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Green Bangkok Bike: Rattanakosin Island on two wheels

By  Staff Writer
4 Apr 2010
More and more folks these days are beginning to consider environmentally-friendly transport alternatives, such as bicycles, particularly when it comes to making short journeys.

In general, oil prices have been reaching new peaks over recent months, although they have begun to soften over recent weeks as concerns over the world economy in general have led the market to perceive a drop in demand. Greater awareness about global warming means that people are perhaps generally starting to be a little more considerate about the size and impact of their carbon footprint, although there’s little evidence of this in Bangkok up to this point in time.

There are, of course, many cities where the bicycle is already a well-established and popular form of transport. Within Asia, China and Vietnam spring to mind, whereas in Europe, residents of Stockholm, the Swedish capital, and Amsterdam in the Netherlands really enjoy making the most of ‘peddle power’.

A green dream?
Have you ever wondered what Bangkok would look like if most of its residents began leaving their cars at home and switching over to bicycles? Well, that may be hard to picture in the center of the business district or on Sukhumvit Road any time soon, thanks to the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA)’s ‘Green Bangkok Bike’ project, at least it’s closer to becoming a reality within the city’s historic Rattanakosin Island.

Launched on August 12 (National Mother’s Day), the project provides 300 free bicycles along with eight parking spots located within a tour format at interesting destinations on the island. The bikes are painted green and include a lock for security purposes.

To use a bike, tourists simply need to provide BMA officials with a copy of their passport (foreigners) or identification card (locals) and fill out an insurance form. This means that if users are involved in an accident while riding one of the bikes, the BMA can provide the necessary insurance cover.

If a tourist is responsible for losing a bicycle, they’ll be fined 6,000 baht (US$174), although a BMA official said that eventually all bicycles will eventually be fitted with a Global Positioning System (GPS) so the city administration will be able to keep track of their whereabouts at any time.

Bicycle lanes have now been established across the island, while the police have pledged to ensure that tourists enjoy a safe passage by preventing motorists from parking illegally anywhere near the cycle paths.

Tourists using the bikes receive a map that can guide them through an 18-kilometer route, which covers lots of interesting destinations. Typically the whole circuit takes about three hours to complete. There’s no time limit in terms of the number of hours you can borrow a bike so long as they’re returned by 6 pm on a weekday, or by 8 pm on the weekend.

Historic attractions
Once I had completed all the necessary paperwork at the BMA Tourism Division near Phra Pinklao Bridge, I was ready to set off on my cycling adventure.

The first interesting location on my journey was the Santi Chai Prakarn public park and Phra Sumen (Sumeru Fort), the largest of 14 fortresses built during the reign of King Rama I. Only two still remain, the other being the Mahakan Fort.

Since I was interested in assessing the scope of attractions available on the cycling route, I didn’t stop for any great length of time at any one particular stop. Clearly some visitors embarking on this trip may wish to reduce the number of stops they make in order to spend longer periods of time at locations they find of specific interest to them personally.

From Sumeru Fort, I followed the map to reach an area known as Sib Sam Hang, which is where one of the eight BMA cycle parking spots is located. This is quite close to Khao Sarn Road.

Once synonymous with backpackers, the Khao Sarn Road area has more recently become trendier and up market among younger Thais. There’s plenty of choice when it comes to restaurants or places to shop around Khao Sarn Road, too, so some visitors may wish to spend more time in this location.

From Khao Sarn Road I headed for Khok Wao intersection past Democracy Monument on to Lan Khon Muang, an area of land used for various purposes located in front of city hall. Here you can visit a Brahman temple and the Giant Swing, a hugely popular Bangkok landmark.

From here, I headed in the direction of Mahakarn Fort near the magnificent Loha Prasat (‘Metal Palace’ [read more]) and the Maha Chesadabodin Pavilion.

Next, I rode along Rachadamnoen Avenue in the direction of the multipurpose grounds of Sanam Luang. Along the way are a multitude of historic sites you can choose from, including the Chao Por Suea shrine, the interior ministry, the ministry of defense, the Grand Palace, the Temple of the Emerald Buddha, the Phra Chetuphon Temple and the Museum of Siam.

While the average time spent on this excursion is about three hours, I actually spent about three hours and 15 minutes while trying to cover all the historic or interesting sights along the way back to the BMA’s Bangkok tourism division. I found it to be an easy route to follow since there were plenty of useful signs along the way.

Phanpisut Nuraj, who I met along the way during my cycling excursion, said that it was the second time he’d used a Green Bangkok Bike.

“It was quite scary the first time, but there was lots of fun to be had once I got used to the traffic,” he said. “I just wish the BMA would make sure that the bikes are fitted with bells so riders can warn pedestrians that they are heading in their direction.”

The Green Bangkok Bike service is available at eight pick-up spots around Rattanakosin Island during 10 am-6pm on weekdays and 10 am-8 pm on the weekend.

The eight locations are:
- Lan Khon Muang, a multipurpose ground in front
of city hall
- The Grand Palace
- The National Museum
- BMA’s Tourism Division near Phra Pinklao Bridge
- Suan Saranrom public park
- Sib Sam Hang Road near Khao Sarn Road; and
- Suan Santi Chai Prakarn public park

For further information, please contact BMA’s Tourism Division on Tel: +66 (0)2 225 7612-5, or email: info@bangkoktourist.com This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it . - Translated into English and republished with the kind permission of Manager Online.
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