Bangkok public transport links entering second phase

 

 

BANGKOK, 24th September 2018 (NNT) – The effort to create a shared public transport card in Bangkok has moved forward with the linking of the Purple and Blue line trains with the Airport Rail Link (ARL), while planning to share its access with the Bangkok Mass Transit Authority (BMTA) by year’s end. 

Director of the Shared Ticket Management Office of the Office of Traffic Policy and Planning (OTP) Padej Praditpetch has indicated that linkages between Thailand’s electric train network will enter a second phase next year after the networks experience shared ticketing this year. 

While the Purple and Blue line trains have successfully merged their ticketing, by the end of the year ARL and BMTA buses will also be usable with a single card. 

In the second phase, commuters are to be able to use existing cards such as ATM's and Credit cards as travel passes. In addition, Padej explained that modern technology has progressed to the point that cards are no longer necessary and public transport systems can use biometric scans instead. 

OTP is to launch a study into using shared passes with automatic tollways, tying together the Easy Pass system of the Expressway Authority of Thailand and the M-Pass system of the Department of Highways. The systems are also to be enhanced to the point that barriers will no longer be needed as they will be able to scan drivers without requiring them to slow down.

 

-- nnt 2018-09-25

1 hour ago, webfact said:

Padej explained that modern technology has progressed to the point that cards are no longer necessary and public transport systems can use biometric scans instead. 

This is, of course Bangkok, where there is a desire to move ahead with cashless society and other types of modern payment schemes. The rest of the country will however remain rooted to coins and notes in their pockets. This divide between the big cities and the country is going to cause a lot of problems for everyone who moves between the two. Its quite laughable to imagine the half of the country with its local songthaews, country buses and m'bike taxis paying by anything but money. Its going to be fun when these people come to Bangkok and find they cant travel.