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Asia Minute: Bangkok tries free public transit to fight brutal air pollution

A thick layer of smog covers central in Bangkok, Thailand, Thursday, Feb. 15, 2024. City officials in Thailand’s capital Bangkok were ordered Thursday to work from home for two days, and workers in the private sector were encouraged to do likewise as air pollution soared to unhealthy levels. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)
Sakchai Lalit/AP
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AP
FILE - A thick layer of smog covers central Bangkok, Thailand, Feb. 15, 2024.

Back when the Honolulu rail system opened in the summer of 2023, you could ride it for free on the first weekend. If you're going to be in Thailandʻs capital this week, you can ride any form of public transit for free — but for a very different reason.

Cities around the world are trying different strategies to combat air pollution. Late last week, Thailand's prime minister ordered public transit to be free for everyone for a week.

The theory is that once people ride the electric rails or the bus, they'll change their commuting habits and abandon their polluting private vehicles.

People are taking advantage of the deal. On the first day, ridership on the electric rail system alone was up more than 40%.

A view of Bangkok's elevated Skytrain line, in Bangkok, Thailand, Saturday, Jan. 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Jerry Harmer)
Jerry Harmer/AP
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AP
A view of Bangkok's elevated Skytrain line, in Bangkok, Thailand, Saturday, Jan. 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Jerry Harmer)

The government has put aside more than $4 million to cover those free rides. However, some say it's not money well spent.

Critics say it's not doing anything to combat the real villain of this story: tiny particles of air pollution that measure less than 2.5 micrometers in diameter. They're called “PM 2.5” and are smaller than the width of a human hair.

Those particles represent some of the most dangerous air pollution in the environment because they can be inhaled deeply, reaching the bloodstream.

Tuesday's Bangkok Post says “the issue of PM 2.5 pollution” is “the focus” of a cabinet meeting.

Leaders of other countries in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations want regional cooperation to fight it with action needed far beyond free seats on the bus.

Bill Dorman has been the news director at Hawaiʻi Public Radio since 2011.
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