Bangkok's extreme traffic problems have been traditionally explained in terms of a lack
of road infrastructure and policy responses for many years have almost exclusively
stressed road investment to the exclusion of all other forms of transport infrastructure
development. This thesis questions this interpretation of the traffic problem and its
chief policy response: building still more roads. It suggests that in order to effectively
analyse Bangkok's traffic predicament and to formulate more sustainable responses to
the crisis, an understanding is required of Bangkok's land use and transport
development, as well as a systematic and detailed perspective on the similarities and
differences between Bangkok and many other cities around the world, particularly
those in Asia.
This thesis suggests that Bangkok has passed through three key periods: a water-based
transport and walking period, a transport modernisation period and a motorisation
period. In each period up to motorisation Bangkok appeared to maintain a harmonious
relationship between its high density, mixed use urban form, ideally suited to nonmotorised
modes and to public transport. Even in the motorisation period, high
density, mixed use development has mostly followed major road corridors and
remains well-suited to much higher public transport and non-motorised mode use than
currently exist. However, in this period, rapidly rising motor vehicle ownership and use
began to come into conflict with the city's pre-automobile form. Road infrastructure
could not be built fast enough to keep pace with traffic growth, despite almost
exclusive commitment of resources to roads. High capacity public transport systems,
including rail, renewed water transport and busways failed to materialise to help curb
the motorisation process and to provide much needed relief on the roads. A basic
conflict or mismatch between urban form and transport began to emerge, leaving the
city ill-equipped to cope with the automobile and subject to large environmental, social
and economic impacts from congestion.
The thesis argues that while Bangkok's per capita road supply is low in an
international sense, it is not atypical for an Asian city and road availability per hectare
is similar to many other cities around the world. Likewise, common arguments about
an inadequate road hierarchy are systematically analysed and are shown to be
insufficient in explaining Bangkok's present crisis. The thesis thus suggests that
attempting to tackle the traffic problem through an intensification of road building
efforts will not provide the relief sought, but will only exacerbate the traffic impacts
which are shown to be already at the limits of international experience.
The international comparison of Bangkok with other cities, highlighting basic
similarities and differences in land use and transport features, continues to build upon
this argument. It shows that Bangkok lies at one extreme in many transport
characteristics such as the amount of travel per hectare, and within the Asian cities, it
is very high in vehicle ownership and use and energy use, comparatively low in public
transport use and very low in non-motorised modes. The thesis suggests that in
physical planning terms, Bangkok's traffic crisis appears to stem from a set of
mismatches between its transport patterns, urban form and transport infrastructure.
These mismatches are between: (1) vehicle use and urban form: higher levels of private
vehicle use than can be properly accommodated in its dense, tightly woven urban
fabric; (2) vehicle use and road supply: levels of private vehicle use which are
incompatible with its road availability and which are uncharacteristically high
compared to other Asian cities; (3) transit use, urban form and road supply: lower
levels of overall transit use than would be expected in a city of its urban form and road
availability; (4) transit infrastructure, urban form and road supply: a public transport
infrastructure which is inadequate to meet the demands for transit movement inherent
in such a dense city, particularly a lack of rail infrastructure; (5) non-motorised modes
and urban form: levels of non-motorised mode use which are uncharacteristically low
for such a dense, mixed use urban fabric. These mismatches are mainly the consequence
of a long series of inappropriate and ineffective transport policies and investments
which are biased towards private transport and which have at least in part arisen
from narrow and outdated transport planning processes.
In order for transport planning in Bangkok to address the suggested roots of the crisis,
the thesis contends that at least two key constraints would have to be dealt with: the
traditional urban transport planning process and the institutional fragmentation in
transport policy and implementation. Notwithstanding, there are forces pushing in the
direction of change and these are examined in terms of the growing global and local
trends towards sustainability, community outrage over traffic and the role of NGOs.
Based on these findings, this thesis provides a case for a series of policies to help deal
with Bangkok's traffic disaster. In line with global trends towards sustainability as an
organising principle for urban policy development, these policies are offered within a
framework of developing a more sustainable transport system in Bangkok. The policies
suggested cover priority to public transport infrastructure development, transitoriented,
mixed land use development, transport demand management, improvement
of waterway transportation, facilitation of walking and cycling and institutional
reform of Bangkok's transport decision making structure. Opportunities for further
complementary research are suggested.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:ADTP/221785 |
| Date | January 1997 |
| Creators | adt@murdoch.edu.au, Chamlong Poboon |
| Publisher | Murdoch University |
| Source Sets | Australiasian Digital Theses Program |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Rights | http://www.murdoch.edu.au/goto/CopyrightNotice, Copyright Chamlong Poboon |
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