Bus conductor slapped over fare rise

[transam]

2 hours ago, transam said:

But that is what is meant to happen....

Member "Just Weird" is confused about the price of a travel ticket that should include transport maintenance and driver training for the safety of passengers..

 

Perhaps he can tell us why he is confused...My home country public/private transport is quite expensive, but I do realise the behind the scene cost stuff...

[CGW]

39 minutes ago, mauGR1 said:

Surely the authorities are making some pressure on the private bus companies to improve the accident record and the environmental impact, the result will include higher prices, you can't have it both ways.

"the authorities" you mean the junta?,

"to improve the accident record" when has anybody in the "junta" every mentioned this was in their agenda? they did ban the large buses that keep overturning, shame is they have never actually done anything to bring about the ban,  

"the environmental impact" when did they start caring in the slightest about the environment? Money & power is #1 here, if you are in Thailand you live in a completley different place than I, your expectations are unrealistic. ????

 

[mauGR1]

14 minutes ago, CGW said:

"the authorities" you mean the junta?,

"to improve the accident record" when has anybody in the "junta" every mentioned this was in their agenda? they did ban the large buses that keep overturning, shame is they have never actually done anything to bring about the ban,  

"the environmental impact" when did they start caring in the slightest about the environment? Money & power is #1 here, if you are in Thailand you live in a completley different place than I, your expectations are unrealistic. ????

 

Money & power is n.1 here.. Really, i never heard that it was any different in other countries.

Thailand will follow exactly the same steps of the "more developed" countries, that doesn't mean it will be perfect.

The point i'm trying to make is, to get a better service, you need to pay more, i thought that was difficult to understand for some Thais, now i realise that it's difficult to understand for some foreigners too.

[Whip]

Come the revolution and I do not mean Thailand. People everywhere are becoming more and more upset with rising taxes and the wealth gap. 

[CGW]

1 hour ago, mauGR1 said:

Money & power is n.1 here.. Really, i never heard that it was any different in other countries.

Thailand will follow exactly the same steps of the "more developed" countries, that doesn't mean it will be perfect.

The point i'm trying to make is, to get a better service, you need to pay more, i thought that was difficult to understand for some Thais, now i realise that it's difficult to understand for some foreigners too.

After 31 years here and seeing little change - yes I am sceptical! difficult to understand .................

In the government agencies there has been little change - too many sticky fingers, in the private sector you can get a better product by paying more, I agree

Edited April 26, 2019 by CGW

[Cheops]

6 hours ago, Bangkok Barry said:

 

I think you'll find it's not only bus fares that have increased. And elsewhere prices - not just fares - do indeed increase every year - which means you don't suddenly get hit with a 20-30 price rise in one go. I know which I prefer.

I'm not sure if you can do math, but a yearly increase of 5% ends up higher than a 1 time increase of 20% each 4 year (for example).

 

Anyway, my salary increases more than the cost of living in Thailand and my spending power has only increased the last 15 years in Thailand. 

 

Sure, if you are on a tight pension and you get your money not in Thai baht, you have seen your spending power decreasing over time. 

 

A lot of people get by with less than 10k baht per month and you are telling that Thailand is not a bargain anymore?

 

On the Thai markets you can buy everything still cheap and this fresh food is preferred above the imported canned food.

 

Beer is indeed more expensive in Thailand, but the price has barely risen in the 15 years that I live here, although I almost don't drink (about 4 or 5 small bottles on a weekly base mostly in the weekends)

[SOTIRIOS]

....Yellow Bus fares were raised by 1 baht...13 baht to 14 baht....(?)

 

...New 'Low-Ride' Blue Bus fares were raised by 7 baht....13 baht to 20 baht...(?)

 

...what is the reasoning....(?)

 

...'classier'...(?)

 

....or...(?)

 

 

[Sir Dude]

7 hours ago, josephbloggs said:

So the BMTA is a greedy elite company?  That's a new one....

Try reading the post properly next time ... it said government and such companies. Facepalm that it is needed to point that out.

[Denim]

It's all so unfare.

[CGW]

25 minutes ago, Denim said:

It's all so unfare.

Fare point, one would expect them to conduct themselves better..................................... I'm out 

[Bangkok Barry]

6 hours ago, new2here said:

 

This to me is a key. If I ran it, I would “peg” any increase - or decrease - to that of the annual operating cost index inflation adjusted... so each year there would most likely be some level of change - be that B0.50 up or even 0.25 down, whatever the math reveals.

What I would avoid is a situation where no increase are put up for X years - say 3 years for example - they are put up some percentage.. it’s my opinion that the conversation will only be about the new fare hike and nothing about the fact there was no increase in past years... it’s human nature as I see it.

So... I would insure that *any* mathematically supported increase or decrease in cost, was implemented yearly... I guess IMHO, it’s publicly more palatable to do an annual 1% rise or the like, than it is go with 0% for 3 years, then a 4% hike in the fourth year... only the 4% is going to get coverage - not the fact that the preceding 3 years where without increases.


