Although we don’t need a study to tell us that waiting for the MRT for 20 minutes just to get on an overstuffed train doesn’t reflect too well on our quality of life, a recent study has confirmed that Bangkok really does have one the world’s worst public transportation systems.
Out of 100 cities around the world, Bangkok placed near bottom, placing 92nd on the Sustainable Cities Mobility Index 2017. The study ranks urban transport systems by indicators such as safety, access, congestion, delays, and affordability.
One of the most notable scores for Bangkok is in the “profit” category — Bangkok ranks second-worst in the world (after Rio) in the economic aspect of the transportation system, meaning our commutes take longer and many people can’t even afford to ride public transportation.
The Big Mango doesn’t do any better in the “planet” category either, which measures each city’s pollution emissions and their efforts to lower them. Bangkok ranks 87th, a similar ranking to Asian cities like Mumbai, and Hanoi.
Regionally, three Asian cities made it to the top 10, including Coconuts sister city Hong Kong, which the index said has the best public transportation in the world, Seoul (4th place), and Singapore (8th place).
As expected, European cities took up most of the top spots in the ranking, while North American cities were further down. Check out the full report here.
Top 10 cities
- Hong Kong
- Zurich
- Paris
- Seoul
- Prague
- Vienna
- London
- Singapore
- Stockholm
Bottom 10 cities (The ranking for 97-100th place is undisclosed)
- Perth
- Indianapolis
- Jakarta
- Lima
- Undisclosed
- Bangkok
- Undisclosed
- Cairo
- Kuala Lumpur
- Hanoi
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