Congestion charge for cars mulled for central Bangkok

[webfact]

Congestion charge for cars mulled for central Bangkok

 

Caption: You Must Pay to Enter Bangkok!

 

A study is being carried out on the feasibility of charging private cars to enter central Bangkok. 

 

If implemented the money gained would be used to pay for improvements in traffic and public transportation in the capital. 

 

It is also being seen as a move to encourage more use of public transport in the city.

 

At present the idea is that your car would be filmed as it entered the congestion zone - then you would get a bill at the end of the the month. 

 

Similar schemes operate in cities like London where it is called a congestion charge. 

 

Sanook quoted news organisation Bangkok Insight as reporting that Sorawut Songsirilai of the Telecommunications Ministry had commissioned the study that was expected to report its findings by the middle of this year. 

 

Initially it would likely concentrate on the Asoke/Sukhumvit area of Bangkok - an area well served by existing public transport, said Sanook, but notoriously badly congested. 

 

CCTV cameras would catch the license plate of private cars whose owners would then be billed at the end of the month. 

 

Public transportation vehicles such as buses and taxis, for example, would be exempt. 

 

There is no word as yet as to how much the charge might be. 

 

Money gained in this way would be used to improve infrastructure for those living and visiting the area. 

 

The authorities might buy more electric non-polluting buses, improve parking facilities and even contemplate building another BTS system, said Sanook.

 

Source: Sanook

 

-- © Copyright Thai Visa News 2019-04-05

[shady86]

Public transports are lousy, thats why people still use cars. BTS are crowded most of the time and getting worst with the new extensions. Bus picking and dropping passengers in middle of roads, footpaths being used by motorbikes all contributes to this. 

 

 

Edited April 5, 2019 by shady86

[PatOngo]

You must be joking! Pay to enter that bog hole? People should be compensated for going there.

. unless of course it's on their TM30!

[kotsak]

3 minutes ago, shady86 said:

Public transports are lousy, thats why people still use cars. BTS are crowded most of the time and getting worst with the new extensions. Bus picking and dropping passengers in middle of roads, footpaths being used by motorbikes all contributes to this. 

 

 

Agreed. Spent a decade in Hong Kong and I could count the times I had to take a taxi with the fingers of my hands. Public transportation took me everywhere I needed (even past midnight). On the other hand here had to purchase 2 vehicles to cover our needs.

[FarangryBirds]

I’d be on board for this, car ownership has rocketed and all this daily gridlock isn’t helping the smog situation.

But the money raised must, *must* be used as said, to improve public transportation and not wasted on new watches for the top brass.

BTS and MRT don’t have enough rolling stock for rush hour and too many of those black smoke pumping buses are about 30 years past their best.

[Wiggy]

What's the betting that Mercedes, and BMWs will somehow not be filmed?

[Justgrazing]

2 hours ago, webfact said:

Similar schemes operate in cities like London where it is called a congestion charge. 

Bloody foreigners coming up with scheme's to control the amount of traffic entering a city .. 

[rkidlad]

2 hours ago, webfact said:

If implemented the money gained would be used to pay for improvements in traffic and public transportation in the capital

Some of it might. Most will be siphoned off into good people's bank accounts. 

[Hayduke]

 

Won't work. There are far too many hyper-important puyai-types (and their families, and their friends, and their mia nois, and their crime partners, and their bankers, and their massage puyings, and their fortune tellers, and...etc etc) who will all (naturally) be exempted from paying.

 

 

 

 

Edited April 5, 2019 by Hayduke

[mok199]

More noise ,to deflect from the fact ...they are doing nothing...

[les Dennis]

Start by removing all the cabs that are driving around refusing fares. If you cant do that, there is no hope you could operate a functional congestion charge system.

[MaxLee]

Just a way of blaming the poor and extorting money from them

[PETERTHEEATER]

At present the idea is that your car would be filmed as it entered the congestion zone - then you would get a bill at the end of the the month. 

 

No, not 'you' The invoice would be mailed to the registered address of the recorded owner.

[Lupatria]

4 hours ago, webfact said:

If implemented the money gained would be used to pay for improvements in traffic and public transportation in the capital. 

...and all people in Thailand who believe this, held a meeting in a phone booth.

[NE1]

Then they can ignore it and throw it in the bin.

 

 

[ChrisY1]

No-one would ever pay fines for that.....with something like 11 million speeding fines outstanding, the whole system is broken!

[natway09]

Very few even pay their filmed traffic violations, are they going to put a system in place for collection ?

[Jaxxper]

The smart investors are probably looking for parcels of land just outside the "zone" now, so they can create car parks where you can leave your car for the day before going into the centre by public transport..... for a fee of course.

[konbit]

2 hours ago, MaxLee said:

Just a way of blaming the poor and extorting money from them

What percentage of the drivers in central Bangkok do you think are poor?!

