Vendor ban sees city lose flavour

But the rather strict implementation of a policy aimed at regulating Bangkok's pavements by the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) and the Metropolitan Police Bureau (MPB) has had an adverse effect on the character of this metropolis.Cleanliness, pedestrian safety and the rights of shop owners and tenants whose shopfronts or driveways are blocked by the street stalls and vendors are among the main reasons cited to justify the move to clear all street hawkers off Bangkok's pavements and the roadside.As a consequence, hundreds of thousands of street vendors as well as their families have been affected by the policy, said an article published by Chakorn Loetnithat and Somchai Jitsuchon, researchers with the Thailand Development Research Institute (TDRI).Recent joint research by Thammasat University and Wiego (Women in Informal Employment: Globalising and Organising), a global network focused on securing the livelihoods of the working poor, especially women, in the informal economy, found street food vendors bring convenience to consumers who are only able to shop for food at low prices.That is because this group of consumers normally have easy access to street food vendors by means of the public transport network.The same research also found that most of the customers of street vendors are low-income white-collar workers, students and blue-collar workers. Up to 60% of these customers earn less than 9,000 baht on average per month.When those street food vendors are ordered off the pavements and the roadside, these low-income earners' living cost is estimated to rise by about 357 baht per person per month due to the higher price of food from elsewhere.This hike represents more than the national minimum daily wage, said the research.Aside from their benefit to low-income earners, street and roadside merchants also contribute to the local economy as they attract people to spend money in areas that were hitherto rarely used, researchers found.Vendors can also provoke a chain reaction of spending in an area. For example, the flower selling stalls in the Pak Khlong Talat area help attract tourists at night who spend money not only on the flowers but also on other products and services.Soi Rang Nam in Ratchathewi district of Bangkok is another example of a deep alleyway that people are happy to commute along both during the daytime and at night, thanks to the presence of street stalls and vendors who provide a feeling of safety, said the research.More than 70% of street vendors are over 40 years old and they have very limited choices of jobs as most of them have only a basic education, said the same research.The recent cancellation of roadside and pavement spots where they used to be allowed to sell their products has resulted in rising debts, stress and even some other mental conditions among the vendors.Mr Chakorn and Mr Somchai, the co-authors of the TDRI article that quoted findings from the Thammasat-Wiego study, point out in their Thai-language article that the measures aimed at compensating the street vendors by providing them with new trading spaces haven't worked as the locations lack passing trade.The two TDRI researchers, therefore, are calling on the BMA and the MPB to revise their policy for managing Bangkok's pavements and instead implement efficient regulations which strike a balance between keeping areas walkable and allowing the vendors to continue to do business along the streets.What these two state agencies have overlooked in their implementation of the pavement management policy is how much those street vendors have contributed to the country's economy and the losses its stringent enforcement has brought about, said the writers.Boonlom Pholkhammak, a 54-year-old woman from the northeastern province of Maha Sarakham, said she has been hawking Thai sweets in the Phaya Thai, Ratchaprarop and Din Daeng areas for more than 30 years.She's not based in one particular spot but carries her products around and sells them while moving from one place to another from early in the morning until about 2pm.And when there are only a few pieces left she normally gives them away to kids as a way of helping others before she goes home.Since she hasn't had to pay any rent for trade space, she earned enough to support her son and daughter until they both graduated with bachelor's degrees.Thongbo Manadee, 61, from Roi Et province in the Northeast, said she only begun hawking khao niaw mun (a type of Thai sweets made of sticky rice cooked in coconut milk and sugar) two years ago.Every day, she begins her mobile business in the Sukho Thai Road area and continues walking until she sells out or becomes too tired move to another spot. She then travels back home by bus.She said she earns between 1,800 baht and 2,000 baht a day, which is sufficient not only to cover her day-to-day living costs in the city but also to support her family in Roi Et.She has yet to be affected by the city's bid to regulate the pavements, but she has a lot of sympathy for those vendors sold their goods from a regular static spot and are now banned from doing so.She says she knows many of those vendors herself and they, too, have many mouths to feed. Ms Thongbo said she wishes the authorities would consider looking at an alternative form of regulation that didn't involve banning all forms of streetside selling.

Vendor ban sees city lose flavour

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