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Published on September 23, 2007

There was no noticeable reduction in the number of motor vehicles on Car-Free Day, held in Bangkok and 32 other provinces yesterday. However, tens of thousands of cycling enthusiasts and bike-lane advocates obviously enjoyed themselves and for one day got the kind of respect they deserve from motorists. They even drew some envious glances from commuters and pedestrians.

Local authorities and traffic police stopped traffic to allow cyclists of all ages to pass through downtown areas as part of a campaign to promote energy conservation, reduce traffic congestion, cut back on air pollution and curb global warming. Such fun-filled activities, organised in collaboration between government agencies and environmentalists for a good cause, are admirable and should be encouraged.

However, one couldn't help but noticing that such symbolic gestures will have little impact on the prevailing attitudes towards cyclists for the rest of the year. Bicycle riding continues to invite ridicule from pedestrians, commuters and hostile motorists, who see cyclists as a nuisance. And people who pedal to and from work or for pleasure anywhere in this country have to risk their lives because of a serious lack of bicycle lanes.

The number of people who ride bicycles for leisure, exercise or as sport has been rising rapidly in recent years. But the irony is that for most people to enjoy themselves and ride their bikes in safety, they must haul their bicycles into their cars or trucks and go upcountry to national parks or tourist resorts. They do not have the opportunity to use their bikes in everyday life safely. This is why weekend bike riders far outnumber work-day cyclists.

Bike riders probably rank near the bottom of the pecking order on public roads - only slightly above those who are too poor to spring for bus fare, one notch below actual bus passengers and definitely way below motorcyclists, truck drivers and other motorists. Town and city planners and local authorities are mainly to blame not only for neglecting to incorporate bike lanes into overall traffic planning and management in the past, but also for being too slow to correct this mistake.

Trying to promote the use of bicycles as an alternative to motor vehicles in everyday life is not going to work so long as there is still an insufficient number of bicycle lanes that are safe and really useable. To be useful, bike lanes must be connected into networks that enable people to ride to school or work, or to bus or train stations where there are parking facilities for those who need to make a long trip.

However, there have been some encouraging signs that cities and municipalities around the country are doing better to set up bicycle lanes. The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) has promised to increase the number of bike lanes from the current 10, which add up to a total length of 170 kilometres, to 22 in the next few years.

The BMA also plans to create another 964 bicycle-parking areas in addition to the existing 2,865 parking spots. At this stage, most of the expansion will be in outer suburbs, where a substantial number of people are already using bicycles on a daily basis because newly built roads incorporate bicycle lanes into their original designs.

Bike lanes in downtown Bangkok will in the foreseeable future remain an unattainable dream, mostly because most of the footpaths in the city centre are already too narrow for pedestrians and cannot be split for bicycle traffic. Provided that there is enough public pressure on politicians and government authorities, this dream may not be too far off. For a start, footpaths in too many central Bangkok districts are being occupied illegally by hawkers who defy city regulations, causing disorder and becoming eyesores. There is no reason why the city government should not be able to designate the part of footpaths now claimed by these hawkers as bicycle lanes and instruct the hawkers to ply their trade in nearby markets.

Over the longer term, the promotion of bicycle use must go hand in hand with the expansion of the mass transport system and road-pricing for car users, which will persuade motorists first to consider switching to public transport. This would in turn alleviate road congestion to a point where bicycle lanes could be incorporated into existing roads.