[sustran] Re: Bangkok Transit System ('Skytrain')

[Craig Townsend]

>I think that the explanation may be that the new mass transit system in
>Bangkok currently does not extend beyond the inner area of the city which
>is densely built up.  There is also a danger that by putting park n' ride
>in such dense, mixed land-use locations could possible even reduce
>ridership by reducing the amount of human activity in the vicinity of
>stations. I imagine that Park and ride in Hong Kong would only be in the
>outer New Town areas (please correct me if I am wrong).
>

I can't comment on the Hong Kong situation, but Paul is correct that
Bangkok Transit System's inner city routes (it runs down the middle of
Bangkok's busiest inner city roads) make park n' ride unfeasible.
Furthermore, I would argue that parking supply should not be increased in
any manner or form in inner city Bangkok. In 1990, parking per 1,000 CBD
workers in Bangkok was 397 spaces. By comparison, in Singapore it was 164,
in Tokyo 43, and in Hong Kong 33. Bangkok's "American levels" of parking
provision have contributed to Bangkok's high private car use and hostile
conditions of the public environment, and in many cases represent a subsidy
from the poor to the rich! Building park n' rides in Bangkok would cancel
out many of the benefits that will be derived from its first mass transit
system. 

Craig
________________________________________________
Craig Townsend
Institute for Sustainability & Technology Policy
Murdoch University
South Street, Murdoch
Perth, Western Australia 6150

tel: (61 8) 9360 6293
fax: (61 8) 9360 6421
email: townsend at central.murdoch.edu.au