Policy options towards a sustainable urban transportation strategy for Bangkok

This paper examines the critical urban transportation problems of Bangkok and evaluates feasible policy options. The problems include severe traffic congestion reflected in very slow traffic speeds; the very low share of urban land devoted to roads; excessive reliance on cars and insufficient provision of the cheaper forms of public transport; major environmental problems with respect to air pollution and noise; the proliferation of agencies involved in transportation; and political obstacles in the way of effective policy innovation. Several policy options are assessed: banning private cars in the core city; investing in more railways; promoting TODs (transit-oriented developments); improving bus services; implementing demand restraints, especially on car travel; designing effective traffic management schemes; facilitating private-sector participation in transportation; and encouraging more decentralisation and suburbanisation. All these policy options are complementary palliatives, not panaceas. Whether sustainable transportation is possible in Bangkok remains problematic.