The Wall Street Journal has an interesting story on Bangkok’s bike culture – or, rather, its lack thereof.
As the WSJ avers, getting around Bangkok on two wheels is anything but pleasant. Pick any number of reasons to back up this claim. In addition to the stifling heat, bikers also have to deal with the city’s traffic, high roadside mortality rates and oppressive pollution.
However, it appears as if Bangkok’s lack of bike infrastructure might make it an outlier amongst its Asian peers.
As the article states, more and more Asian cities are becoming bike friendly. Beijing has a local bike-sharing program, which includes 14,000 bikes, while Hangzhou has around 70,000. Bangalore, Jakarta, Taipei and Manila are now working on their own biking lanes and rental schemes as well.
