Bangkok congestion worsens

By Pradit Phulsarikij 
Nation Graphics

 

Nation Graphics/Pradit Phulsarikij

 

With close to 10 million vehicles being driven over Bangkok’s main road, which cover just 7 per cent of the capital, the city is suffering from worsening traffic congestion. The problem is further exacerbated by reduced road space due to the ongoing construction of many mass-transit projects.

 

 

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/detail/national/30353455

 

 

 

-- © Copyright The Nation 2018-09-01

 

 

Five words...

 

A Whopping Big Congestion Charge

 

If people are required to pay, and to pay a lot, then fewer people will use their cars in the city. And, if there aren't immediate results, double it until there are results.

 

This works.

 

 

Edited September 1, 20187 yr by Samui Bodoh
Lack of coffee

1 hour ago, Samui Bodoh said:

Five words...

 

A Whopping Big Congestion Charge

 

If people are required to pay, and to pay a lot, then fewer people will use their cars in the city. And, if there aren't immediate results, double it until there are results.

 

This works.

 

 

Or form a commi, nah hold on, a study gro, nah give me a minute, a group of, nah just go for your idea.

 

There is a Soi in Samut Prakarn that forms a single entry point for several Moo Bans, 2 gigantic schools, some factories and a lot of shops and markets. Needless to say that the Soi and its connecting main road are jammed 20 hours per day. City planning at it worst. Zoom in on the road grid of Bangkok and you know why this city is doomed. Throughout history, cities arose whre roads and rivers crossed, but in Bangkok its the opposite.

1 hour ago, rooster59 said:

Bangkok congestion worsens

Really, I can't understand why the shock, horror. Domestic new car sales are expect to reach 1,000,000 for the 12 months ended December 2018. How many of those are going to flood into the streets of Bangkok?  It is only going to be a matter of time before the city is in total gridlock.

Which reminds me; I wonder how all those committees created by the PM are progressing toward solving the problem? I think there is only about 9 weeks of seafood buffet lunches remaining for them to come up with a solution. In the unlikely even there is ever an announcement it should at least provide a few laughs.

 

2 hours ago, Samui Bodoh said:

A Whopping Big Congestion Charge

Thinking like a good government rep ? ?

Problem is very few drive in bangkok for fun, its necessity, short term government thinking has centralized business in Bangkok, while they have been raking in the cash they have given no thought to the infrastructure, not enough roads and poor public transportation, can imagine the outcry if congestion charges were introduced - rightly so ?

Introduce city toll so that it really hurts people driving in the inner city of bangkok.
Introduce bus, motorcycle and carpool lanes.

6 minutes ago, CLW said:

Introduce city toll so that it really hurts people driving in the inner city of bangkok.
Introduce bus, motorcycle and carpool lanes.

The city's mobility issues are beyond repair. Not enough roads, no connecting train network from the suburbs, no central bus network, Sois and streets without pavements, no functioning (traffic) police force, city planning done by brown envelope, skytrain lines that are poirly connected, no zoning, Thai road mentality and more and severe floading cause the city is sinking at an estimated speed of 1 to 3cm per year. If Bangkok was a town in the Sim City game, its game over. 

The city's mobility issues are beyond repair. Not enough roads, no connecting train network from the suburbs, no central bus network, Sois and streets without pavements, no functioning (traffic) police force, city planning done by brown envelope, skytrain lines that are poirly connected, no zoning, Thai road mentality and more and severe floading cause the city is sinking at an estimated speed of 1 to 3cm per year. If Bangkok was a town in the Sim City game, its game over. 

You forgot to mention the main cause of the problem: TOO MUCH CARS

5 hours ago, Samui Bodoh said:

Five words...

 

A Whopping Big Congestion Charge

 

If people are required to pay, and to pay a lot, then fewer people will use their cars in the city. And, if there aren't immediate results, double it until there are results.

 

This works.

