Brilliant Solution For Bangkok Traffic Problems

[LaoPo]

"Straddling" Bus - a Cheaper, Greener and Faster Alternative to Commute

The first Pilot project will start by the end of 2010 in Beijing's Mentougou District where the Chinese Shenzhen Huashi company will start building/constructing the first 186 km of track

The model looks like a subway or light-rail train bestriding the road. It is 4-4.5 m high with two levels: passengers board on the upper level while other vehicles lower than 2 m can go through under. Powered by electricity and solar energy, the bus can speed up to 60 km/h carrying 1200-1400 passengers at a time without blocking other vehicles' way. Also it costs about 500 million yuan to build the bus and a 40-km-long path for it, only 10% of building equivalent subway. It is said that the bus can reduce traffic jams by 20-30%.

Links:

http://www.chinahush...ive-to-commute/ VIDEO

http://www.engadget....ve-under-video/ VIDEO

http://www.huffingto...52.html#s121540

LaoPo

[qualtrough]

When I first saw that article my mouth dropped. Back in 1993 or 1994 the Bangkok Post asked readers to send in their ideas to solve the traffic problems in the city. This Chinese solution was EXACTLY what I sent in, I even created a drawing and sent it. They published it along with other solutions and that was the end of that. I have the article somewhere here, if I can find it I will dig it out and post it.

I think it is a brilliant idea, if I may say so myself, and don't know why it hasn't been pursued before.

Edited August 4, 2010 by qualtrough

[PattayaParent]

I thought the Skytrain and MRT were supposed to solve Bangkok's traffic ptoblems?

Didn't that work?

The only solution is to stop private vehicles coming into the city,

[WarpSpeed]

The only solution is to re-engineer the entire system, cut out most of the U turns or re-engineer them properly and increase the numbers but they are too far and few between anyways, proper placement of the flyovers like not placing them less then 300 feet past a highway interchange bottle necking the entering and exiting traffic with the through traffic like they did on Cheang Watthana and prevent motorcycles from all skipping to the front of red lights and piling up which prevents the cars from going when the light turns green and only a minimum number of cars get through before it turns again..

I saw the bus idea though and I like it, though I think it would be more effective to have more smaller ones. Can you imagine how long it would take to get somewhere with any number up to a 1000 people embarking and disembarking at any given time? Not to mention maneuverability then they could travel along smaller side streets too much more practical..

Edited August 4, 2010 by WarpSpeed

[temo1051]

In addition to Warpspeeds suggestion I would add removal of the public buses along the sky train routes and add cars to the trains and make the fares competitive with the bus rates.   Also towing and impounding double parkers on all main arteries and eliminating half the taxiis.

[whistleblower]

Roundabouts!!!! thats what Thailand needs. Lots and lots of roundabouts!!! can't wait to see the natives trying to negotiate them!

[tw25rw]

They need more buses, preferably double decker and obviously less knackered than the ones currently running.

Car-pooling should be encouraged and bring in higher taxes for those running big cars (how many big mercs and 4wds do you see with only the driver in them?). Electric cars should be encouraged.

Knock through a lot of the longer sois so they can take their share of the traffic.. The residents won't like it, but oh well..

Improve and extend the rail system.

[RedNIvar]

What Bangkok needs, is to get all the cops sitting in booths beside traffic lights to stop manually controlling the lights. Makes things worse.

[robblok]

I thought the Skytrain and MRT were supposed to solve Bangkok's traffic ptoblems?

Didn't that work?

The only solution is to stop private vehicles coming into the city,

Stop the taxi's and minivans that would help a lot too. (or just enforce it that they stop blocking roads all the time)

[tw25rw]

I thought the Skytrain and MRT were supposed to solve Bangkok's traffic ptoblems?

Didn't that work?

The only solution is to stop private vehicles coming into the city,

The MRT/BTS network is tiny and the trains too short. It's like a city the size of London with only the DLR and no underground.. Maybe a London style congestion charge during daylight hours for cars/trucks but not public transport in combination with more buses.

[gregb]

I thought the Skytrain and MRT were supposed to solve Bangkok's traffic ptoblems?

Didn't that work?

The only solution is to stop private vehicles coming into the city,

The MRT/BTS network is tiny and the trains too short. It's like a city the size of London with only the DLR and no underground.. Maybe a London style congestion charge during daylight hours for cars/trucks but not public transport in combination with more buses.

That won't do a thing unless they simultaneously provide parking garages, and I mean lots of affordable parking garages...free parking garages...on the edges of the skytrain and subway. I don't mean those puny little things they have right now. I mean big, staffed 24 hours, 100,000+ stall parking garages that take up huge, expensive tracts of land right next to the mass transit system.

