Car-Free Day just another day in busy Bangkok

Have you noticed any difference today?

Perhaps, you're not aware of it. Today is Bangkok's Car-Free Day, a day when car owners are supposed to keep their vehicles in their garages at home and use public transport to go to work or other places.

Have you noticed a fewer number of vehicles on the roads today?

Perhaps, you haven't. Needless to say, there are a number of reasons why things do not happen as they are supposed to.

First, in Thailand, vehicles are more than a means of transportation. Like in many Asian cities, they are a symbol of their social classes. To many, it seems easier to mingle with people who drive Mercedes Benz to a party than a worn-down pickup truck.

Second, public transportation in Bangkok is in such a terrible condition that no governor can do anything about it, let alone improve the condition of buses or provide a free lane for buses.

Third, Bangkok is expanding so fast that houses are located far away from the main public transport routes. Without a car, you have to ride a motorcycle taxi to the front of your soi.

But for the bicycle campaign that kicked off yesterday, I myself would not have known that today is Car-Free Day. Under the campaign, bicyclists campaigned for more use of cycles as a choice of transport, which would benefit health, reduce pollution, save energy and reduce global warming.

I remembered what my friend in Hamburg, Germany, said about Car-Free Day in her town. On that day, nearly all units lent help. All buses were free, and across towns there were free concerts to mark the day when people gladly parked their vehicles at home.

But what I could find in www.bangkokcarfreeday.com, was just the itinerary of the bicycle campaign with links to sponsors. I was glad that BTS was one of the sponsors and hoped that it would charge commuters nothing on Car-Free Day. But there was no such thing.

Alas, I can't help thinking that it's merely a PR campaign. Such rallies have taken place so often, particularly in big towns in Bangkok. But after the day it kicked off and ended, the campaign apparently ended too. I still remember the time months ago when former governor Apirak Kosayodhin rode a bicycle with other Bangkok officers and bicyclists to introduce a special bicycle lane.

Like his opponent Chuwit Kamolvisit said, parts of the lanes are blocked with street stalls or other obstacles.

 In the photo shown here, it is a bike lane in front of Bangkok Metropolitan Administration building, which accidentally shares the lane with public buses.  Unfortunately, if you seriously thinking about riding a bicycle to work, you could easily get hit by a passing car. Certainly accidents should not be part of the campaign.