The Prospect of Electric Mobility as a Means of Sustainable Urban Mobility in Nepal : A Case of Kathmandu Valley

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

Sustainable Urban mobility is one of the priority issues of current times as the transportation and mobility landscape has changed at exponential rates in recent years across the globe, with alarming consequences for developing nations like Nepal. Nepal has a small but aggressively growing vehicle fleet which has resulted in a lot of social, economic, environmental challenges like GHG emission and their negative effect on climate change, air pollution and the negative impact on human health, the budget deficit brought on by the import of petroleum goods. Electric mobility (e-mobility) has been considered as one of the solutions of these issues and it is promoted as the future of mobility as it has simultaneously contributed to sustainable urban mobility by enhancing vehicle energy efficiency and supporting the shift towards public transport and active mobility. Electrification of road transport vehicles has been recognized as a powerful low-carbon transport strategy. Thus, promoting e-mobility in Nepal has been proposed as the most effective solution to environmental and economic concerns, as electrification of vehicles reduces Green House Gas (GHG) emissions, lowers air pollution, reduces the budget deficit brought on by the import of petroleum goods, and boosts energy security. Nepal being a hydro-powerhouse country, the transition to e-mobility is more logical.
This research presented the arguments for promoting e-mobility in Kathmandu valley and identified the existing bottlenecks and crucial gaps in Nepal’s policy, markets, finance to the penetration of Electric Vehicles (EV) into the e-Mobility space through analysis of national and international policy frameworks, markets, technologies. This research identified the current fiscal strategies and plans for Nepal's e-mobility sector are often inconsistent, uncertain, and incoherent. This research presents the ways to accelerate the e-mobility adoption in Nepal by introducing a long-term program with a dedicated sustainable fund, setting coherent strategies in the form of national roadmaps, introducing strategies that include well-defined, clear targets designed to integrate electric mobility into the existing ecosystem ensures the clear pathway to electric mobility and create confidence among stakeholders. This research also explored trends and good practices of electric mobility around the globe. This thesis research investigated the transformation of the urban mobility sector in Nepal from polluting fossil fuel to clean renewable energy-based means of transport and the impact of promoting e-mobility in delivering financial, environmental, and social benefits. The research also sought initiatives that could provide clean public and private transportation, promote the electric mobility market, introduce new commercially viable clean transportation technologies, develop sustainable infrastructure, and mobilize funding for public transportation sector programs (e-bus operation). The uptake of private electric vehicles is Nepal though seems encouraging; however, the use of public transport is plummeting. This research presented ways to aggressively electrify public transportation (e-buses- as bus is the major public modes of transportation in Nepal). An innovative e-bus operating financing method has been suggested, this is where the biggest gains can be made both in terms of reducing air pollution (and therefore improving public health) and cutting fossil fuel consumption that has sent Nepal’s import bill. A collaboration between the federal, provincial, and, most crucially, municipal governments, and the private sector to promote public electric transportation has been suggested.

목차 (Table of Contents)

• List of Tables iv
• List of Figures v
• Abbreviations vii
• Abstract ix
• CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION １
• 1.1 Background １
• 1.2 Study Area ２
• 1.3 Problem statement ３
• 1.4 Research questions and objectives ５
• 1.5 Scope ６
• 1.6 Limitations ７
• 1.7 Thesis structure ７
• CHAPTER 2 LITERATURE REVIEW ８
• 2.1 Sustainable Mobility ８
• 2.2 Electric mobility １０
• 2.3 Transportation sector in Nepal １２
• 2.4 Electric Mobility in Nepal １５
• 2.5 Ecosystem and Planning Principle of E-Mobility １８
• 2.6 Financing Modality for E-Buses ２２
• CHAPTER 3 METHODOLOGY ２７
• CHAPTER 4 ARGUMENTS FOR E-MOBILITY IN KATHMANDU VALLEY ２８
• 4.1 Reducing GHG emission ２８
• 4.2 Combating Air Pollution ３３
• 4.3 Utilizing Nepal’s Surplus Electricity from Hydropower ３５
• 4.3.1 Energy profile: ３５
• 4.3.2 Electricity trend analysis: ３６
• 4.4 Decreasing Fossil fuel import ４０
• CHAPTER 5 CASE STUDY ANALYSIS AND RESULTS ４２
• 5.1 Assessing policies promoting e-mobility ４２
• 5.1.1 China ４２
• 5.1.2 Norway ４６
• 5.1.3 India ４８
• 5.1.4 Nepal ５０
• 5.2 Promoting EV adoption (Public Transit) ５８
• 5.3 Assessing E-Bus Business Modality ６０
• 5.3.1 Shenzhen, China ６０
• 5.3.2 India ６２
• 5.3.3 Jakarta, Indonesia ６３
• 5.3.4 Nepal ６４
• 5.4 Promoting EV Adoption (Private Transit) ７１
• 5.4.1 Battery Swapping Technology ７１
• 5.4.2 Promoting Electric Car: ７１
• 5.4.3 Promoting Electric Bike ７２
• 5.4.3.1 Ride sharing ７４
• CHAPTER 6 CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS ７５
• 6.1 CONCLUSION ７５
• 6.2 RECOMMENDATIONS ７７
• REFERENCES ８０