[sustran] Re: Bangkok bike parking

[Jonathan E. D. Richmond]

The police bribe depends on circumstances, but everyone regards it as
preferable to enforcement!

Except I did have one really bad incident with the police.

I had rented three minibuses for a student trip. The operator had not told
me he wasn't allowed out of Bangkok. Worse, he had not told me we were
following the route of a rival bus line which actually had a license to
operate on it.

Everyone pays the police protection money. That is a basic. Every
motorbike taxi, tuk-tuk, you name it, will pay off the police in their
area so they are left alone.

And the payment does indeed also afford some protection, and profits to
the police.

So, we got stopped. And the police wanted 1000 baht per minibus.

A little hesitation, and handcuffs were produced.

The unhappy drivers paid 1000 baht each, but we were allowed to go on our
illegal way. In fact, when stopped again later, one of the drivers simply
pointed out that a bribe had already been paid, and that seemed to serve
as the permit for the rest of the day.

Police are paid very little -- they start on 7000 baht a month, so bribes
are regarded as a necessary part of their income. This is a key to the
traffic problem in Bangkok. Unfortunately, no matter what plans -- grand
or modest -- are produced, progress cannot be made until corruption is
faced head on.

                         --Jonathan






On Thu, 4 May 2006, Linda Fullerton wrote:

> Re: As Carlos suggested there is a strong need of "ENFORCEMENT" rather than urging)
>
> Enforcement in Bangkok? When 200 Baht or if you're lucky 100 Baht will get you off
 any traffic offence?
>
> Re: and that they will use the bike park designs we've given them
>
> Bikes are ridden by those who can't afford motorbikes. It will take a lot more
 than Bike parks to change a population aspiring to the level of private transport
 available to most in the west. The average Thai is quite content to sit in a traffic
 jam...
>
> Sorry to appear negative....
>
> Linda.
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: Sunny
> To: Asia and the Pacific sustainable transport
> Sent: Thursday, May 04, 2006 4:25 PM
> Subject: [sustran] Re: Bangkok bike parking
>
>
> it is a very nice example tht Carlos has cited on the energy saving I
> guess that the bangkok officials should not urge but instead take the
> lead and cut the power themselves for 45min as they planned....mere
> words will not provide a solution for the energy savings and the same
> rule applies to the transportation....requesting the people to shift to
> public transport will no do the job as there is a need for a total PT
> reform.....with the existing condition of the buses I doubt if people
> would shift..instead if the quality and service is improved then surely
> people would shift for the PT. As Carlos suggested there is a strong
> need of "ENFORCEMENT" rather than urging.
>
> Sunny
>
> Carlos F. Pardo SUTP wrote:
> > I sometimes have the hope that Bangkok has taken some of our suggestions
> > seriously, and that they will use the bike park designs we've given them, as
> > well as all other aspects we've pointed out in various meetings (and the
> > countless documents and presentations!). If they really start riding
> > bicycles and building facilities, we can take credit!
> >
> > The Thai government also had a regulation effective in 2005 which made all
> > government offices turn off their A/C systems or keep it above a certain
> > temperature. Interestingly, I was once in a meeting and saw a deputy mayor
> > stand up and change the temperature to the one being "enforced". I hope the
> > same starts happening with transport, but it will take a bit more than
> > turning a dial.
> >
> > 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: carlos.pardo at sutp.org
> > Website: www.sutp.org
>
>
> ================================================================
> SUSTRAN-DISCUSS is a forum devoted to discussion of people-centred, equitable and sustainable transport with a focus on developing countries (the 'Global South'). Because of the history of the list, the main focus is on urban transport policy in Asia.


-----
Jonathan Richmond
Visiting Scholar
Department of Urban Planning and Design
Graduate School of Design
Harvard University
312 George Gund Hall
48 Quincy St.
Cambridge MA 02138-3000

Mailing address:
182 Palfrey St.
Watertown MA 02472-1835

(617) 395-4360

e-mail: richmond at alum.mit.edu
http://the-tech.mit.edu/~richmond/