More measures to ease traffic jams in Bangkok due soon

[webfact]

More measures to ease traffic jams due soon



BANGKOK: -- In another effort to ease traffic jams in the capital due to construction of several electric train projects, the Transport Ministry will announce several measures that will see relocation of passenger drop-off areas on major roads and redirecting traffic on some roads to ease traffic problems.

Transport ministry’s permanent-secretary Mrs Soithip Trisuddhi revealed the ministry’s measures to cope with traffic congestion after presiding over the meeting with the Department of Highway, the State Railway of Thailand (SRT), and the Office of Transport and Traffic Policy and Planning to discuss the congestion issue.

She raised the Vibhavadi Rangsit Road saying it is the major inbound and outbound transport route that Bangkok motorists use where the constructions of the electric railway and the overpass bridges will intensify traffic congestion.

She said during the morning rush hour, motorists can make only an average speed of 15 kilometres per hour on the Vibhavadi Rangsit Road, and 15 kilometres per hour during evening rush hour.

Realising of such situation, she said the ministry will be assigning new measures to solve or ease the traffic congestion, including a re-arrangement of the passenger pick-up and drop-off area in front of the Don Mueang airport train station, and the traffic flow re-arrangement on the road.

The re-arrangement of the passenger pick-up and drop-off area at the bus stop in front of the Don Mueang airport is expected to come into effect from next week with staff on site to provide assistance, she said.

Another measure is to rearrange the traffic on the Kamphaeng Phet 6 road and the Choet Wutthakat road.

It will be reassigned as a one-way route with inbound traffic on the Kamphaeng Phet 6 Road and outbound traffic on the Choet Wutthakat road, she said.

The entrance and exit road to the exit 9 of the Don Mueang airport will be renovated and equipped with railings on the sides of the road to prevent cars from picking up and dropping off passengers.

The plan is expected to be finished before the 2015 Songkran festival, she said.

Mrs Soithip said that the ministry has also planned to construct connecting roads to the Red Line commuter train which is expected to be in service by 2018 to facilitate the passengers.

The ministry has ordered the Office of Transport and Traffic Policy and Planning to study and design the crossings and the connecting roads within six months, of which the Department of Highway has suggested the construction of the underpasses and tunnels on the SRT’s land, she added.

Source: http://englishnews.thaipbs.or.th/measures-ease-traffic-jams-due-soon


-- Thai PBS 2014-12-16

[webfact]

Transport Ministry issue urgent measures for Bangkok traffic jam

BANGKOK, 16 December 2014 (NNT) – The Ministry of Transport has issued traffic measures to ease the congestion on the Vibhavadi Rangsit Road in Bangkok as well as redirecting traffic flow to the Don Mueang airport and train stations, said the Permanent-Secretary.

The Permanent-Secretary of Transport Soithip Trisuddhi has revealed the ministry’s measure to cope with the traffic congestion on the Vibhavadi Rangsit Road after presiding over the meeting with the Department of Highway, the State Railway of Thailand (SRT), and the Office of Transport and Traffic Policy and Planning on the congestion issue.

She said that the Vibhavadi Rangsit Road is the major inbound and outbound transport route that Bangkok motorists use and the constructions of the electric railway and the overpass bridges will intensify traffic congestion.

During the morning rush hour, motorists can only reach an average speed of 15 kilometres per hour on the Vibhavadi Rangsit Road, and 15 kilometres per hour during evening rush hour.

Therefore, the Ministry of Transport will be assigning new measures to solve or ease the traffic congestion, including a re-arrangement of the passenger pick-up and drop-off area in front of the Don Mueang airport train station, and the traffic flow re-arrangement on the road, said the Permanent-Secretary.

The re-arrangement of the passenger pick-up and drop-off area at the bus stop in front of the Don Mueang airport is expected to come into effect from next week with staff on site to provide assistance.

Meanwhile, the traffic on the Kamphaeng Phet 6 Road and the Choet Wutthakat Road will be reassigned as a one-way route with inbound traffic on the Kamphaeng Phet 6 Road and outbound traffic on the Choet Wutthakat Road.

The entrance and exit road to the exit 9 of the Don Mueang airport will be renovated and equipped with railings on the sides of the road to prevent cars from picking up and dropping off passengers. The plan is expected to be finished before the 2015 Songkran Festival, said the Permanent-Secretary.

