Bangkok's big wheel of an idea
Today is Car Free Day. Do you know where your Pun Pun Bicycle-rental station is?
CITIES AROUND the world are observing Car Free Day today by giving motorists dirty looks, but the main activities are a lot of fun as well as healthy and – with one particular Bangkok notion – can save you some money.
Amid the slew of events going on around the city, the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration is selling Bangkok Car Free Day pins for Bt50 that serve as one-day passes for the Skytrain, the subway, all the buses and the boats on the river. Take advantage of them from 6am to 9pm and your Bt50 goes to the Chaipattana Foundation.
The day’s highlight will nevertheless involve the innovative Pun Pun Bike Share launched in May to cut down on carbon-dioxide emissions from vehicles and maybe put a dent in the traffic jams. It has 500 bikes for rent at various places downtown, a boon for office workers and university students.
“Many countries have been successful in getting people to walk instead of driving a car on Car Free Day,” says BMA spokesperson Threedow Aphaiwongs. “Jakarta got good feedback from closing a street to vehicles.
“We have our own problems with traffic jams and pollution in Bangkok, so now there’s the Pun Pun Bike Share project. It’s another good way to save energy and get exercise in the same time. The BMA is establishing bike lanes on five routes around Rattanakosin Island and footpaths along Rajadamnoen Avenue and we need to get people using them.”
Smart Bike Service runs Pun Pun’s 50 rental stations near BTS and MRT stations and in the business districts, with designated routes extending from Hualamphong Station to Chamchuri Square, the Pathumwan intersection to CentralWorld, Sala Daeng to Lumpini Park and Surasak to Sathorn district.
You buy a membership and each computerised station is equipped with a touch-screen display and eight racks of lightweight, gear-free bikes, all painted alike in green trim and designed for short jaunts. A mobile service team is on standby to ensure safety and make repairs wherever needed.
“This is a new option for commuters, apart from walking or taking a motorcycle-taxi to work,” says Bundit Makomol, the marketing manager at Smart Bike. “We actually launched Pun Pun last October but have been continuously expanding, with more stations. We now have 500 standard bicycles designed for the city, and we’ve had good feedback – we have almost 3,000 members.
“Members can ring the Call Centre for the locations of the stations or ask for help with repairs, and we send a team as quickly as possible.”
On the touch-screen you choose among icons for rental, checking your membership balance or topping it up. Your Pun Pun card has a four-digit code to enter and then you can select which bike you want – the card is tapped on the rack to unlock the bike. The first 15 minutes is free, and after that Bt20 for three hours, Bt60 for six hours and Bt100 for eight hours or more. Overnight rentals are not allowed.
“The most popular stations are Chamchuri Square, All Seasons and Park Ventures, where we rent more than 30 bicycles a day,” Bundit says. “Our boss flew to England and France to learn about the management and structure. We have continuously developed the programme so it’s more functional and convenient.”
Cyclist Zeudthavee Kanchanapakapong of the Bike Finder group reckons it’s a great idea. “It will be very successful if they can connect with more public transit. We have to get everyone thinking about sharing the roads. Car drivers should show kindness and cyclists should learn obey the law.”
Office worker Weerawach Phiphitpuwaphong, 51, is queuing for a bike at the All Seasons station but “very happy” with the project. “It takes me only two or three minutes to get from Ploenchit station to my office.
“This is the earliest stage, though, and I’ve found that some of the bikes wear out easily. Plus, they don’t have holders for bags or lights, so it’s quite dangerous at night. The station doesn’t have enough bike racks at rush hour, so sometimes I have to go to another station just to return the bike.”
Intouch Satayanurud, an 18-year-old student at Chulalongkorn University, spotted the bikes for rent while still in high school, “but I only just signed up for a membership last month. It’s a good option for me – I ride around the university and sometimes to the BTS and MRT stations. It’s convenient and better than driving a car, and you have no parking hassles like when you own a car. And you’re saving the environment too!”
RIDES OF YOUR LIFE
>>A Pun Pun card costs Bt320 at seven of the stations – Chamchuri Square, Siam Square, Rajanakarn, Vorawat, All Seasons, Hua Lumphong and Lumpini Tower.
>>The Call Centre is (087) 029 8888. There’s also www.PunPunBikeShare.com and a page on Facebook.
