ANALYSIS OF THE POLICY ON STREET VENDOR REGULATION IN BANGKOK

Abstract

This study examined the content and impacts of Bangkok’s street-vendor management policy under the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) Announcement on the Criteria, Procedures, and Conditions for Designating Trading Areas and Selling Goods on Roads or Public Places B.E. 2566 (2023), as amended. It also investigated street vendors’ policy demands, compared them with the policy’s provisions to identify policy gaps, and proposed directions for improvement. A qualitative research design was employed. Data were drawn from 1) documentary analysis of relevant laws, regulations, and policy documents, and 2) interviews with two vendor groups: vendors whose trading sites were revoked and vendors who were allowed to continue operating under the 2023 BMA Announcement. Findings revealed four major gaps. First, the problem was highly complex: the BMA prioritized pedestrian rights, safety, cleanliness, and public hygiene, while vendors emphasized household income security and debt burdens. Second, policy objectives and vendor needs were misaligned: the BMA focused on enhancing urban cleanliness, city image, and tourism, whereas vendors sought permanent and secure trading locations. 3) Although the policy was mixed in instrument design, it relied predominantly on control-oriented measures; despite invoking the principle of “leaving no one behind,” it did not sufficiently address occupational security. 4) Target-group design limited access by restricting eligibility to “vulnerable” vendors with annual incomes not exceeding THB 300,000. Vendors instead called for stricter action against illegal foreign vendors and registration brokers, and for removing the income ceiling. They proposed shifting toward encouraging consistent and lawful tax filing with the Revenue Department. All interviewees indicated willingness to bear tax obligations if they could continue vending without exclusion or undue constraints on their existing livelihoods.