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The rapid urbanisation of Thimphu and the ever-increasing migrant population means there is a growing demand for efficient public services and infrastructure such as transportation. The present city bus system has not been able to keep up with the expansion of Thimphu city with limited buses attempting to cover large areas. Ridership has also remained low as it is only confined to those who can’t afford other alternatives.

More individuals are moving to the peripheries to live affordably and to make commuting easy, car ownership has become a necessity for those who can afford it. This has had an adverse effect on public transport and has escalated the traffic congestion making daily commutes lengthy, tiresome, economically inefficient and, ultimately, unsustainable.

Transport is crucial in the balanced socio-economic and sustainable development of a city. This important infrastructure increases peoples accessibility to their jobs, education, health care and other services. But when transport services are inefficient and inaccessible, it is the economically disadvantaged individuals who are at the losing end.

Therefore, recognising the significance of public transportation for balanced development, Thimphu Thromde has initiated a long-overdue revision of the city bus route. The proposed transit model consists of trunk routes and subsidiary routes with a total of 168 stops. We are providing an affordable alternative to help connect a large part of the society to the services and to each other whilst also making travelling more efficient and convenient. These routes also include 4 supplementary routes that will connect Hongtsho, Debsi, Ngabiphu and Chamgang to Thimphu Thromde.

Work is also underway to develop a Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) system which will ultimately be integrated into the current system.