In 2 years, Bangkok has reduced the number of street vendors by more than 10,000, and is pushing for new criteria for trading areas. It is believed that in the future, street vendors and stalls will decrease.
Mr. Chadchart Sittipunt, Governor of Bangkok, revealed the announcement of new trading area criteria after the 10/2567 meeting of the heads of departments of Bangkok at the Rattanakosin Room, Bangkok City Hall, Sao Chingcha, stating that regarding the organization of street vendors, the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration has issued an announcement on criteria, methods, and conditions for determining trading areas and selling or distributing goods on streets or public places, dated August 29, 2567, which has committees and experts from various sectors to help in order to organize street vendors and stalls to be as transparent and efficient as possible.
The Bangkok governor said that street vendors and stalls are essentially about making a living in public areas. However, at the same time, it has long b
een a way of life for some people. Our main vision is that in the future, street vendors and stalls will decrease and should be in non-public areas, in areas prepared for them, so that vendors can live securely and have a better quality of life, without obstructing footpaths, like Singapore, which has hawker centers scattered throughout the city. Therefore, regulations on street vendors and stalls have been issued. The principle is that we do not have a policy to increase the trading area, but will review the existing relaxation points to see if they comply with the new regulations and are appropriate. If they are not appropriate, they will be canceled. If they are appropriate, they will be submitted to the committee for consideration again. Vendors will be selected by registering for 15 days. In principle, we do not want new vendors to join, so we give priority to existing vendors. Vendors must also control themselves. If they are allowed to sell but do not keep the area clean, they will be canceled complete
ly.
For consideration of permission to do business, areas with 3 or more lanes will be reviewed every 2 years, 1-2 lanes will be reviewed every 1 year. It is not granted for life because it is hoped that at some point, street vendors and stalls will move from the sidewalks to the areas we have provided or private areas. Furthermore, the granting of rights is a personal right and cannot be leased or sub-leased. Business operators must verify their identity.
‘Overall, I believe that this should be a measure that improves the quality of shops, improves quality of life, and makes the city more orderly in the future. In the past two years, we have reduced the number of street vendors by about 10,000, and are trying to increase the number of hawker centers so that people can come to sell and not block the walkways,’ said the Bangkok governor.
The Bangkok governor said at the end that from now until December 31, 2024, there will be public relations to create understanding and consider the original relaxation poin
ts. From January 1 – March 31, 2025, the committee will consider screening relaxation points and vendors at 3 levels: district level, office level, and inspector level. And from June 2025 onwards, the results of the consideration of each point will be announced, cancellation of relaxation points or further announcement of relaxation points. It can be seen that there are still many steps, but at present, there is still the need to continuously organize street vendors and stalls.
Source: Thai News Agency