On Saturday morning, as city officials and invited guests were lining up to welcome Deputy Governor Sakoltee Phattiyakul who was due to officiate a city function, everything seemed to go as planned.
The former street protest leader turned top city administrator -- dressed in casual attire -- emerged from his official vehicle in a good mood, greeting those who received him at the venue. Yet, the deputy governor did not seem disturbed by his chosen mode of transport, that decidedly was not a good fit with the theme of the event: Car-free day. In principle, those who participated in the event were supposed to opt for public transport or bicycles, but Mr Sakoltee -- as well as his aides -- was an exception. Or should I say, had the privilege?
Ploenpote Atthakor is editorial pages editor, Bangkok Post.
The deputy governor was there to release a parade of bicyclists who were to make a short trip in the "car-free" event. In fact, he was among the cheerful bikers, proceeding on the designated route in what is actually just a symbolic activity. When the event wrapped up, they returned home in their cars.
I was hardly surprised. A day before the event, I browsed the city's "car-free day" webpage and found that those who arrive by car can get a free parking stamp at the service counter. These were supposed to be for the benefit of the participants, many of whom hitched their bicycles to their cars as they made their way to the event.
My colleague, who is a serious biker, tried to defend the deputy governor and participants of the event that was aimed to encourage people to be a part of the solution to traffic congestion.
For those who live far away from the venue, my colleague said, it's next to impossible to bike from home under current circumstances. Furthermore, not everyone lives near the electric rail system, which would allow them to take their bicycles on the train. In addition, the rail management companies -- both the MRT and the BTS -- have set up quite a few rules that restrict the carriage of two-wheelers onboard. She went on and on.
Putting hypocrisy aside, Mr Sakoltee's poor choice of vehicle speaks volumes about the poor state of the public transport system in the City of Angels. He would have arrived late for the event had he opted for a bus. He would have not gotten anywhere on his bicycle on his own.
Frankly, I don't expect everyone to turn into cyclists on car-free day. But how about abandoning private cars for a day? The fact that this year's car-free day fell on a Saturday means it was not too difficult to move around on an alternative means of transport and make a difference. The state could have arranged buses to accommodate participants with bicycles, for example.
But who cares?
His boss, Governor Aswin Kwanmuang, was nowhere to be seen. But even if he was there, there would not be any difference. Pol Gen Aswin, who aspires to become the next governor, has no interest in public transportation. He hates the BRT system and wanted scrap it in favour of private cars. He complained that buses take too much space that could be used by motorists, in a case of distorted logic. It's fear of the military regime, which wanted the BRT to stay, that forced him to keep the system. But by allowing private cars to share the designated lane for buses, the system is de facto dead.
Under Pol Gen Aswin, some of the Bangkok's very few bike lanes were scrapped. The administration encourages cyclists to pedal in parks to be safe. It's leisure, not a mode of zero-carbon transport that is affordable. Forget about the right to share a road surface. If you are not a motorist, you are a nobody.
While Mr Sakoltee and the administration regards the car-free day as a symbolic event, cities around the world are improving. Some cities in Europe started celebrating this event on Sept 16. Brussels transformed its city centre into a car-free zone, going as far as designating a "Mobility Week". These cities, run by administrators with vision, leave Bangkok behind.
Better mobility will never be achieved as long as people cling on to their four-wheelers -- especially while taking part in car-free day activities.