WATCHING THE WORLD THE BANGKOK SCENE

With Roger Vielvoye from London One glance through any window is usually enough to remind residents of Bangkok of the price they pay for the astronomical economic growth of the past decade. On most days a haze of automotive pollution hangs over streets jammed to a standstill by mainly Japanese and Korean automobiles and pickup trucks, as well as larger trucks and buses of uncertain parentage and vintage.

Aug. 26, 1991

3 min read

One glance through any window is usually enough to remind residents of Bangkok of the price they pay for the astronomical economic growth of the past decade.

On most days a haze of automotive pollution hangs over streets jammed to a standstill by mainly Japanese and Korean automobiles and pickup trucks, as well as larger trucks and buses of uncertain parentage and vintage.

In a city that cries out for environmental controls, vehicles with catalytic converters are almost unknown. It is rare to find a truck or bus that has been properly maintained and does not belch clouds of black diesel fumes.

INFRASTRUCTURE GAP

Thailand is a country where infrastructure development follows economic expansion rather than the two going hand in hand. Citizens are finding the gap between growth and improvements in the infrastructure is getting wider. In Bangkok it looks as if the public transportation system will never catch up.

Traffic congestion is growing worse although Thais apparently can sit for hours in freeway traffic without descending into the depths of despair or fits of rage that would be shown by Europeans or Americans in a similar daily situation.

Drivers trapped in traffic must wonder what will happen to travel when the full force of the new Thai government's deregulation zeal is felt.

Last month a cut in duty on imported cars was announced that will reduce prices 10-20% and largely remove the protection local assembly plants have enjoyed for more than 30 years. Big increases in new car sales are expected, placing more traffic on overcrowded roads.

One of the features of Bangkok's traffic congestion is the large number of oil tank trucks needed to compensate for the lack of product pipelines. By 1993 all the major marketing companies will have completed two jointly owned product pipelines that will ease distribution problems in the Bangkok area.

First cars with catalytic converters are starting to appear, initially in very small numbers. Shell Co. of Thailand Ltd. is switching its car fleet to catalyst equipped vehicles. But it undoubtedly will require some financial incentives before the average motorist will consider the added expense of controlling emissions.

TAX BREAK ON UNLEADED

Shell's catalyst equipped fleet has been made possible by introduction of unleaded gasoline this year almost immediately after deregulation of the market. The tax break on unleaded has been enough to stimulate sales, and in 3 months unleaded has claimed 2530% of the gasoline market.

Introduction of unleaded in this part of Southeast Asia has occurred much faster than many in industry had predicted. Across the Thai border in Malaysia, unleaded also went on sale this year. But market penetration is still low, a reflection of an inadequate tax treatment of the new product.

Singapore, like Thailand, has the tax incentive to buy unleaded right, and sales have taken off. It all goes to show that in the absence of mandatory introduction of vehicles with catalytic converters, the only way to convince motorists to buy unleaded is with tax breaks.