Do you think any government is going to spend the money to do that? Do you know how much just the land for a garage that size would cost? We're talking land that sells for 80+ million per rai. Given you can park about 60 cars per rai per floor if you are clever, a 20 story parking garage would need a land area of around 83 rai. Let's round that up to 100 because we need ramps

and all kinds of other support infrastructure.

Who will be first to volunteer a cool 8 billion plus construction costs for a parking garage? Forget it. There will never be a realistic public transportation plan in Bangkok because people have nowhere to park their cars in order to use the public transit system. It is all smoke and mirrors until they resolve that problem.

Of course, you could also try and extend the transit system out to the suburbs where development wasn't quite so dense and you could get away with cheaper parking structures and cheaper land. But that costs even more. There is no political will to do what is necessary.

[tw25rw]

I thought the Skytrain and MRT were supposed to solve Bangkok's traffic ptoblems?

Didn't that work?

The only solution is to stop private vehicles coming into the city,

The MRT/BTS network is tiny and the trains too short. It's like a city the size of London with only the DLR and no underground.. Maybe a London style congestion charge during daylight hours for cars/trucks but not public transport in combination with more buses.

That won't do a thing unless they simultaneously provide parking garages, and I mean lots of affordable parking garages...free parking garages...on the edges of the skytrain and subway. I don't mean those puny little things they have right now. I mean big, staffed 24 hours, 100,000+ stall parking garages that take up huge, expensive tracts of land right next to the mass transit system.

Do you think any government is going to spend the money to do that? Do you know how much just the land for a garage that size would cost? We're talking land that sells for 80+ million per rai. Given you can park about 60 cars per rai per floor if you are clever, a 20 story parking garage would need a land area of around 83 rai. Let's round that up to 100 because we need ramps

and all kinds of other support infrastructure.

Who will be first to volunteer a cool 8 billion plus construction costs for a parking garage? Forget it. There will never be a realistic public transportation plan in Bangkok because people have nowhere to park their cars in order to use the public transit system. It is all smoke and mirrors until they resolve that problem.

Of course, you could also try and extend the transit system out to the suburbs where development wasn't quite so dense and you could get away with cheaper parking structures and cheaper land. But that costs even more. There is no political will to do what is necessary.

Keep your hair on.. No one is saying to do it tomorrow and in isolation..

[WarpSpeed]

Roundabouts!!!! thats what Thailand needs. Lots and lots of roundabouts!!! can't wait to see the natives trying to negotiate them!

They have a couple in Phuket and one specifically in Chalong and you could sit there all day long with a bowl of popcorn and enjoy endless entertainment as long you're not trying to get through it yourself mind you...

On the U turn issue I didn't want to take time posting previously. They need to make the merge lanes longer, the U turn entrance lanes longer and wider so you are out of trough traffic sooner by redirecting the median and moving the traffic over so that the through lanes can continue to travel and the u turns as well without interference and make bus stops that are out of through traffic and require buses, baht vans, taxis and passengers to remain until they can be out of traffic before disembarking instead of double parking to let out passengers wherever which holds up everyone, if everyone adhered to such a system it would move more effciently for everyone.

That also brings up the 2 or 3 lane additions just because some drivers feel they have special privilege and decide a new lane is needed so that at the next bottle neck which is almost always another merge lane of new entrants you're not just merging the primary lanes but every additional lane that's been added so no one (especially the persons waiting patiently in the proper lanes) go anywhere.

I also noticed the lack of proper staggered light timing as well. on a four lane road the other day 2 in each direction an intersection at Cheang Wattana again. 2 lanes coming and 2 lanes going no specified turn lanes, problem one. But worse yet they let both straight lanes go on green while holding the right turn lane and now that means that anyone in that lane can not turn right thus holding up any cars wishing to go straight who are stuck in that lane waiting for the light. It should be staggered in one direction allowing both through traffic to flow with right hand traffic while holding through traffic in the other direction, then stop the right turn and allow oncoming traffic to do the same it would flow much better.. Needless to say I have too much time waiting at these traffic lights and why I come up with these solutions during that time ..

Edited August 5, 2010 by WarpSpeed

[katana]

Looks like an April 1st 'news' story.

Edited August 5, 2010 by katana

[LaoPo]

Looks like an April 1st 'news' story.

One would think so indeed, if it wasn't for:

"The first Pilot project will start by the end of 2010 in Beijing's Mentougou District where the Chinese Shenzhen Huashi company will start building/constructing the first 186 km of track"

LaoPo

[PattayaParent]

What they really need to do is

1. Not allow any of the new condo or office developments to have car parks in them. That will ensure that all tenants and workers have to use public transport and not add to the number of cars n the road.

2. Ban the sale of all new cars so there can be no additional increase in the numbers of cars on the road.

[steelepulse]

>>What they really need to do is

1. Not allow any of the new condo or office developments to have car parks in them. That will ensure that all tenants and workers have to use public transport and not add to the number of cars n the road.