 

If you care so much about the truly poor, you should support something that decreases pollution outdoors (where many actual poor people work) and increases the number - and speed thanks to less gridlock - of busses (the form of transportation that actual poor people use in central Bangkok). 

 

I would be amazed if very many drivers of private cars in central Bangkok belong to the country's bottom income brackets. In the unlikely event there's a significant number, the congestion pricing could be made progressive. 

[sambum]

"If implemented the money gained would be used to pay for improvements in traffic and public transportation in the capital." ????

 

How do you make "improvements in traffic"?

 

[Just Weird]

7 hours ago, kotsak said:

Agreed. Spent a decade in Hong Kong and I could count the times I had to take a taxi with the fingers of my hands. Public transportation took me everywhere I needed (even past midnight). On the other hand here had to purchase 2 vehicles to cover our needs.

Odd how some people expect the infrastructure and facilities of Hong Kong in Thailand without mentioning the costs!

[Just Weird]

3 hours ago, MaxLee said:

Just a way of blaming the poor and extorting money from them

Only "the poor" drive cars, eh?  Or, only "the poor" will be charged?  

[shady86]

Odd how some people expect the infrastructure and facilities of Hong Kong in Thailand without mentioning the costs!

Train rides in HK and Singapore are much cheaper than BTS ride for the equivalent distance. You will understand if you have been there. 4 person travelling from Onut to Siam cost nearly 200B, where else gasoline would be 50B the most, removing car and maintenance costs. Even taxi is below 150B. And most Thais prefer to be air cond the moment they step out of their home. They rather waste more time in car rather than having to sweat and staying inside a crammed train carriage.

[Just Weird]

2 hours ago, natway09 said:

Very few even pay their filmed traffic violations, are they going to put a system in place for collection ?

What are the stats you have on the non-payment of traffic fines?

Edited April 5, 2019 by Just Weird

[AJBangkok]

34 minutes ago, Just Weird said:

What are the stats you have on the non-payment of traffic fines?

It’s high I would guess. I have 3 filmed traffic violations and i haven’t got around to paying any of them yet.

 

Just on the original topic, I live in the Sukhumvit/Asoke area and we have 2 cars so I hope they make some kind of allowance for residents of that area.

[10baht]

"electric non-polluting bus" ????????? no such thing, they are creating pollution some where 99.8% of the time. Plus batteries? non-polluting to make and get ride of? 

[Jane Dough]

8 hours ago, PatOngo said:

You must be joking! Pay to enter that bog hole? People should be compensated for going there.

. unless of course it's on their TM30!

Jealousy will get you nowhere ????

 

It's high time the country bumpkins are made to pay for coming to our pristine and wonderful City of Angels. A city, incidentally where nearly half of the entire country's wealth is generated so that the country folk and retirees in Nakorn Nowhere can sit about virtually every day drinking lao khao and complaining. 

 

Besides for many people our peace and quiet and air quality is worth paying for, too. 

 

With kind regards from the Bangkok Tourism Promotion Board. 

 

 

[richard_smith237]

IF well executed I think this would be a good solution. 

 

However, as it stands thousands and thousands of people have not paid their fines for driving infractions caught on camera - so what makes the authorities think they would pay a congestion charge?

 

Perhaps a Toll system - however, imagine the additional gridlock caused by the toll gates entering the city. Thus, a camera system is the only system which works, but I'm not sure Thailand is mature enough for such a system. 

 

There needs to be better Public transport - Park and ride for the BTS and MRT etc... 

 

Also, what about people who already live in the city centre? - should they pay? (the still need / want a car when exiting the city)

 

[CLW]

It’s high I would guess. I have 3 filmed traffic violations and i haven’t got around to paying any of them yet.
 
Just on the original topic, I live in the Sukhumvit/Asoke area and we have 2 cars so I hope they make some kind of allowance for residents of that area.

Stop whining.
If you can afford two cars then you also can pay this congestion charge.
Or you simply change to one eco car with hybrid or electric drive.

Sent from my SM-G900F using Tapatalk

[richard_smith237]

32 minutes ago, AJBangkok said:

It’s high I would guess. I have 3 filmed traffic violations and i haven’t got around to paying any of them yet.

 

Just on the original topic, I live in the Sukhumvit/Asoke area and we have 2 cars so I hope they make some kind of allowance for residents of that area.

 

My Wife and I too had received 3 fines in the post for traffic violations caught on camera (speeding on the express way and crossing a fixed white line) over the past 12 months (car tax year).

 

We renewed our Tax last month.... no mention of the fines we have not yet paid !!!! 

 

That said - It would be great to see a reduction in vehicles on Bangkoks streets, combined with better traffic light programming for flow etc...