[sustran] Bangkok Car free day- who can ride motorised and who cannot?

[Carlos F. Pardo]

Dear all,

 

I was just asked a question that I think is worth asking to more people
before answering it. I have been in the (rather difficult) process of
helping Bangkok officials try to organize a car-free day in their city. They
have posed may questions, and most of them are basically "textbook", so
there's no problem. But after a while of discussing they asked me if
motorcycles should or should not be allowed to move during a car free day.
My inmediate answer would be no, since a motorcycle is also dangerous (more
than a car, I would say), polluting (mostly if it's two-stroke, but
polluting nonetheless) and motorised! However, and to a great extent in
Asia, a lot of low income people use motorcycles as their main mode of
transport, sometimes even taking their wife and kids (2 or three of them!)
in the same vehicle (allegedly because they don't have the means to pay for
a very low transport fare).

 

Also, though officials didn't ask about it, I was thinking if it would also
be necessary to prohibit circulation of tuk tuks (three-wheeled motorised
taxis), since they would also be a highly informal service that would pose
the same threats of motorcyles (same engine, similar lack of safety, etc).
As I said before, an inmediate reaction to these questions would be a strict
"no", but since current transport conditions and affordability of a
transport fare is an issue, I don't think the answer could come out so
lightly.

 

Another option would be to think that simply Bangkok is not ready for a
car-free day, which I sometimes also feel is the answer. but then again it
would be backing up too soon. I have also thought that maybe Bangkok could
start simply by developing car-free Sundays or car-free areas (if not at the
same time), since the complete closing of roads to all cars seems to give
heart attacks to all the people whom I have talked to (and most of them work
in the "nonmotorised" section of the traffic and transportation division).
Also, giving free rides in public buses is almost completely out of the
question, unless we looked for funding from an international organisation.
difficult to get before September 22nd.

 

So, what would you do? 

 

Best regards,

 

Carlos F. Pardo

Project Coordinator

GTZ Sustainable Urban Transport Project (SUTP)

Room 0942, Transport Division, UN-ESCAP

ESCAP UN Building

Rajadamnern Nok Rd.

Bangkok 10200, Thailand

Tel: +66 (0) 2 - 288 2576

Fax: +66 (0) 2 - 280 6042

Mobile: +66 (0) 1 - 772 4727

e-mail:  <mailto:carlos.pardo at sutp.org> carlos.pardo at sutp.org

Website:  <http://www.sutp.org/> www.sutp.org

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