The Permanent-Secretary of Transport also said that the Ministry has also planned to construct connecting roads to the Red Line commuter train which is expected to be in service by 2018 to facilitate the passengers.

For this subject, the Ministry has ordered the Office of Transport and Traffic Policy and Planning to study and design the crossings and the connecting roads within 6 months, of which the Department of Highway has suggested the construction of the underpasses and tunnels on the SRT’s land.


-- NNT 2014-12-16

[gemini81]

Hope it pans out and not just the usual hot-air of mere talk.

[chotthee]

Solving traffic problem in Thailand is really easy.

When stuck behind red light, sometime I wonder why they don't just turn the light green, so I can keep driving, without being stuck.

[WhizBang]

Redirecting the traffic will not solve the problem, as the real problem is that there are far too many cars on the road. The capacity of the roads have been exceeded.

[jonclark]

Congestion Charge and car less streets.

[fobuff]

How about another program to promote the selling of cars to new buyers... this worked well the last to clog up the roads with 1.5 miiliion new cars

[Fiddlesticks]

Bangkok: Problematic Red Line project way behind schedule

When they say that more measures are due soon, does this include the Red Line or something equally important?

I shall not hold my breath.

[givenall]

Every measure that, either talked about or done make things worse. It seem Bangkok is because one big parking lot making the oil companies laughing all the way to bank.

[rametindallas]

Every measure that, either talked about or done make things worse. It seem Bangkok is because one big parking lot making the oil companies laughing all the way to bank.

Legalize electric golf carts in the city.

01) They don't use any electricity when stopped in traffic.

02) They regenerate electricity when they brake.

03) They don't put exhaust in the streets is an added benefit.

04) You can fit more of them on the same length of street and they take less space to park.

05) They operate at speeds much higher than the current average on the streets.

06) The city could encourage their use by tax incentives for parking garages to install pay charging stands at special parking areas for golf carts.

07) They are very QUIET!

08) They are cheaper to run, and therefore less polluting, than internal combustion-powered vehicles.

09) With PV panels on the roof, they would be self-charging in traffic and when parked outside.

10) Auto insurance would go down as, because of their light weight and fiberglass construction, there would be fewer injury accidents and repairs for damages would cost less.

11) Their initial cost is lower than for a minimally standard car.

12) The energy it takes to charge all the electric vehicles will be generated by a power plant that will produce less pollution than the equivalent number of individual cars, trucks, and buses (each maintained more or less).

13) Charge an exorbitant fee to operate a pollution-generating internal combustion engines in the city to encourage everyone, including taxis and short-haul delivery, to switch to small size, lightweight, all-electric vehicles and you might be able to breathe some decent air in Bangkok.

Can anyone add to this list? Or, is this idea totally impractical?

Added: If most vehicles in Bangkok were electric, we wouldn't need A/C in cars (you don't have A/C when you're walking), you wouldn't need to block out the exhaust fumes from the next vehicle or its engine noise. No horns allowed, you could be heard by other drivers. I think this will make drivers more polite if they can't hide behind a ton of metal.

Edited December 16, 2014 by rametindallas

[noitom]

How about continuing to allow folks to park in Bangkok for free? That solves a lot of problems.

[Fiddlesticks]

How about confiscating all vehicles where the driver does not have a valid drivers license and valid road tax sticker. This should get rid of maybe 20% of the vehicles on the road.

[AGareth2]

need traffic police to stop and fine offendors

[Sarathi]

You cannot reduce traffic jams.

Jams relate to the level of patience of the people. The more patient people are, the more the jams. As the jams get worse, more people find alternatives such as moving their offices somewhere else.

Research repeatedly shows that building bypasses, trains, re-lanning etc.. tends to increase the amount of traffic.

Skytrains and the like increase the number of people who can travel along those routes, but do not reduce traffic on the roads.

The only way to actually reduce traffic is to introduce another incentive to get off the road (other than getting stuck in a jam) such as paying road fees.

Anyway, I thought that squares and jams had been banned by the Army ?

[daveAustin]

More measures to ease traffic jams in Bangkok

Simple. Ban the taxis that refuse fares and have an inner-city tax on anything with four wheels or more.

[alantheembalmer]

"More measures to ease traffic jams due soon"

More measures? What on earth are the existing ones?

[HeijoshinCool]

Anyone remember about a decade ago the cabinet minister who was being interviewed on television, and was asked how to ease traffic congestion?

Can't find his name, but his deadpan answer was: "Make green lights last longer."