HILARIOUS. All this would achieve is that now all the cars would park in the street instead of in the car park.

[tw25rw]

What they really need to do is

1. Not allow any of the new condo or office developments to have car parks in them. That will ensure that all tenants and workers have to use public transport and not add to the number of cars n the road.

2. Ban the sale of all new cars so there can be no additional increase in the numbers of cars on the road.

Maybe restrict the sale like in Singapore.. Would be owners need to buy a permit then join a waiting list.. And it's serious money.. They also use the system to get the old bangers off the road.

Perhaps exclude cars of certain class so that they can buy a Honda jazz easily, but have to jump through hoops to buy a big Merc or 4wd tank.

[tw25rw]

What they really need to do is

1. Not allow any of the new condo or office developments to have car parks in them. That will ensure that all tenants and workers have to use public transport and not add to the number of cars n the road.

Or limit them to a single lockable garage per unit with a power socket to facilitate charging an electric car over night.

[lomatopo]

Unless the existing road system has been designed (overpasses, underpasses, tunnels) to accommodate this "straddling bus" it doesn't seem workable. For a greenfield project (all new) then it might be a viable alternative to a subway. Obviously there is no magic bullet for Bangkok's traffic problems.

[marquess]

What happened to the Green Line, the Red Line etc. I have heard talk of these for years but seen no concrete efforts to actually build anything. People need alternatives to taking cars, there just isn't that in Bangkok.

[PattayaParent]

What they really need to do is

1. Not allow any of the new condo or office developments to have car parks in them. That will ensure that all tenants and workers have to use public transport and not add to the number of cars n the road.

2. Ban the sale of all new cars so there can be no additional increase in the numbers of cars on the road.

These were both serious solutions put forward by the authorities charged with the task of solving the traffic problems of Bangkok.

The first was in the last few years when the boom of building condos near the skytrain started and the second was around 1997ish

Edited August 9, 2010 by PattayaParent

[DP25]

What happened to the Green Line, the Red Line etc. I have heard talk of these for years but seen no concrete efforts to actually build anything. People need alternatives to taking cars, there just isn't that in Bangkok.

First phase of the Purple Line is under construction right now that starts in the northwest suburbs and links up with the current subway line.

[PattayaParent]

^They're still awaiting payment of the tea money before announcing the successful bidders for the other lines.

[canuckamuck]

The real answer to Bangkok traffic and Bangkok in general is a do over. Malaysia is doing it, Why can't Thailand.

Think about how big the pig trough would be, there be contracts for everyone.

[bonobo]

What Bangkok needs, is to get all the cops sitting in booths beside traffic lights to stop manually controlling the lights. Makes things worse.

Tried that once.  THey installed some huge computerized traffic control system imported from Belgium, I think it was.  After the first day, the cops took it offline saying it was obvious it didn't work, thereby putting cops back sitting in the control booths.

[bonobo]

I think there are a number of roads where this would work.  Phetkasem, Lat Prao, Petchburi--long, fairly straight roads.  Get rid of the existing buses going up and down their length, then use these to convey the public transportation.  On the more convoluted routes, regular buses my remain the best viable option.

[Angkar]

Too little, too late.<br><br>I lived in Beijing and the government is desperate to find a quick and dirty solution for the horrible traffic there<br>but so far it's still quicker and safer to move around by bicycle, go figure...<br><br>They're planning 22 subway line to be completed in 2020 along with several east/west and north/south tunnels<br>but in the meantime it's a big mess and the air is unbreathable if you live near ChangAn and the 3rd and 4th ring.<br><br>Beijing was just not designed for cars, nor for the huge parking lots they need now.<br>Many of the old buildings don't even have a garage or enough space outside for cars.<br><br>Scooters would solve some problems but they can't be used in winter with -20C ...<br><br>This new "bus" could only operate in big roads like ChangAn or the rings, what about<br>the rest of the city where now it's impossible to find parking or even move freely <br>on foot ?<br><br>In perfect chinese style they sould better start a whole new capital in a remote area<br>as they did with Shenzhen ... huge roads, huge buildings, everything new and modern,<br>and certainly cheaper than digging tunnels in beijing for the next 20 years.<br>

[mmh8]

I think this is a great idea.

However U-turn bridge and cross over bridge will be the major problem of this in Bangkok.

That is before you even cross the lunatic 5 person family on a scooter hoping that driver saw them scoot underneath the stradle and take a left.

[Travel2003]

Roundabouts!!!! thats what Thailand needs. Lots and lots of roundabouts!!! can't wait to see the natives trying to negotiate them!

Traffic signs infront of the roundabouts in Sweden reads: Only 2 rounds per vehicle allowed.

No, joke aside.

Maybe time to introduce the toll rings around the city.

Same as they have in Singapore, and other places.