[sustran] "tuk tuk" news

Craig Townsend townsend at central.murdoch.edu.au
Wed Oct 24 14:37:26 JST 2001


I don't know what the "new international standard" for three-wheeled 
motorized taxis is, and I'm not sure how they could be used as "national 
vehicles", but this could be of interest to Sustran! Incidentally, a couple 
of weeks ago the Thai Prime Minister Taksin Shinawatra presented a "tuk tuk 
taxi" to visiting Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe who was impressed and 
declared that Zimbabwe should import them from Thailand.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
from The Nation online edition
(http://www.nationmultimedia.com/page.news.php3?clid=2&id=782&usrsess=1)

Tuk-tuk makers to face int'l standards
Published on Oct 24, 2001
Thailand's famous tuk-tuk taxis will be manufactured according to a new 
international standard within three months under a plan to boost exports of 
the vehicles.

Deputy Industry Minister Pichate Satirachaval yesterday appointed Vehicle 
Institute director Wallop Tiasiri head of a panel that will set 
specifications for tuk-tuks under a plan to make the three-wheeled taxis a 
"national vehicle".

The panel comprises officials from the Transport Department's Office of 
Industrial Product Standards. The Vehicle Institute studied the plan in 
detail for over a year before coming up with the proposal.

The institute has invited auto-parts manufacturers to invest in a public 
company to implement the project, which will be established with the 
Industrial Estate of Thailand holding 10 per cent of total equity. The 
government hopes that setting international standards for the vehicles will 
open up more export markets for manufacturers, creating more jobs at home.

The Transport Department limits production and registration of tuk-tuks to 
just 50,000 a year. Four local manufacturers export about 10,000 excess 
vehicles per year to Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and India.

Pichate said the tuk-tuk had become a symbol of Thailand. The vehicles are 
made almost entirely of local parts, the exception being the engines, which 
are imported from China. If the plan is successful, the ministry will 
promote local production of small 150cc, 200cc and 450cc engines.

"Suzuki, which produces tuk-tuk engines in China, has proposed investing in 
production of the engines in Thailand," he said.

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

tel: (61 8) 9360 6278
fax: (61 8) 9360 6421
email: townsend at central.murdoch.edu.au
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