[retarius]

Solving traffic problem in Thailand is really easy.

When stuck behind red light, sometime I wonder why they don't just turn the light green, so I can keep driving, without being stuck.

I have a bee in my bonnet about this. Why not buy a $100 computer from Tesco and synchronise the lights? I too get tired of waiting 60 or 90 seconds at a light where no traffic is passing the other way. This isn't rocket science and if you are on a main road you should not get caught at every single light....give priority to those on the main roads and make the side streets wait.

[jcisco]

Every measure that, either talked about or done make things worse. It seem Bangkok is because one big parking lot making the oil companies laughing all the way to bank.

Legalize electric golf carts in the city.

01) They don't use any electricity when stopped in traffic.

02) They regenerate electricity when they brake.

03) They don't put exhaust in the streets is an added benefit.

04) You can fit more of them on the same length of street and they take less space to park.

05) They operate at speeds much higher than the current average on the streets.

06) The city could encourage their use by tax incentives for parking garages to install pay charging stands at special parking areas for golf carts.

07) They are very QUIET!

08) They are cheaper to run, and therefore less polluting, than internal combustion-powered vehicles.

09) With PV panels on the roof, they would be self-charging in traffic and when parked outside.

10) Auto insurance would go down as, because of their light weight and fiberglass construction, there would be fewer injury accidents and repairs for damages would cost less.

11) Their initial cost is lower than for a minimally standard car.

12) The energy it takes to charge all the electric vehicles will be generated by a power plant that will produce less pollution than the equivalent number of individual cars, trucks, and buses (each maintained more or less).

13) Charge an exorbitant fee to operate a pollution-generating internal combustion engines in the city to encourage everyone, including taxis and short-haul delivery, to switch to small size, lightweight, all-electric vehicles and you might be able to breathe some decent air in Bangkok.

Can anyone add to this list? Or, is this idea totally impractical?

Added: If most vehicles in Bangkok were electric, we wouldn't need A/C in cars (you don't have A/C when you're walking), you wouldn't need to block out the exhaust fumes from the next vehicle or its engine noise. No horns allowed, you could be heard by other drivers. I think this will make drivers more polite if they can't hide behind a ton of metal.

Poor battery performance

Zero intrusion protection on impact

Generally no totally unsuited to share the roads with 1 tons+ pieces of machinery.

I would question the wheel sizes practicality and huge impact on efficiency the width of standard tire has.

Electrical load would soar,

People driving cars tend to leave 1.5-2.5 meters in front of their car when queuing in traffic will a buggy be differed

Cant wait till it floods out an intersection near you.... to drive through it or not that is the question

Would motorcycles not be better??

Lastly... do what singapore did, put in ERP.... though if you followed their rules for installing a gantry, just about everywhere would be under use tax.

But I like your thinking about the problem.

[jcisco]

Solving traffic problem in Thailand is really easy.

When stuck behind red light, sometime I wonder why they don't just turn the light green, so I can keep driving, without being stuck.

I have a bee in my bonnet about this. Why not buy a $100 computer from Tesco and synchronise the lights? I too get tired of waiting 60 or 90 seconds at a light where no traffic is passing the other way. This isn't rocket science and if you are on a main road you should not get caught at every single light....give priority to those on the main roads and make the side streets wait.

Just so you know, not all places have timers that indicate seconds, the count down is in units of the same time, not necessarily a second. Strange but true

[brucegoniners]

The best solution to the traffic in inner Bangkok is the very same thing they do in London.

In London all cars are required to be equipped with transponders. To discourage people from driving into downtown, they are charged, just like you get charged for crossing a bridge or to enter a tollway.

If they did that here the traffic would thin noticeably. Only people who needed to go into town would.

Problem solved.

And here it wouldn't have to be a lot of money to do the job.

[BKKdreaming]

Just think in 20 years everything in BKK will be fixed.....

OK...But our "PM" will need to stay those 20 years too.....ummm so thats the plan.......

[meatboy]

The best solution to the traffic in inner Bangkok is the very same thing they do in London.

In London all cars are required to be equipped with transponders. To discourage people from driving into downtown, they are charged, just like you get charged for crossing a bridge or to enter a tollway.

If they did that here the traffic would thin noticeably. Only people who needed to go into town would.

Problem solved.

And here it wouldn't have to be a lot of money to do the job.

a cheaper way would be to raise the speed limit.

[BKKdreaming]

Every measure that, either talked about or done make things worse. It seem Bangkok is because one big parking lot making the oil companies laughing all the way to bank.

