The inspiring story of "Chel Plathip," a 21-year-old young man from Uttaradit, who turned the 2026 fuel shortage crisis around by creating a Google Maps-based tool to check gas station statuses and help his hometown.
In times of crisis, society often looks for "government aid" or "a miracle from someone." But for a small city like Uttaradit, the miracle came not from afar but from "Chel Plathip Pimsoon," a 21-year-old who proved that "knowledge combined with a heart wanting to help others can create great change overnight."
Chel’s life is much like any other youth struggling to get by. He wakes early for school and works part-time until midnight to support himself. What sets him apart is his determination to act immediately when his hometown is in trouble.
In mid-March 2026, the global fuel crisis quickly impacted Thailand, especially Uttaradit, where fuel began running low and stations emptied one by one. At that time, Chel worked as a motorcycle food delivery rider. On a day packed with orders, he traveled up to 250 kilometers, each kilometer filled with worry about running out of fuel and where to refill.
On 16 March 2026, chaos spread across the city. Long lines of cars formed at gas stations. Outside town, locals brought colorful plastic jerrycans to buy fuel for tractors and water pumps used in their livelihoods. The crisis forced Chel to cancel all his out-of-town deliveries due to no fuel, prompting him to wonder, "Is our province really this badly affected?"
Opening the community Facebook group "Our Uttaradit," Chel saw people panicking and repeatedly posting every 5-10 minutes asking, “Which gas stations still have fuel?” Yet no clear answers emerged. He realized this was the moment to leverage his own abilities for the common good.
"I kept thinking about how I could help. This was an opportunity to use what I know to benefit others," said Plathip Pimsoon with determination.
On the night of 17 March 2026, Chel decided to apply what he learned studying Electronic Technology at Uttaradit Technical College. He spent just a few hours at his computer creating a platform on Google My Maps showing gas station locations and their real-time status with easy-to-understand color codes.
Green: Sufficient fuel available.
Yellow: Fuel running low.
Red: Fuel exhausted.
Overnight, the map spread rapidly, aided by local politicians sharing the information the next morning. Chel then expanded by creating a LINE OpenChat group, gathering over 900 people from Uttaradit to report fuel status by the minute, turning panic into community cooperation.
Although on 24 March the government launched the nationwide PumpRadar platform and Chel shut down his system the following day, people in Uttaradit continued to seek his map because the information was "easy to understand and truly met local needs."
This experience gave the young man from a small district the confidence that "small people passionate about data can create meaningful social contributions without needing vast resources." Currently, Chel is advancing two major projects for his hometown.
Chel’s ultimate dream is to work at the Geo-Informatics and Space Technology Development Agency (GISTDA). For others, this may seem like a distant ambition for a rural youth, but for a young man who worked serving grilled pork until midnight, woke at 8 a.m. for school, balanced work with UNICEF duties, and built a rescue platform during delivery breaks, "impossible" is not in Plathip Pimsoon’s dictionary.
/Illustration: Plathip Pimsoon and Thansit Ingkayut/