Asian capital makes public transport completely free to combat smog
Asian capital makes public transport completely free to combat smog
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Rising smog in Bangkok linked to car emissions, with authorities aiming to reduce private car use to curb pollution. In a bid to curb the soaring levels of air pollution in Bangkok, authorities in the Thai capital have made travel by public transport free for a week starting Saturday.
![[Bangkok was rated as the world’s seventh-most polluted city on Saturday]](https://static.independent.co.uk/2025/01/26/08/2025-01-26T035447Z_1876770341_RC2BHCAHLUA0_RTRMADP_3_THAILAND-DAILYLIFE.jpg)
The travel concession allows passengers to ride buses and both elevated and underground electric trains in the capital for free. Authorities hope this initiative will reduce the number of private cars on the road, addressing one of the key factors driving the surge in pollution.
In Bangkok, public transportation services including the Skytrain, metro, light rail, and buses are free for a week starting Saturday, with the government compensating the operators. This is the latest effort to address the soaring air pollution levels, which have already led to the closure of hundreds of schools and employees working from home.
On Friday, over 350 schools were forced to close due to air pollution levels, the highest in five years. City authorities also advised people to work from home, as the air quality index (AQI) reached 159 midweek, according to Swiss-based commercial monitoring service IQAir.
“Bangkok Metropolitan Administration has closed 352 schools across 31 districts due to air pollution,” the authority said. The level of PM2.5 pollutants hit 108 micrograms a cubic metre, according to IQAir, on Friday. According to the World Health Organization (WHO) recommendations, a 24-hour average exposure should not exceed 15 for the majority of the year.
