Figure 10: Mean Values of the Quality and Reliability Variables of the Public Transport in Thimphu 22 Figure 11: Commuter’s Perception Score on Various Aspects of the Quality and Reliability of Public Transport in Thimphu ........................................................................................................................... 23 Figure 12: Trends in Total Traffic Fatality ............................................................................................. 24 Figure 13: Share of Transport in total household expenditure, income quintile wise ......................... 25 Figure 14: Annual Average level of Air Quality Index in Thimphu ........................................................ 28 Figure 15: Monthly Average level of Air Quality Index in Thimphu ...................................................... 28 List of Tables Table 1: Progress on social indicators ..................................................................................................... 4 Table 2: Quick facts about vehicle density in Thimphu .......................................................................... 9 Table 3: SUTI for Thimphu city ............................................................................................................. 14 Table 4: Score and Explanation for each element of the Indicator 1 ................................................... 17 Table 5: Average number of trips per day ............................................................................................ 19 Table 6: Population density, major bus stop wise ................................................................................ 21 Table 7: Farebox Ratio for City Bus Operators in Thimphu .................................................................. 26 Disclaimer: This report has been issued without formal editing. The designation employed and the presentation of the material in the report do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the Secretariat of the United Nations concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries. The views expressed, analysis, conclusions and recommendations are those of the author(s), and should not necessarily be considered as reflecting the views or carrying the endorsement of the United Nations. Mention of firm names and commercial products does not imply the endorsement of the United Nations. 3 1. Introduction 1.1 Bhutan Bhutan is a small landlocked mountainous country situated between India and China, lying between 27.3 N – 28.2 N latitudes and 89 E - 92.3E longitudes, covering a surface area of 38,394 square kilometres. In 2018, Bhutan’s population was 727,145, 62% of its population residing in the rural areas, and the capital city Thimphu alone accounted for 114,551 people, amounting to 15.7% of the total population (RGoB, 2017). Bhutan’s development philosophy of Gross National Happiness (GNH) represents an alternative approach to development, signifying the need to measure development outcomes in terms of happiness. The framework of GNH stands on four pillars- equitable socio-economic development, preservation of environment, protection of culture and tradition and good governance. Indicators of GNH align very well with the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and therefore all the 17 SDGs are integrated with Bhutan’s 12th five-year plan (RGoB, 2018). Since the inception of five-year plans in 1961, Bhutan has witnessed sharp acceleration in its growth rate as and its GDP has grown at an annual average rate of 7.1 percent between 1981 and 2017. Sustained high growth rates has enabled Bhutan to transition from a low-income country to a middle-income country status. In 2018, Bhutan’s GDP per capita was $3343. High growth along with strong focus on human capital development (Bhutan allocates about 16% of 4 its GDP on education and health) has enabled Bhutan to reduce poverty rate to 8%. Bhutan’s progress on major social indicators is reflected in the table 1. Table 1: Progress on social indicators Indicator 1981 2017 Adult Literacy Rate (in %) 10 66.6 Infant Mortality Rate (per thousand) 145 15.1 Life expectancy (in years) 43 70.2 Poverty rate (in %) 36 (in 2000) 8 Crude Birth Rate 41 15.5 Crude Death Rate 21 6.7 HDI value 0.510 (in 2005) 0.612 Source: (RGoB, 2018), (RGoB, 2017), (World Bank, 2018) During the process of planned economic development Bhutanese economy underwent structural transformation in terms of shift away from agricultural sector towards non- agricultural sectors. Such structural transformation was also accompanied by rapid urbanisation, the