Skip to main content

Bangkok combats pollution with city toll 

Road pricing is part of Thailand’s Clean Mobility Programme
By Ben Spencer October 1, 2020 Read time: 2 mins
Bangkok toll is expected to reduce emissions (© Chiradech Chotchuang | Dreamstime.com)

Bangkok is introducing a road toll to improve air quality and deter commuters from driving in Thailand’s capital.

A report by German broadcaster DW says the proceeds from the charge will be used to help upgrade public transport. 

The programme is being carried out by the Thai Department for Transport Policy and Planning and German development agency Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ).

GIZ says on its website the Clean Mobility Programme will support the Thai government in enabling a shift toward sustainable transport by addressing low-quality public transport services operating in cities and an increase of private vehicle usage.

It also seeks to help cities improve mobility and manage travel demand in cooperation with relevant authorities, the agency adds. 

This programme is part of Global Transfer III, an initiative carried out by GIZ on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Protection, Building and Nuclear Safety.

Transfer III supports efforts being made in Thailand, Peru, the Philippines and Indonesia to reduce greenhouse gases (GHG) from transport. 

According to GIZ, Thailand's government has pledged a 20% reduction in GHG emissions by 2030.

The agency claims a third of these emissions are caused by transport, leading to a rise in air pollution and losses of productivity due to traffic congestion.  

Earlier this year, Toyota Mobility pledged ฿50 million (£1.2m) to Chulalongkorn University as part of a project to ease congestion on Rama4 Road in Bangkok. 
 

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Bytemark offers mobility rewards programme
    October 22, 2021
    The programme supports the SDoT's 'Flip Your Trip' campaign
  • California to require all bus fleets to be zero-emission by 2040
    December 18, 2018
    The California Air Resources Board (CARB) has approved a statewide regulation which will require public transit agencies to gradually transition to fully zero emission buses by 2040. The Clean Transit regulation is expected to help transit agencies reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 19 million metric tonnes, nitrogen oxides by 7,000 tonnes and particulate matter by 40 tonnes from 2020 to 2050. CARB says the regulation will improve air quality, especially in low-income communities. It could also help
  • Dynamic charging boosts electric vehicles’ potential
    December 16, 2014
    With an increasing need to use electric vehicles in city centres to reduce pollution, David Crawford looks at various solutions to power delivery. The UN’s September 2014 Climate Summit has added fresh momentum to the drive to increase urban electric vehicle (EV) takeup. It has launched the Urban Electric Mobility Initiative, which wants to see EVs accounting for 30% of all urban travel by 2030, and make cities worldwide more friendly to their use. Encouragingly, the plan is being well supported by commerci
  • Calls for road pricing to fix Australia’s congestion
    November 16, 2015
    According to a report by the Bureau of Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Economics (BITRE) claims the rising costs of congestion in Australia’s major cities underscores the case for real road pricing reform, says Infrastructure Partnerships Australia (IPA). Updating a similar report from 2007, the traffic and congestion cost trends for Australian capital cities report puts congestion costs for society as a whole in 2015 at US$11.7 billion. IPA believes this will rise to US$36 billion in 2030 if noth