Sent from my iPhone using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app

 

 

You are spot-on of course, and that is what happens in the Real World. But Thailand has no interest in such logical.

[Bangkok Barry]

3 hours ago, Cheops said:

A lot of people get by with less than 10k baht per month and you are telling that Thailand is not a bargain anymore?

 

Of course you can get by on very little if you don't mind lower standards. An example was that yesterday the temperature in my bedroom was 41. If I lived on 10,000 a month I doubt I'd spend money on aircon so my standard of living would suffer. I could get by, but I wouldn't want to live like that.

But I'd question that a lot of people get by on less than 10k. Maybe in the past, but my impression is that wages have risen as fast as prices. I have family who are teachers in government schools and they do very well indeed. And although many Thais look poor they are not. They just don't spend their money, and many in the countryside are extremely rich in land ownership as some, like my family, were just able to lay claim to what they wanted before regulations were set up.

[balo]

On 4/25/2019 at 6:32 PM, snoop1130 said:

She said the man got on the bus at km4 and gave her Bt6.50. Sone told him the fare had increased to Bt8.

So expensive, now how can I pay for my 20 baht noodles? 

[nightfox]

The further your bus route is the more your paying. My air con bus from Mochit to Kalasin used to cost 418 bht now it increased to 454 bht so in our eyes its not much but for many Thais I can see why their pissed off.

[Cheops]

On 4/26/2019 at 9:34 PM, Bangkok Barry said:

 

Of course you can get by on very little if you don't mind lower standards. An example was that yesterday the temperature in my bedroom was 41. If I lived on 10,000 a month I doubt I'd spend money on aircon so my standard of living would suffer. I could get by, but I wouldn't want to live like that.

But I'd question that a lot of people get by on less than 10k. Maybe in the past, but my impression is that wages have risen as fast as prices. I have family who are teachers in government schools and they do very well indeed. And although many Thais look poor they are not. They just don't spend their money, and many in the countryside are extremely rich in land ownership as some, like my family, were just able to lay claim to what they wanted before regulations were set up.

You obviously don't know a lot about salaries in Thailand. Teachers do indeed get a bit more than the minimum wage, but the majority in Thailand has less than 10k per month. I'm working for a big multinational in Bangkok and salaries for unskilled workers are about 320 baht per day. A month has about 26 working days (1 day per week off), which gets them 8320 baht. With some shift compensation they get about 10k.

 

Mind you, 320 baht is in Bangkok. Outside it's LESS. 

 

About your statement "Thais look poor they are not. They just don't spend their money, and many in the countryside are extremely rich in land ownership"

 

Well, I think you do not know the real situation. Most of the farmers are very poor and use rented land from the rich people who possess most of the land. True, some families have a bit of land, but these are in the minority. If they are having money for sure they will buy the biggest car they can to show off. The families that have some land mostly never sell it, but it gets divided and passed on to their children. 

[Bangkok Barry]

2 hours ago, Cheops said:

You obviously don't know a lot about salaries in Thailand. Teachers do indeed get a bit more than the minimum wage, but the majority in Thailand has less than 10k per month. I'm working for a big multinational in Bangkok and salaries for unskilled workers are about 320 baht per day. A month has about 26 working days (1 day per week off), which gets them 8320 baht. With some shift compensation they get about 10k.

 

Mind you, 320 baht is in Bangkok. Outside it's LESS. 

 

About your statement "Thais look poor they are not. They just don't spend their money, and many in the countryside are extremely rich in land ownership"

 

Well, I think you do not know the real situation. Most of the farmers are very poor and use rented land from the rich people who possess most of the land. True, some families have a bit of land, but these are in the minority. If they are having money for sure they will buy the biggest car they can to show off. The families that have some land mostly never sell it, but it gets divided and passed on to their children. 

 

Thank you for telling me about a country I've lived in for over 25 years, including within a farming family. I agree that unskilled wages are low, but there are a very large number of skilled workers, a rapidly growing middle class, who earn very good money indeed. A sister-in-law gets 58,000 a month as a teacher and her husband received the same before he died recently. Not a bad family income between them. And a brother-in-law received 70,000 a month before he retired last year from a countryside school. That is very far from less than 10,000 a month and very far from being poor. Another relative has his own business building houses after qualifying as a designer and has an enormous house in Chonburi that cost over 21 million. He's not yet 40.

You're in Bangkok, so you'll be aware of the huge number of restaurants and bars that are packed every night by these Thais that don't have two satang to rub together. And I've read that the night-life industry is struggling these days to find gyrating 'public relations officers' as the girls - unskilled workers who previously had no other way of earning 15-20,000 a month plus extras - can find plenty of decent-paying jobs outside it and don't need to resort to entertaining. Thais are getting richer and foreigners, due in part to exchange rate changes, are no longer as well off in comparison as they used to be.

