City Hall is imposing measures to rein in street vendors, including checking their income, taxing them, and eventually ending hawking on pavements altogether.
The measures were announced by Bangkok governor Chadchart Sittipunt after a meeting he chaired on Thursday on the orderliness of city surroundings.
He said regulations governing vending on the streets and other public areas will soon be implemented.
City Hall will require vendors currently occupying public spaces where hawking is permissible to pay taxes where applicable. Even if their income does not fall into a taxable bracket, they should register on the national income database and tax system.
Mr Chadchart explained that vendors who have traded in public areas for a year where this is permitted and whose income from their vending activities exceeds 25,000 baht a month must now vacate the space and seek to rent other areas to continue their business.
They must also stay within their designated spots and make sure the streets are clean. The governor warned that any failure to do so would be grounds for cancelling street vending in areas where it is currently allowed.
"We want the city to be neat and tidy. In those places where the street vendors do not overstep their mark and trouble pedestrians, the permitted areas will remain open," he said.
He said the measures would be put to a public hearing and modified if necessary before being published in the Royal Gazette.
He insisted that street vending would be phased out in the long run. Vendors would need to move and conduct their trade in commercial areas.
City Hall will seek cooperation from businesses to set aside areas that charge low rent for vendors.
According to the governor, this can help vendors keep earning while the public can still enjoy access to inexpensive food.