Legalize electric golf carts in the city.

01) They don't use any electricity when stopped in traffic.

02) They regenerate electricity when they brake.

03) They don't put exhaust in the streets is an added benefit.

04) You can fit more of them on the same length of street and they take less space to park.

05) They operate at speeds much higher than the current average on the streets.

06) The city could encourage their use by tax incentives for parking garages to install pay charging stands at special parking areas for golf carts.

07) They are very QUIET!

08) They are cheaper to run, and therefore less polluting, than internal combustion-powered vehicles.

09) With PV panels on the roof, they would be self-charging in traffic and when parked outside.

10) Auto insurance would go down as, because of their light weight and fiberglass construction, there would be fewer injury accidents and repairs for damages would cost less.

11) Their initial cost is lower than for a minimally standard car.

12) The energy it takes to charge all the electric vehicles will be generated by a power plant that will produce less pollution than the equivalent number of individual cars, trucks, and buses (each maintained more or less).

13) Charge an exorbitant fee to operate a pollution-generating internal combustion engines in the city to encourage everyone, including taxis and short-haul delivery, to switch to small size, lightweight, all-electric vehicles and you might be able to breathe some decent air in Bangkok.

Can anyone add to this list? Or, is this idea totally impractical?

Added: If most vehicles in Bangkok were electric, we wouldn't need A/C in cars (you don't have A/C when you're walking), you wouldn't need to block out the exhaust fumes from the next vehicle or its engine noise. No horns allowed, you could be heard by other drivers. I think this will make drivers more polite if they can't hide behind a ton of metal.

take another one of those green pills and call me in the morning

no AC ? Solar panel recharging when driving ? regenerate (barely) l 100s or 1000s of recharging spots where they need to sit for hours......No Sale !

now using them as TuKTuks where you expect to be in the open air and drive a short distance then maybe....

or just buy everyone a Prius.....oops they have a petrol motor too

not ready for prime time yet........How about double decker Skytrains ?

[outsider]

Redirecting traffic will only move the congestions to other areas. The root of the problem is, there are just too many cars on the road, and the current infrastructure is just completely overwhelmed and unable to cope with the volume.

[Benmart]

The best solution to the traffic in inner Bangkok is the very same thing they do in London.

In London all cars are required to be equipped with transponders. To discourage people from driving into downtown, they are charged, just like you get charged for crossing a bridge or to enter a tollway.

If they did that here the traffic would thin noticeably. Only people who needed to go into town would.

Problem solved.

And here it wouldn't have to be a lot of money to do the job.

Perhaps the Thai government could look at something closer to home, such as Singapore. They use the pay-as-you-enter method much as London.

[Mister Fixit]

Every measure that, either talked about or done make things worse. It seem Bangkok is because one big parking lot making the oil companies laughing all the way to bank.

Legalize electric golf carts in the city.

01) They don't use any electricity when stopped in traffic.

02) They regenerate electricity when they brake.

03) They don't put exhaust in the streets is an added benefit.

04) You can fit more of them on the same length of street and they take less space to park.

05) They operate at speeds much higher than the current average on the streets.

06) The city could encourage their use by tax incentives for parking garages to install pay charging stands at special parking areas for golf carts.

07) They are very QUIET!

08) They are cheaper to run, and therefore less polluting, than internal combustion-powered vehicles.

09) With PV panels on the roof, they would be self-charging in traffic and when parked outside.

10) Auto insurance would go down as, because of their light weight and fiberglass construction, there would be fewer injury accidents and repairs for damages would cost less.

11) Their initial cost is lower than for a minimally standard car.

12) The energy it takes to charge all the electric vehicles will be generated by a power plant that will produce less pollution than the equivalent number of individual cars, trucks, and buses (each maintained more or less).

13) Charge an exorbitant fee to operate a pollution-generating internal combustion engines in the city to encourage everyone, including taxis and short-haul delivery, to switch to small size, lightweight, all-electric vehicles and you might be able to breathe some decent air in Bangkok.

Can anyone add to this list? Or, is this idea totally impractical?

Added: If most vehicles in Bangkok were electric, we wouldn't need A/C in cars (you don't have A/C when you're walking), you wouldn't need to block out the exhaust fumes from the next vehicle or its engine noise. No horns allowed, you could be heard by other drivers. I think this will make drivers more polite if they can't hide behind a ton of metal.

