Bangkok traffic nightmare: Motorists face more congestion and frustration

[JRUSA]

2 hours ago, eggers said:

Read Prayut had inspected various areas earlier this week to see both, the projects progress & the traffic congestion...

No doubt when he uses the roads all the traffic is miraculously clear, as police clear way for him & certain others to travel without congestion.

Irrespective of the congestion being caused by the major projects, majority of roads around BKK are congested due to ever increasing volume of vehicles on road + the crazy unco-ordinated traffic lights system & timing sequences. Even with Police boxes,  at most major  intersections, Police never do anything to regulate the traffic, just sit on their  a***s in their "little boxes"!! 

When I lived and worked in Saudi, the government had turned over traffic management to a US contractor, maybe they need to try that here..

[yellowboat]

The best thing you can do in Bangkok is move closer to work.  It is a terrible city to drive in.  It is best just to be within 20 minutes from work

[Thian]

2 hours ago, SoilSpoil said:

Compare Bangkok's street plans with that of any other city in the world and you'll realize that its the worst planned city in the world. All the new lines will not improve the situation. How will the people of Bangkok (the millions not living and working along the lines) get to the stations? They will prefer hpurs of traffic.

You even can't walk to the new purple line stations since the sidewalks are full of holes and obstacles...And the skytrains are too full plus it sucks that we have to change to subway...

 

What we need is motorboat taxi's, only on the river is fast transport possible.

[anon4637435435]

replace cars with dodgem cars. atleast make it fun and enviro friendly...

[superal]

34 minutes ago, JRUSA said:

When I lived and worked in Saudi, the government had turned over traffic management to a US contractor, maybe they need to try that here..

I am thinking a similar way to yourself . I believe the Bangkok Traffic management are entrenched in their ways of a solution to the city congestion . It needs a new radical approach from an outsider as with that comes unbiased and fresh ideas . 

Maybe a contract should be put out for tender to major western corporations for short term and permanent traffic schemes . To my feelings the main roads to be kept flowing non stop and the smaller arteries to feed in when able . Educated traffic police and where possible roundabouts to replace traffic delaying traffic lights . No parking on the main roads which so often cause mayhem .  Could go on & on etc as I am sure you could . 

[edwinchester]

Was it really only a couple of days ago The General ordered problems to be lessened within 3 months?

[abrahamzvi]

If about 1000 vehicles per day are added to the total number and considering the low percentage of roads in the city, it's no wonder that traffic jams occur. Why not learn from Singapore which limits the number of new vehicles and makes vehicles that expensive that people think more than twice before purchasing an additional vehicle. At the present rate even with the welcome extension of the Skytrain and underground train, the situation won't improve that much.

[bluesofa]

2 hours ago, Number 6 said:

{snipped}

The phone addicts, endless flickings and browsing of nothingness. The stultifying glaze in their eyes.

 

No lie, BEM MRT could move 25% more people if everyone just put their phones away. It's only what 35minutes end to end? I've lost immense respect for Thai people and humanity in the last year. God help us when phones go away and glasses reappear.

It's an obsession, nothing more. I've seen it described as a mental illness, and that seems a correct definition.

 

btw, Number 6, I see based on his recent medical disorder, Prawit is well-qualified to become the new Number 2.

Be seeing you!

 

[PerkinsCuthbert]

3 minutes ago, abrahamzvi said:

If about 1000 vehicles per day are added to the total number and considering the low percentage of roads in the city, it's no wonder that traffic jams occur. Why not learn from Singapore which limits the number of new vehicles and makes vehicles that expensive that people think more than twice before purchasing an additional vehicle. At the present rate even with the welcome extension of the Skytrain and underground train, the situation won't improve that much.

Go further - when these new lines are operational, the situation will be incrementally worse; already land prices within spitting distance of these planned lines have risen and will rise further; condos such as have appeared along the BTS extension to Bearing and beyond will eventually lead to overcapacity within a few years, which will drive vehicle owners onto the roads in their tens of thousands. Bangkok is in the process of becoming a mega-city, and existing public transport plans are, as they have always been in this city, wholly inadequate.

It requires a radical solution, involving limits on the numbers of vehicles, a licencing system such as is used in Singapore, a complete rethink of public road transport, involving modern, punctual and well-maintained vehicles and roads, and a comprehensive revamp of traffic management systems such as is seen in some modern, pedestrian-friendly Western cities.

Unfortunately, I see no sign that there is either the political will or strength to implement such a plan.

[Redline]

4 hours ago, a977 said:

So they have finally worked out how to utilize their old smoke belching buses to best affect, take the commuters to the nearest train station so they are not on the roads causing congestion, other countries have been doing this for years wake up Thailand. In Perth Australia you never see buses in the CBD except for those that give a free shuttle service to passengers around the city centre, they usually ply their trade between train stations, Geez BMA how hard is it to work that out  and I'm not a General nor do I have a big nose

I was recently in Melbourne, and was shocked that the inner city buses were free!

