Order what you like. Delivered by your neighbours.
Tamsang-Tamsong is a food delivery and courier platform built together by motorcycle-taxi riders, small restaurants and the people who live around them. We take no commission from restaurants, so shops sell at their in-store price, riders keep what they earn, and customers pay only what the trip actually costs.
What is Tamsang-Tamsong?
Tamsang-Tamsong began in 2020 as a project to build anordering-and-delivery channeltogether with the motorcycle-taxi riders of Soi Ladprao 101, in collaboration with units of Chulalongkorn University and with support from the Thai Health Promotion Foundation (ThaiHealth).
We believe technology should improve people's lives and widen their opportunities. So we set out to build an alternative that reduces the squeeze on consumers and small shops, and that creates income for motorcycle-taxi riders.
Where it hurts — for everyone involved
Relieving the pain of one group usually just pushes the cost onto another.
- Expensive food and delivery fees
- Orders that come back wrong
- A narrow choice of shops
- Low pay against high risk
- No protection or safety net
- Conflict between stakeholder groups
- Unsafe working conditions
- Having to keep topping up the app wallet
- High commission rates
- More orders than the kitchen can handle
- Falling food quality
- Platforms holding all the power
- Slow payouts
Commercial platform vs Tamsang-Tamsong
The difference isn't features. It's who owns it, who decides, and where the money goes.
A community platform for food and parcels
Controlled locally
An alternative to gig-work platforms — one that keeps control in the neighbourhood and shares the benefit.
Shops keep the full amount
Sellers receive the full amount and can sell at their in-store price, with no need to inflate the menu.
Technology that fits
Technology solutions tailored to what the local economy and its stakeholders actually need.
Social
Solidarity
Economy
Core values
- Stakeholders matter more than shareholders
- Shared benefit before profit maximisation
- Cooperation between everyone with a stake in the service
Digital platforms have quietly becomeinfrastructure— as everyday as electricity, water or roads. Yet this infrastructure sits in the hands of profit-seeking companies, with no mechanism for the community to help govern it.
Social and Solidarity Economic Framework
- 1
Co-design
Designing policy and tools around what people actually need, with every sector taking part.
- 2
Co-create
The capacity to build and develop public services together.
- 3
Co-manage
The capacity to run and maintain those services together.
- 4
Co-contribute
A revenue model that lets the community sustain the service on its own.
Where we operate
Tamsang-Tamsong works within a 3–5 km² radius of each neighbourhood, so local riders can realistically take the jobs and the shop around the corner stays the shop around the corner.
The questions we get most
What is Tamsang-Tamsong?
A neighbourhood-scale food delivery and courier platform built together by motorcycle-taxi riders, small shops and local residents, with the Institute of Asian Studies at Chulalongkorn University and support from ThaiHealth. It has been running since 2020.
How do I order? Do I need a new app?
No new app. Each service area has its own LINE Official Account — add it once and you can order any time.
How is the delivery fee calculated? Is it more expensive?
The fee follows the actual distance, stated openly with no hidden surcharges, and you see the total before confirming. Because shops don't mark up to cover a commission, the total you pay is usually no higher.
Why don't shops have to raise their prices?
Because we take no commission on sales. Shops can sell at their counter price and don't have to maintain two price lists.
How is this different from a commercial platform?
The difference isn't the features, it's the ownership structure — three stakeholder groups own the platform and set its rules together. See the comparison table on the homepage.
How does a shop join? Is there a cost?
Contact the team by email or phone. There is no commission on sales, and you can join or leave without a lock-in.
How do riders join? Is a wallet top-up needed?
No top-up is needed before taking work. Riders go on and off duty freely with no rating penalty, and choose whether to take parcels, food or passengers.
Which areas do you cover?
See the service areas page for the list and the map. Each area has its own ordering channel.
I want to start one in my area — what do I do?
It starts with one email: where the area is, roughly how many riders and shops, and who would coordinate. The full criteria are on the Join page.
Is this a registered cooperative?
Thailand's cooperative law is dated and restrictive, so registering as a cooperative is not always workable. The project applies cooperative principles through other legal forms instead.
How does the pinto system work?
The first order arrives in a pinto at no charge. On the next order you hand the old one back to the rider, or leave a 270 THB deposit refunded on return. The goal is circulation, not deposits.
Who supports the project?
ThaiHealth, the Institute of Asian Studies at Chulalongkorn University, and issie — with GIZ and the Phuket Environmental Foundation on the plastic-reduction work.
Our sister project: Nong Koei Ma Thao Rai !?
A ride-hailing app for Thailand's licensed motorcycle taxis — fares calculated to the Department of Land Transport's published rates, known before you travel, with a rider who comes to you.
Want to order, or bring the platform to your neighbourhood?
Add your area's LINE Official Account to start ordering. If you are a shop, a rider group or a local authority who would like to take part, get in touch directly.