Linking Travel Behavior and Urban Form with Travel Energy Consumption for Kathmandu Valley, Nepal

Abstract

Escalating transport energy demand is one of the major issues for Kathmandu Valley, with a rapid increment in automobilization and urban sprawl. The Kathmandu Valley is the center for economic activities, where work trips have a dominant share. In this context, this paper aims to study the role of urban form on the travel energy of work trips in Kathmandu Valley, using the Energy Performance Index as an indicator. Trip data of workers were collected from a household survey, carried out in different parts of the study area, using random sampling. The correlation analysis shows that population density and public transport accessibility have little impact on travel energy, whereas increasing distance from the central business district is found to have a significant rise in travel energy. Further, mode choice and trip distance of work trips were analyzed with respect to urban form and socioeconomic factors. The paper concludes with the recommendations for urban planning policies to minimize urban transport energy demand.