Government talks about banning petrol tuk tuks from Bangkok

If you've been to Thailand at all in your lifetime you almost certainly have some memories of the iconic method of getting around the cities and you have probably also been over-charged by one of the men driving them.

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When I first got here all those years ago I was excited about riding in one as well because come on! It's kind of exciting looking right? Well after years my enthusiasm is completely gone as far as this sort of transport is concerned and I kind of roll my eyes when I see one. This noisy method of transport is not only noise-pollution, but it also stinks. They run on LP gas and I don't know why the engine apparently needs to be so damn loud, but it is very loud. There are others that run on regular petrol and those are even worse because now they spit out black smoke along with all the other negative aspects.

The only reason why I would ever reluctantly ride in one of these things would be if traffic was really bad and cars are taking ages to get down the road. These little vehicles can meander through traffic and especially back-roads much better than cars and more comfortably than motorbikes. Even then though, I am seriously reluctant to ever get into one.

For tourists, they can go ahead once or twice but beyond that I feel as though this antiquated method of transport needs to be phased out.

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I would probably be willing to turn a blind eye towards the ripoffs that I have enough experience to avoid and the general mostly nasty attitude of the drivers of these things if it weren't for the fact that they are so damn loud.

Big cities just generally speaking are punishment for the ears but tuk tuks take this to an entirely new level. I don't really know how to describe it but especially when there are tall buildings all around, it can be borderline deafening.

The government is encouraging drivers to adapt to electric tuk-tuks instead and I would be for that for sure. The other electric vehicles I have seen are completely silent. I think it is about time that we phased out excessively noisy transport for the sake of all of our hearing.

Next, maybe they can get to work on those awful and loud longtail boats that are around all of the gulf beaches. Those are a fantastic way to ruin your iconic and scenic beach experience just as fast as a tuk tuk can destroy the silence anywhere that they exist.

As of now, the government is only mulling over banning them in certain regions of BKK such as near famous temples whose ambiance is absolutely ruined by the constant noise generated by these machines.

I'm sympathetic to the notion that these drivers may not have the money necessary to switch out to a new system so if the government is serious about this they will need to provide some sort of financial assistance.

This is why this is very unlikely to take on any sort of widespread rolling out. The government doesn't have any money and simply telling people they are not allowed to make money anymore is not a good way forward. This is why the smokey season in Chiang Mai will never have a solution.

Still though, I would be really happy to see these vehicles not exist anymore or at the minimum, phased out over time.