BANGKOK, Thailand – The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) has urged the government to grant it greater authority in tackling black smoke emissions from vehicles as part of its ongoing efforts to curb PM2.5 pollution in the city.
Following an inspection of public buses at Bang Khen depot, Pornthep Wikitset, sustainability advisor to the Bangkok Governor, emphasized that BMA has been consistently monitoring vehicle emissions at various locations, including bus depots, construction sites, and industrial facilities. Since late 2022, over 260,000 vehicles and more than 5,000 construction site vehicles have been inspected.
BMA has outlined three key requests for government support:
- Expanded Authority for Heavy Vehicle Inspections – Currently, BMA lacks the legal power under the Transport Act to enforce immediate action against polluting vehicles over six wheels. It seeks authorization to directly inspect and regulate these vehicles, as it plans to ramp up inspections of large trucks and buses.
- Stricter Emission Standards – BMA proposes lowering the permissible black smoke opacity limit from 30% to 10% or allowing local authorities to set their own standards. The current threshold often allows visibly polluting vehicles to pass inspections.
- Shorter Compliance Period for Polluters – The current 30-day grace period for vehicle owners to fix emission violations should be reduced to 5 days, ensuring faster corrective actions and reducing prolonged pollution exposure in the city.
The call for stricter measures was made during an inspection attended by officials from the Department of Pollution Control, Department of Land Transport, and the Bangkok Mass Transit Authority (BMTA). The BMA remains committed to tackling urban pollution and ensuring cleaner air for Bangkok residents. (BMA)