[superal]

14 minutes ago, PerkinsCuthbert said:

Go further - when these new lines are operational, the situation will be incrementally worse; already land prices within spitting distance of these planned lines have risen and will rise further; condos such as have appeared along the BTS extension to Bearing and beyond will eventually lead to overcapacity within a few years, which will drive vehicle owners onto the roads in their tens of thousands. Bangkok is in the process of becoming a mega-city, and existing public transport plans are, as they have always been in this city, wholly inadequate.

It requires a radical solution, involving limits on the numbers of vehicles, a licencing system such as is used in Singapore, a complete rethink of public road transport, involving modern, punctual and well-maintained vehicles and roads, and a comprehensive revamp of traffic management systems such as is seen in some modern, pedestrian-friendly Western cities.

Unfortunately, I see no sign that there is either the political will or strength to implement such a plan.

It seems that Bangkok is such a large sprawling mass of roads that have no resemblance to town planning . 

Agree with what you say " pedestrian friendly " but honestly the whole way of government has to be overhauled to make anything work that would bring Thailand up to the modern day living standards . I cannot see any improvements soon to Bangkok congestion unless there are significant , out of the box thinking .  Most of us western guys could contribute for sure to a brainstorm debate that would show the way forward . However TIT 

[Colabamumbai]

Use odd, even plate numbers so not all cars can drive everyday. I know hard for them to figure that one out. 

[pmh2009]

One thing regarding the boat they didn't mention is that... the canals stink really badly and sometimes when 2 boats are passing by the water- canal water sloshes into the boat and onto the passengers... and you r clothes stink really bad and if u r at work then u r dead!!!!

[puffy]

Bangkok traffic will be far better in 3 months, because the good General said he wanted it better in 3 months.

[mrmicbkktxl]

8 hours ago, impulse said:

 

When BKK hotels start charging Perth rates, maybe there will be free shuttle buses in the BKK CBD.   But that will present a whole 'nother set of problems.  Like no tourists.

 

Yeah they can do that if they start paying Perth salaries 

[wvavin]

Who cares if the government does not even has the slightest clue of traffic management to speak of?

[dinsdale]

BKK has always been famous/infamous for this. Personally I think it's pretty much the the same now as it was 15 yrs ago when I got here. 

[timewilltell]

If they want Thais to use public transport the answer is simple since there is one thing Thais respect which is money. Just charge a toll for entering the city Centre and subsidise public transport.

[Grusa]

In the light of just one bridge collapse in Genoa, one cannot help but wonder just how safe the elevated highways, elevated railways, etc, in and around Bangkok, are now, or  will be in 10, 20, 50, 100 years time. They are, when all is said and done, strings of bridges...some even built by Italians.

[MaxYakov]

On 8/18/2018 at 8:31 AM, SoilSpoil said:

Compare Bangkok's street plans with that of any other city in the world and you'll realize that its the worst planned city in the world. All the new lines will not improve the situation. How will the people of Bangkok (the millions not living and working along the lines) get to the stations? They will prefer hpurs of traffic.

"planned city"?!

[MaxYakov]

On 8/18/2018 at 10:36 AM, Bangkok Barry said:

I wonder how many people commute in Bangkok each day. And how many spend at least an hour locked in traffic each way. It must amount to millions of lost man-hours. Every single day. Life just wasted in traffic.

It's not life wasted. Most are on their smart phones (Oops - most probably frittering their lives away on FaceBook or somesuch).

[kannot]

whats the <deleted> point in extending the lines when the amount of carriages is  still only 4 per train...........woefully inadequate

[MaxYakov]

56 minutes ago, kannot said:

whats the <deleted> point in extending the lines when the amount of carriages is  still only 4 per train...........woefully inadequate

It's a good point. One would think it would cause the peak commute hours to be spread out over a longer time span. Does anyone know what the BTS/MRT plan is for lengthening trains or (OMG!) can they actually do it?

 

The Nation's chart did not include the BTS Sukhumvit Samut Prakan [article] extension opens next year(?) (eight new stations in addition to the recently available Samrong station). I actually followed the Sukhumvit extension with Google Maps and Street View all the way from Samrong to the end-of-line yard near Sai Luat Road (I was really bored ). An impressive piece of engineering/construction.

 

I'm eagerly awaiting the Pattaya City extension...

Edited August 19, 2018 by MaxYakov

[uncleeagle]

Not sure if BTS overcrowding has worsened in the past year or so but half the time i plan to go anywhere i get to the station and give up once the first train arrives cos its just so horribly packed...i go back home again....if there are going to be roadworks then they will need more frequent trains with larger carriages....

[todlad]

On 8/18/2018 at 9:31 AM, SoilSpoil said:

Compare Bangkok's street plans with that of any other city in the world and you'll realize that its the worst planned city in the world. All the new lines will not improve the situation. How will the people of Bangkok (the millions not living and working along the lines) get to the stations? They will prefer hpurs of traffic.

