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Laos to ban Tuk Tuks?
Going to southeast Asia, I was excited to take Tuk Tuks everywhere. But I soon changed my tune -- they're hot, stinky and the drivers are usually shady. After a few unauthorized visits to a driver's friends' jewelery/dress/art shop, I quickly vowed to take either public transit or real taxis everywhere.And yet, I couldn't imagine Thailand or Laos without them -- they're a fun part of the scenery, as long as you don't ride on them too often. But the Laotian government doesn't agree -- they're considering banning Tuk Tuks from Laos. It's thought that banning Tuk Tuks will ease congestion and accidents on Laos' roads, and they'll be replaced with 30 new transit buses.
But the government's logic seems to be flawed -- studies show that Tuk Tuks are only involved in a handful of crashes on Laotian streets. And without Tuk Tuks, there will most likely be more motorcycles and cars on the road, which I'm sure won't help with traffic.
Filed under: Transportation
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
bobbi Nov 3rd 2007 10:43AM
i just came from thailand and i loved the tuk tuk that i rode around chang mai.i found that if we agreed on a price before hand and let the guy be a guide-of sorts- it was ok
i found in bangkok they were a bit higher than a cab and a bit more scarey
i live in nyc so i am used to scarey rides
Greg Nov 5th 2007 12:15PM
The couple of tuk tuks I saw in Amsterdam http://www.flickr.com/photos/thatcar/1802977255/in/photostream/ were painted and chromed. I'm sure a bunch of them would be loud and smokey.
Janelle Nov 5th 2007 12:20PM
It's a bizarre balance that the tuk tuk drivers represent in the tourism/sustainability sector. Intelligent Travel blogged about it here:
http://intelligenttravel.typepad.com/it/2007/10/the-local-impac.html