 

 

Indeed it does as London has proved but the systems needed for it to be effective require compliance of the motoring population when it comes to vehicle registration in particular which will be a challenge when only the other day a top cop was kinda admitting there are maybe 10 mil' Thais driving without license's so what hope that every vehicle entering Bangkok everyday is correctly registered .. And if they were able to install what is required how do the authorities then compel transgressor's to pay up , when again on another recent thread a Thai was claiming to have loads of unpaid speeding fines but continued to be able to drive .. There would be too uncomfortable inroads made into Thai society , culture and their sense of entitlement for the type of traffic control used in Western cities to be effective here .. Even if they were to adopt similar here London's set up was years in installing and intergrating so its hard to see Bangkok's woes improving in the short term and likely as not will gridlock more ..

A huge number of the cars in Bangkok at rush hours are occupied by the driver only. 

4 hours ago, CLW said:

4 hours ago, SoilSpoil said:

The city's mobility issues are beyond repair. Not enough roads, no connecting train network from the suburbs, no central bus network, Sois and streets without pavements, no functioning (traffic) police force, city planning done by brown envelope, skytrain lines that are poirly connected, no zoning, Thai road mentality and more and severe floading cause the city is sinking at an estimated speed of 1 to 3cm per year. If Bangkok was a town in the Sim City game, its game over. 

You forgot to mention the main cause of the problem: TOO MUCH CARS

Compared to the sheer size of Bangkok, there aren't that many cars at all.

How is this news?

9 hours ago, Samui Bodoh said:

Five words...

 

A Whopping Big Congestion Charge

 

If people are required to pay, and to pay a lot, then fewer people will use their cars in the city. And, if there aren't immediate results, double it until there are results.

 

This works.

 

 

It does - as long as there are viable alternatives. When in London I use buses and the tube - and Uber if there is no realistic public transport alternative or if I have suitcases. In Bangkok, the options are more limited. I tend to walk if I can (30 mins is my limit at my age) or use BTS but there are not enough lines yet. Soon however . . (but sadly for same age reason, probably not soon enough for me 

The main problem is that there is no functioning public transport in Bkk. If you want to go from one point to an other you need to use different lines. You have to wait long time for your connection. People decide sitting in a car instead of sitting in an old, usually not too clean bus. 

Compared to the sheer size of Bangkok, there aren't that many cars at all.

Based on what numbers?

It's nothing new. In 1995 during the construction of the Skytrain, I travelled from my apartment in Sukhumvit Soi 36 to the Watergate hotel in Pratunam 6 days a week for 2 years. On 31 July that year there was a horrendous downpour and it took one of the hotel execs 5 hours and 20 minutes to travel from the Watergate to the Boulevard on Sukhumvit Soi 5. Actually that's not quite true, at the end of Soi 3, 3 hours in, he got out and walked. It took his unlucky driver 2 hours and 20 minutes  to do the final 800 metres or so.

 

Bangkok traffic has always been a nightmare and until the authorities swallow their pride and enlist the help of a foreign traffic management organisation with a proven record things will only continue to worsen.

10 hours ago, Samui Bodoh said:

Five words...

 

A Whopping Big Congestion Charge

 

If people are required to pay, and to pay a lot, then fewer people will use their cars in the city. And, if there aren't immediate results, double it until there are results.

 

This works.

I will have to disagree.   Given the train wreck that is about to happen, there are things that can be considered.   Flex time!  Does everyone NEED to be in the office at the same time?  Can some people work from home some days?  Can some people work weekends instead during the week ?  Companies looking at the feasibility of relocating outside of town.  Quite a few people I know opt for a B5k room a month just to avoid the drive home.  Think there are some incentives that should be tried before making the problem that much worse for the humble Thai. 

 

Before Taiwan's huge railway expansion, we use to take these:

 

They moved fast and were cheap.  The only one I saw like that runs form Hat Yai to the Malaysian border two times daily. 

 

Wonder if they still want to close the BRT.

 

There are so many things that can be done:

 

-Use one smart card on the expressway system and  get rid of separate tolls in which you stop constantly- one card to get on- pay the toll wherever you get off.