Rubbish! You mean, there is a problem here in Bangkok so it MUST BE because it's the worst planned city in the world? I wonder how many cities around the world you have really, carefully studied? I know, you will tell me it's thousands.

I asked around: which are the worst planned cities in the world and there are lots of candidates:

Jakarta seems to come out as THE worst

Then you can take your pick from

Rio

LA

Mumbai

Naypyidaw

Dhaka

Dubai

London

Delhi

Just google this question to see why these are prime candidates and, by the way, in all of the sites I visited, not one of them mentioned Bangkok.

Now, do please appreciate that I am not saying that Bangkok is the epitome of town planning excellence since clearly it is not. Then again, glibly saying it's got to be Bangkok without giving a thought to why that might be case is the usual TV nonsense.

[todlad]

13 hours ago, MaxYakov said:

It's not life wasted. Most are on their smart phones (Oops - most probably frittering their lives away on FaceBook or somesuch).

This is a world wide problem. With very few exceptions, no major city in the world has got to grips with this problem and it will get worse. Ask yourself the question: what is stopping you or me or anyone from buying a car? On average, no one will stop you. Economics usually determines whether we own a car. As soon as you feel you want/need and are able to finance a car, the chances are you will buy one. Tell me the exceptions because they do exist: like Singapore and there are others.

For a while I commuted daily to a very well known city in Europe. They repaired one of the three major roads leading into the city and that took months to complete. As I sat along with everyone else for up to an hour every morning, I took to looking at how many occupants each vehicle going into the city had. I did this several times to try to get a balanced view of this situation.

95% of all vehicles at that time, going into that city during the rush hour had only one occupant. Take a look at Bangkok and any other city you care to name and see if that's the situation there, too.

Why do I say this will get worse? Not all major cities have underground and overground public/private non car transport systems. Populations are growing everywhere. Cities are never finished: there is always a need for a tweak.

 

[superal]

56 minutes ago, todlad said:

This is a world wide problem. With very few exceptions, no major city in the world has got to grips with this problem and it will get worse. Ask yourself the question: what is stopping you or me or anyone from buying a car? On average, no one will stop you. Economics usually determines whether we own a car. As soon as you feel you want/need and are able to finance a car, the chances are you will buy one. Tell me the exceptions because they do exist: like Singapore and there are others.

For a while I commuted daily to a very well known city in Europe. They repaired one of the three major roads leading into the city and that took months to complete. As I sat along with everyone else for up to an hour every morning, I took to looking at how many occupants each vehicle going into the city had. I did this several times to try to get a balanced view of this situation.

95% of all vehicles at that time, going into that city during the rush hour had only one occupant. Take a look at Bangkok and any other city you care to name and see if that's the situation there, too.

Why do I say this will get worse? Not all major cities have underground and overground public/private non car transport systems. Populations are growing everywhere. Cities are never finished: there is always a need for a tweak.

 

You cannot count occupants in Thailand as most cars have their windows tinted out , however I take your point but car sharing will not come to Thailand for another 50 years ?

[todlad]

13 minutes ago, superal said:

You cannot count occupants in Thailand as most cars have their windows tinted out , however I take your point but car sharing will not come to Thailand for another 50 years ?

I don't know the solution and every solution that is tried revolves around economic punishments. You know, those "congestion charges". If you are well off, these charges mean nothing If there is a lottery for who can have a car and who can't, the well off can still get their two, three and more cars.

How can we stop what seems now to be the human right to provide your own means of transport? Even the Greens have no credible answer to that, that I know of.

By the way, not wishing to naysay you in any way but see who gets out of a car when it stops in a car park, supermarket car park ... it will give you an idea and of course that does not tell me where they live, how far they have travelled, have they all travelled together the whole journey ...

[luk AJ]

Riding the MRT in rush hour is so unpleasant. It's full of poor, working and middle class phone zombies that bunch themselves up at the doors and steadfastly refuse to get on and off to allow people to alight. BEM needs to run logistic and politeness campaigns to get the zombies and lemmings to make this a less hateful experience. Not BEM minders but actual police stationed and controlling behavior, pulling people aside, warnings and noting names of misdemeanor.
 
The phone addicts, endless flickings and browsing of nothingness. The stultifying glaze in their eyes.
 
No lie, BEM MRT could move 25% more people if everyone just put their phones away. It's only what 35minutes end to end? I've lost immense respect for Thai people and humanity in the last year. God help us when phones go away and glasses reappear.
 

What do you suggest than people do on the train? Stare a each other? Picking their nose?


Sent from my iPhone using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app

[MaxYakov]

1 hour ago, luk AJ said:

What do you suggest than people do on the train? Stare a each other? Picking their nose?


Sent from my iPhone using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app

I suppose there's always groping... ?

Edited August 20, 2018 by MaxYakov