Er, just how can SILENT electric cars be heard by other road users?

[OZEMADE]

I reckon it will become more congested now as they are going to put the Toll fees up, so you can expect to see a lot more vehicles travelling on the Toll FREE roads.

[rametindallas]

Every measure that, either talked about or done make things worse. It seem Bangkok is because one big parking lot making the oil companies laughing all the way to bank.

Legalize electric golf carts in the city.

01) They don't use any electricity when stopped in traffic.

02) They regenerate electricity when they brake.

03) They don't put exhaust in the streets is an added benefit.

04) You can fit more of them on the same length of street and they take less space to park.

05) They operate at speeds much higher than the current average on the streets.

06) The city could encourage their use by tax incentives for parking garages to install pay charging stands at special parking areas for golf carts.

07) They are very QUIET!

08) They are cheaper to run, and therefore less polluting, than internal combustion-powered vehicles.

09) With PV panels on the roof, they would be self-charging in traffic and when parked outside.

10) Auto insurance would go down as, because of their light weight and fiberglass construction, there would be fewer injury accidents and repairs for damages would cost less.

11) Their initial cost is lower than for a minimally standard car.

12) The energy it takes to charge all the electric vehicles will be generated by a power plant that will produce less pollution than the equivalent number of individual cars, trucks, and buses (each maintained more or less).

13) Charge an exorbitant fee to operate a pollution-generating internal combustion engines in the city to encourage everyone, including taxis and short-haul delivery, to switch to small size, lightweight, all-electric vehicles and you might be able to breathe some decent air in Bangkok.

Can anyone add to this list? Or, is this idea totally impractical?

Added: If most vehicles in Bangkok were electric, we wouldn't need A/C in cars (you don't have A/C when you're walking), you wouldn't need to block out the exhaust fumes from the next vehicle or its engine noise. No horns allowed, you could be heard by other drivers. I think this will make drivers more polite if they can't hide behind a ton of metal.

Er, just how can SILENT electric cars be heard by other road users?

Er, not the cars being heard (cars don't have much to say) but the drivers being heard. You could just speak to the other driver as if you were in a park as there would be virtually no traffic noise to drown you out. "Hey, Buddy, would you let me in, I need to make a left up ahead?" "Kor tote, Khraup. Ow, leo sai. Dai mai, Khraup?"

Can you imaging Sukhumvit, Rama 4 & 9, Petchaburi, Ratchada, etc, with no traffic noise?

[JAG]

Every measure that, either talked about or done make things worse. It seem Bangkok is because one big parking lot making the oil companies laughing all the way to bank.

Legalize electric golf carts in the city.

01) They don't use any electricity when stopped in traffic.

02) They regenerate electricity when they brake.

03) They don't put exhaust in the streets is an added benefit.

04) You can fit more of them on the same length of street and they take less space to park.

05) They operate at speeds much higher than the current average on the streets.

06) The city could encourage their use by tax incentives for parking garages to install pay charging stands at special parking areas for golf carts.

07) They are very QUIET!

08) They are cheaper to run, and therefore less polluting, than internal combustion-powered vehicles.

09) With PV panels on the roof, they would be self-charging in traffic and when parked outside.

10) Auto insurance would go down as, because of their light weight and fiberglass construction, there would be fewer injury accidents and repairs for damages would cost less.

11) Their initial cost is lower than for a minimally standard car.

12) The energy it takes to charge all the electric vehicles will be generated by a power plant that will produce less pollution than the equivalent number of individual cars, trucks, and buses (each maintained more or less).

13) Charge an exorbitant fee to operate a pollution-generating internal combustion engines in the city to encourage everyone, including taxis and short-haul delivery, to switch to small size, lightweight, all-electric vehicles and you might be able to breathe some decent air in Bangkok.

Can anyone add to this list? Or, is this idea totally impractical?

Added: If most vehicles in Bangkok were electric, we wouldn't need A/C in cars (you don't have A/C when you're walking), you wouldn't need to block out the exhaust fumes from the next vehicle or its engine noise. No horns allowed, you could be heard by other drivers. I think this will make drivers more polite if they can't hide behind a ton of metal.

Er, just how can SILENT electric cars be heard by other road users?

There is some talk in the UK of fitting a noisemaker so that people will hear them coming.

Won't be necessary with taxis - the constant whining noise from the front right hand seat is reckoned to provide sufficient warning of approach.

Edited December 17, 2014 by JAG