The Ministry of Transport wants to start collecting charges on certain roads to help reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.
Panya Chupanich, director of the Office of Transport and Traffic Policy and Planning (OTP), unveiled details at “TRANSfer III — Facilitating the Development of Ambitious Mitigation Actions”, a seminar on sustainable development jointly organised by the government and the German Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ).
Mr Panya said a study carried out by the OTP and the GIZ found a number of high-traffic areas where such a scheme could be implemented.
The study found that a 60-baht road usage charge on certain streets in Pathumwan and Chatuchak districts could reduce congestion by up to 20%.
Such charges would also encourage more people to use public transport, which could cut PM2.5 levels by up to a third and scale back GHG emissions by 100,000-600,000 tonnes.
Mr Panya said other major cities like London and Singapore also collect charges on highly-congested roads at certain times of the day to control the traffic flow.
Thailand has promised the United Nations it will reach net zero emissions by 2065.