⛅ Good morning! Charoen Nakhon Road is among the 2025 world’s coolest streets. A historic department store in Bang Lamphu closes after 63 years. Bangkok launches the country’s first air pollution communication center.

Some 10,876 foreigners were injured in road accidents across Thailand between January and October 2025, according to a parliamentary subcommittee.

Why it matters: While foreigner fatalities dropped to 92 for the same period, the injury rate remains high, prompting a push to overhaul the unregulated rental vehicle market for non-Thais.

Driving the news: A subcommittee identified primary risk factors driving these incidents: lack of driving licenses, lack of motorcycle riding skills, unfamiliar routes and language barriers in emergency response systems.

What’s next: Expect a formal push for tighter rules, potentially including mandatory license checks and multilingual safety briefings.

A renewed crackdown by Thailand’s Office of the Consumer Protection Board targets landlords who inflate electricity and water bills.

Why it matters: Many Bangkok tenants pay arbitrary “building rates” for utilities, often double the official cost. The OCPB is now enforcing standardised contracts to declare these markups illegal, under its official board decree.

Big picture: Landlords can’t bill utilities above official rates, and the contract must show how charges are calculated. Security deposits and advances are capped at three months’ rent. Any contract terms exceeding OCPB limits are void, even if you signed them.

Yes, but… These regulations apply to “residential rental businesses,” defined by law as operators managing three or more units. If you rent a single condo unit directly from a private owner, enforcement can be trickier.

Critics warn the burden falls on renters. The agency relies on tenants to file complaints, yet many fear eviction or harassment if they report landlords. Some owners may also simply rebrand lost profits as other fees.

By the numbers: Rates should be around 4-4.50 baht per unit for electricity and around 8-10 baht per unit for water, excluding service fees and taxes.

What to do: If you suspect gouging, the Thailand Consumer Council advises saving receipts, photographing your meter monthly and filing a complaint with the OCPB or calling its hotline at 1166. The TCC can also be reached at 1502.

The orange-vested motorcycle taxis are set to go green in another city pilot program in Phaya Thai and Din Daeng, launching in January with GIZ Thailand (a Thai-German cooperation).

Why it matters: Thailand has the third-highest motorcycle use rate in ASEAN — 317 motorcycles per 1,000 people — yet less than 1% of registered taxi bikes are electric, according to Chula’s Transportation Institute.

Flashback: This isn’t the city’s first attempt. The city launched the “Green Win” pilot last year, partnering with Thai EV maker Storm Thailand to give bikes to drivers. The company aimed to replace all fleets with EVs within five years.

Yes, but… Adoption has been sluggish due to three barriers: high vehicle cost, lack of battery-swapping and charging stations and red tape around current laws that make it difficult for rental or leased vehicles to be used as public transport.

The bottom line: Without structural reform and subsidies, the transition risks stalling — or becoming a dual market where delivery apps go electric, while informal taxi riders remain on gas bikes.

📋 Full Chula report (English).

Railway authorities kicked off the Red Line extension from Wong Wiang Yai to Mahachai with two public hearings last week. The Hua Lamphong link, however, remains on hold.

Why it matters: This unlocks a connection to Samut Sakhon stalled for almost two decades, but delays the promised seamless ride into the Old Town.

Big picture: The original extension plan envisioned a continuous line from Hua Lamphong to Mahachai. However, the Hua Lamphong-Wong Wiang Yai section failed the environmental impact assessments more than a decade ago.

The pivot: Rather than wait, the State Railway of Thailand will build the southern leg first. The SRT plans to redesign the missing link as an underground tunnel to pass EIA standards, a process that requires a new design study.

State of play: Consultants are weighing five route options for the Samut Sakhon extension. Most variations concern the tail end of the line — whether to stick to the existing tracks or divert to navigate high-density areas.

What’s next: The final study is expected by August 2026. If approved by the cabinet, the construction could start in 2028, with service launching in late 2032, according to the project’s blueprint.

A student-resident coalition sued the city last week to revoke the construction permit for “Block 33,” a major mixed-use project near Chulalongkorn University — the latest flashpoint in the battle for Sam Yan’s soul.

Why it matters: The neighborhood is rapidly gentrifying under the university’s property management arm. The more than 150-year-old Chao Mae Thapthim Shrine, which sits on the development site, is at the center of the fight.

The lawsuit alleges an improper permitting process and construction pollution in the nearby communities.

Catch up quickly: The caretaker, whose family has tended the shrine for generations, faced a lawsuit seeking 122 million baht for refusing to vacate. The shrine features a goddess who is cherished among nearby Chinese communities.

Despite the eviction pressure, the shrine was named a winner of the 2025 Architectural Conservation Awards from the Association of Siamese Architects under the Royal Patronage, validating the community’s push to protect its heritage.

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