The military junta will ban all passenger vans from parking on roads around the Victory Monument in a bid to reduce traffic congestion in the area.
Motorcycle taxi drivers wait for passengers at Lat Phrao Soi 64 as the National Council for Peace and Order plans measures to regulate public transport, including passenger vans and motorcycle taxis. PATTARAPONG CHATPATTARASILL
Col Chalermpol Srisawat, deputy commander of the King's Guard 2nd Cavalry Division, said the vans often parked chaotically and fuelled crippling traffic problems at the roundabout.
A new permanent parking space will be assigned below the Airport Rail Link's Makkasan station, which will now serve as the city's main passenger van hub, he said.
Col Chalermpol, who has been assigned by the junta to regulate passenger vans operating at Victory Monument, said the new parking area is expected to open in the near future and a ticket sales booth would be set up near the entrance to Makkasan station.
The Victory Monument parking ban will be trialled from next Monday and take effect from July 1.
Col Chalermpol was speaking yesterday after meeting Pol Lt Col Jumpol Khananurak, Phayathai police station's deputy chief in charge of traffic affairs, to discuss passenger van problems.
He said the meeting agreed to take strict action against passenger van drivers who break the speed limit, cut aggressively in front of other cars, and perform dangerous and illegal overtaking manoeuvres.
Col Chalermpol said authorities will also try to regulate pricing structures to prevent passengers from being overcharged.
Van operators who have not yet registered with the state should do so immediately, he said. New licence plates will be assigned to registered van operators.
The meeting also agreed on a plan to assign passenger vans to operate on routes which are not plied by Bangkok Mass Transit Authority buses.
Darakorn Wongprapai, 27, who regularly uses passenger vans operating in the Victory Monument area, said she agreed with the junta's measures to ban passenger vans from parking there.
Ms Darakorn said the Victory Monument is a focal point for passengers travelling both within Bangkok and to other provinces, contributing to the crippling traffic jams seen in the area during peak hours.
She said she also agreed with the junta's plan to develop areas below Makkasan station to become a new passenger van hub, but feared problems related to van services would follow at the new site.
She urged the junta to ensure proper regulation of transport services continued after the move was made.
State employee Patomporn Maleethaworn, 25, said problems involving passenger vans have plagued the city for many years, and regulating the services would help cut down on the number of traffic accidents.
Meanwhile, the Metropolitan Police Bureau's Traffic Police Division held a meeting of senior traffic police officers to discuss problems related to motorcycle taxi services, particularly overcharging and traffic violations.
Traffic police commander Jirasan Kaewsangake called on the roughly 500 unregistered motorcycle taxi queues across Bangkok to register with police immediately.
There are currently around 6,300 registered motorcycle taxi queues operating in the capital.