Forms of transportation exploited by me in Nepal, from smallest to largest, with cost (~70 rupees to the dollar) and # of passengers:
Rickshaw: 20 Rps, just me. Remember this guy? I never managed to get a better photo of a rickshaw, though.
Tuk-tuk: 10 Rps, 13 of us altogether--driver + 2 in front, 5 on each side in back. Amazing. A nice guy who got on the same place I did assured me it was going where I wanted and when it was time for me to get out he banged on the roof to let the driver know it was time to stop.
A typical Kathmandu street scene:
Taxi: about 250 Rps from volunteer house into the city, 350 Rps to the southern end of Kathmandu, highest passenger count 6 plus the driver.
Micro: around 12 Rps, usually 12-18 passengers, once counted 25. When the inside is totally full passengers stand on the side and hang out. It's legal so long as your head is inside the vehicle so when they pass cops you see all the guys hanging off the side duck their heads in.
There is always a kid who hangs off the side calling out destinations like an auctioneer.
When someone flags him he bangs on the roof once: Stop! When the passengers are loaded, or almost loaded, he bangs on the roof twice: Go! It's common to see passengers loading up as the micro pulls away.
When the micros are completely full they start piling passengers on top.
Bus: Around 10-15 Rps., countless throngs. These work the same way as the micros, with a tout hanging out the side loading and unloading passengers, calling out stops and collecting fares.
Truck: Remember the trip to Tambuchet?
I believe it set Heather and Craig back about $400, which is a huge amount of money, but don't forget that the guy drove us 10 hours into the mountains, then turned around and drove back to Kathmandu that night. Also, he turned down a lot of passengers. When we got swarmed in Syabru Bensi it was because trucks usually look more like this:
This leaves motorcycles:
and bicycles:
as the only regular forms of transportation I've seen that I didn't try.
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