 

-Turn on the automated traffic computer system and stop the police from turning it off

 

-Buses and taxis have right of way in a dedicated ane.  No one drives in it except to make a turn and no one stops in it.

 

-Establish huge parking areas on the outskirts of Bangkok where cars park for free in guarded lots so commuters can take the buses, BTS or taxis into town.

 

-Place a flyover at the Asoke/Sukhumvit intersection so traffic can move quickly thru the intersection.

 

Do all of this and you might see an improvement.

9 hours ago, SoilSpoil said:

There is a Soi in Samut Prakarn that forms a single entry point for several Moo Bans, 2 gigantic schools, some factories and a lot of shops and markets. Needless to say that the Soi and its connecting main road are jammed 20 hours per day. City planning at it worst. Zoom in on the road grid of Bangkok and you know why this city is doomed. Throughout history, cities arose whre roads and rivers crossed, but in Bangkok its the opposite.

 

City planning could do a lot of good. Not only in BKK. One way traffic wherever possible, do away with obstacles like "gates" on some sois, roundabouts instead of traffic lights that show red for

180 seconds.

They could get experts from other countries to help planning, if only they weren't so stubborn.

Sometimes I think they are all like clowns with oversized shoes, stepping on each others feet...

 

(Roundabouts would need a lot of education for Thai drivers/riders, I know...)

The city is going to do very little!it hasn’t the courage to introduce measures that other cities with problems done ! Because the population would start whining ! As long as Thais are prepared to spend hours every day in traffic congestion, everything will stay the same


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2 minutes ago, markaoffy said:

The city is going to do very little!it hasn’t the courage to introduce measures that other cities with problems done ! Because the population would start whining ! As long as Thais are prepared to spend hours every day in traffic congestion, everything will stay the same


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Good point. My Thai friends dont mibd spending hours in traffic. They've got the best sound systems, watch movies and use their mobile internet or do their makeup.

46 minutes ago, SoilSpoil said:

Good point. My Thai friends dont mibd spending hours in traffic. They've got the best sound systems, watch movies and use their mobile internet or do their makeup.

That's alright while they're stuck in a traffic jam, but they keep doing it when the lights turn green and they stampede to the next robot (traffic lights).

3 hours ago, Soi Dog said:

How is this news?

It isnt, it just gives the posters an opportunity to show off their Doctorates in Urban Planning and Government. Dont know what the poor Thais would do without the all the little Milners here carrying the White Mans Burden...

 

Take up the White Man's burden--
Send forth the best ye breed--
Go bind your sons to exile
To serve your captives' need;
To wait in heavy harness,
On fluttered folk and wild--
Your new-caught, sullen peoples,
Half-devil and half-child.

 

Some of the whingers here need to drive in places like LA, Houston, Chicago, Milan, Moscow.......

1 hour ago, maximillian said:

 

 

They could get experts from other countries to help planning, if only they weren't so stubborn.

Sometimes I think they are all like clowns with oversized shoes, stepping on each others feet...

 

(Roundabouts would need a lot of education for Thai drivers/riders, I know...)

Those silly natives! So childlike! *insert eyeroll*

Some of the whingers here need to drive in places like LA, Houston, Chicago, Milan, Moscow.......

with Bangkok number 2 as the city with worst traffic congestion in the world, it wouldn’t be a problem “ Mexico might prove different https://mashable.com/2016/03/22/bangkok-traffic-jams/#XTean2iWlZqs


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40 minutes ago, markaoffy said:

with Bangkok number 2 as the city with worst traffic congestion in the world, it wouldn’t be a problem “ Mexico might prove different https://mashable.com/2016/03/22/bangkok-traffic-jams/#XTean2iWlZqs


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Forgetting about the media, you ever driven in those places? How bout LA?

Far too many taxis.

The highest census estimate I've seen for greater Bangkok is 22M. And 10M vehicles!

All those local daily markets cause loads of traffic and congestion.

 

If the Thai in BKK all used supermarkets it would reduce congestion.