It was announced recently that the Thai Shopping Centre Association had plans to assist the extension of Bangkok’s BTS Skytrain and MRT subway routes by installing park-and-ride facilities for those commuters in the suburbs. According to the TSCA, traffic congestion in the metro areas will be reduced by these measures. The park-and-ride facilities would allow people to drive their cars or motorcycles from their homes in the suburbs and park it near a train station.

It was announced recently that the Thai Shopping Centre Association had plans to assist the extension of Bangkok’s BTS Skytrain and MRT subway routes by installing park-and-ride facilities for those commuters in the suburbs. According to the TSCA, traffic congestion in the metro areas will be reduced by these measures. The park-and-ride facilities would allow people to drive their cars or motorcycles from their homes in the suburbs and park it near a train station. They can then ride the train to their work. That will encourage people to the suburbs where it is cheaper. It will also lift some pressure off the urban areas and lighten the traffic. Details are still not out on rates, development plans, and completion time.

The newly appointed president of the TSCA, Naris Cheyklin said that the association was putting pressure on government to enact new policies that would result in more commuters using the mass-transit system. Not only would this result in less congestion, but pollution would be reduced as well and the public’s health would consequently improve. It will also help greatly in lowering the cost of living of workers. Since less time would be wasted in traffic jams, people would by and large be less stressed out and their mental health would consequently improve Naris said. Naris, who also holds the position of Senior Vice President of finance, accounting and property management for Central Pattana also said that this would have a long term positive effect on the government’s expenditure on healthcare. According to Naris, negotiations would begin with their 10 members, amongst whom 66 shopping malls are managed with especial emphasis on those near to the BTS and MRT stations about the allocation of dedicated parking spaces for park-and-ride facilities. The main gist of the negotiation would revolve around the cost car owners would pay to make use of these facilities – should these fees be too high, the system would not work. According to Naris, the park-and-ride planning should be completed by the third quarter of 2012.

Those members included are: The Mall Group, Future Park, Seacon Square, MBK, CPN, Siam Future Development, Fashion Island, The Platinum Fashion Mall, KE Land and Siam Piwat. In total there are more than 8.5 million square metres of retail space occupied by these malls and there are also parking lots that can cater for more than 200 000 cars. Naris went on to say that the member companies operated some 50 shopping malls in Bangkok alone and about fifty per cent of these were close to BTS or MRT stations. He is quite passionate about the plan and feels that it will turn out to be a win-win situation for the clients – improved health; the government and the malls themselves – more feet through the door. TSCA is also quite passionate about energy-saving initiatives and conserving the environment. Naris ended off by stating that the association as a whole would like the government to encourage energy-saving efforts by giving malls privileges when they use environment-friendly building materials.