Urban mobility and equality of access to

transport – what could Bangkok be doing

better?
Modern Bangkok (image credit: Pinterest – photographed by Marcus Burtenshaw)

Equality of access to metro-based public transport systems has become a primary

issue for cities around the world, none more so than in Bangkok where equal
access for all its citizens has reached crisis point.

Bangkok's sprawling urban fabric has been shaped by a car-orientated society. Generations of city
planners have adopted an old-school American-style approach of building extensive road networks,
resulting in a fragmented pattern of urbanisation and land use development. As the title holder of
the ‘world’s worst commute’, it’s not just the pedestrians that suffer. Public bus routes are at the
mercy of private car congestion and other transportation choices - cycling, walking, and even
facilities for crossing the multiple-lane streets - are treated as optional and secondary to vehicular
right of way. In a city where meaningful civic public space does not extend beyond the compound
of a shopping mall, the civic culture associated with public transport of Bangkokians is now being
put to the test.
Typical Bangkok traffic (image credit: siamrath.co.th)

Constructing more automobile-orientated streets does not create mobility. Rather, enabling
mobility for all relies on creating access for the old, the young, the less abled and accommodating
all modes of transport in the city – walking, cycling, bus and metro. In other words – accessibility is
mobility.

In 1994, Bangkok’s transport planners drew up an ambitious masterplan known as the Bangkok
Mass Transit Development Plan which envisioned the creation of more than a dozen new subway
and rapid urban rail lines by the turn of the century, and has been retained for the most part as a
plan over the years. Although implementation has been constrained by economic and political
difficulties, over the past ten years the city has still introduced the elevated-rail Skytrain (BTS) and
the underground MRTA Blue Line, which have been enthusiastically received by locals and tourists
alike. These new lines have revolutionised how Bangkok perceives urban mobility.

BTS Skytrain – Sukhumvit Line (image credit: shutterstock.com)

The largest challenge for the implementation of the metro network is constrained land use.
Bangkok Metropolitan Region rail networks thread their way through the city above and below
existing roads so as to avoid encroaching on adjacent land lots. The result is that pedestrian
entrances to the stations are squeezed onto narrow walkways and busy road junctions. Little
provision has been made in the public realm for the large pedestrian movements created by the
new infrastructure and the ability for commuters to interchange between the networks and with
other complementary modes of transport are limited. Not only are the spaces around entrances
physically constrained, they create insecure environments that arguably treat some vulnerable
commuter groups such as women, the elderly and the disabled, unfairly.

It’s a major challenge for city planners to integrate alternative means of transport into a city that
has been primarily planned for the car. Where the new metro infrastructure has been
implemented, it’s been a welcome improvement, but for it to become a truly equitable network
the systems need to be better integrated. Street space that is currently dominated by cars needs to
be given up to provide good quality public realm around metro station entrances with provision
for better interchange between alternative modes of transport. The easy way out is to just squeeze
it all in, but I fear that this will result in a city where access to mobility and all the social mobility
benefits this enables, will be denied to many of Bangkok’s citizens.

MRTA – Silom Station (image credit: bangkok-nightlife.net)

Motorcycle taxi as an alternative mode of transport around Bangkok (image credit: calcathai.com)

The lack of facilities at stations such as ‘kiss and ride’ and ‘park and ride’ adds making them less
desirable for commuters and therefore discouraging mobility. Despite the contorted and
fragmented transport network resulting from civil and political issues, Bangkokians remain resilient
and accept that improvements to their daily journey and quality of life have a long way to
go.

Enhancing metro accessibility incorporates urban transportation policy and means planning the city
in a way that decreases car dependency and propagates alternative transport modes. The notion of
accessibility is becoming an increasing criticism in light of long-term social sustainability. And so, the
issue of equal access for all users has reached a crisis point in a perpetually expanding Bangkok.

In my opinion, a city cannot be considered a city if it fails to offer choices to its dwellers. Should
Bangkok continue to lack integration and vision in its transport plans, it would be a sad day for both
the city and Thailand – a country which has only just began to embrace a transport network which
provides multiple alternatives for its residents.

S. Sukumganjana is a Senior Associate based in Hong Kong; Singapore; Brisbane and Doha:
working for HASSELL. He has been designing transportation projects for over 17 years
including stations in Thailand, Hong Kong, China, Singapore, Malaysia, Copenhagen, India and
the UK.