[Cheops]

23 hours ago, Bangkok Barry said:

 

Thank you for telling me about a country I've lived in for over 25 years, including within a farming family. I agree that unskilled wages are low, but there are a very large number of skilled workers, a rapidly growing middle class, who earn very good money indeed. A sister-in-law gets 58,000 a month as a teacher and her husband received the same before he died recently. Not a bad family income between them. And a brother-in-law received 70,000 a month before he retired last year from a countryside school. That is very far from less than 10,000 a month and very far from being poor. Another relative has his own business building houses after qualifying as a designer and has an enormous house in Chonburi that cost over 21 million. He's not yet 40.

You're in Bangkok, so you'll be aware of the huge number of restaurants and bars that are packed every night by these Thais that don't have two satang to rub together. And I've read that the night-life industry is struggling these days to find gyrating 'public relations officers' as the girls - unskilled workers who previously had no other way of earning 15-20,000 a month plus extras - can find plenty of decent-paying jobs outside it and don't need to resort to entertaining. Thais are getting richer and foreigners, due in part to exchange rate changes, are no longer as well off in comparison as they used to be.

Congrats to living 25 years here. I'm in my 15th year and working all the time. I know exactly all salaries in our company over a wide range of job functions, so I have a pretty real picture about the salaries. Sure, different companies have different salaries, but these won't be far off.

 

The teacher salaries that you mentioned would be in senior positions, especially up country! If you look here Teacher Salaries, I think your family might not not be completely honest with you, unless they were really in senior/director level positions.

 

As mentioned previously, because you just know some people who do well, does not mean the rest of Thailand does well. If you Google the avg Thai salary, you will find that it's about 14xxx now. In reality about 5 to 10% has a higher salary and the rest, let's say 90% is below the 14k.

 

Your comment about "unskilled night-life industry girls that can now easily get a decent 15-20k baht job" is just bs. Why? Because we have plenty of unskilled workers lining up for a job at our company, which will get them about 10k baht per month. So tell me: why are all these people eager to work at our company for 10k per month, while (according you) the higher paying jobs are easy to find? Of course the reality is different as I stated before. Maybe you still wear your rose glasses after 25 years here?

You wrote: "Thais getting richer" 

555 Yes, but only a very small elite group of people and the rest of Thais only get poorer with decreased spending power. After the 200 to 300 baht raise in minimum wages a couple of years ago, many things got more expensive. The result was a decreased spending power for all the minimum wage workers.

 

As for your last qoute about exchange rates, that doesn't affect me, since I get my salary in Thai baht on a local permanent contract

[Bangkok Barry]

3 hours ago, Cheops said:

Congrats to living 25 years here. I'm in my 15th year and working all the time. I know exactly all salaries in our company over a wide range of job functions, so I have a pretty real picture about the salaries. Sure, different companies have different salaries, but these won't be far off.

 

The teacher salaries that you mentioned would be in senior positions, especially up country! If you look here Teacher Salaries, I think your family might not not be completely honest with you, unless they were really in senior/director level positions.

 

As mentioned previously, because you just know some people who do well, does not mean the rest of Thailand does well. If you Google the avg Thai salary, you will find that it's about 14xxx now. In reality about 5 to 10% has a higher salary and the rest, let's say 90% is below the 14k.

 

Your comment about "unskilled night-life industry girls that can now easily get a decent 15-20k baht job" is just bs. Why? Because we have plenty of unskilled workers lining up for a job at our company, which will get them about 10k baht per month. So tell me: why are all these people eager to work at our company for 10k per month, while (according you) the higher paying jobs are easy to find? Of course the reality is different as I stated before. Maybe you still wear your rose glasses after 25 years here?

You wrote: "Thais getting richer" 

555 Yes, but only a very small elite group of people and the rest of Thais only get poorer with decreased spending power. After the 200 to 300 baht raise in minimum wages a couple of years ago, many things got more expensive. The result was a decreased spending power for all the minimum wage workers.

 

As for your last qoute about exchange rates, that doesn't affect me, since I get my salary in Thai baht on a local permanent contract

I bow to your wider knowledge, and acknowledge your confirming that Thailand is still what amounts to a Third World country with the vast majority of the population living close to poverty.

[Cheops]

3 minutes ago, Bangkok Barry said:

I bow to your wider knowledge, and acknowledge your confirming that Thailand is still what amounts to a Third World country with the vast majority of the population living close to poverty.

Well, I just share some facts from my own knowledge and facts on internet.

 

I didn't say that the vast majority of the population is living close to poverty, only that their salaries are mostly not as high as you think. 

 

You said you lived here 25 years, so then you also know that until recently (2013), the minimum wage per month was about 6k baht.

[scorecard]

On 4/25/2019 at 6:35 PM, Pravda said:

The air-con bus I usually take increased from 13b to 20b

 

Of course it is not a big deal to me, but almost 40% raise is terrible for normal people.

 

 

Normal people?