"R.I.P. Minivans from Bangkok to Hua Hin - Prayut blamed but passengers say the service was rubbish

[webfact]

"R.I.P. Minivans from Bangkok to Hua Hin - Prayut blamed but passengers say the service was rubbish

 

Caption: Service will end on 30th of June. This is because of Prayut's NCPO government. Thanks for your custom. #RIP public service minivans.

 

Manager reported that a minivan service from Bangkok to Hua Hin was closing down at the end of the month.

 

"June and James Transport" posted their reasons on Facebook principally blaming the military government or NCPO (National Council for Peace and Order) of Prayut Chan-Ocha. 

 

But reviews from patrons showed a different side to the story - they said the service was terrible. 

 

The post with a RIP hashtag said that ever since the vans' starting point was relocated from Victory Monument to Pin Klao customers had dropped off. The number of vans running the service had gone down from 70 to 15, they claimed.

 

In addition they blamed hoodlums at Hua Hin bus station associated with a "local political gangster" for causing problems and picking fights. 

 

But reviews from customers painted a different view. People said the vehicles were terrible and unreliable and the air-con didn't even work.

 

When one passenger left something in the van they didn't get all their property back. 

 

Others said it was slow and the female who drove the van was the worst of the lot. She would stop everywhere and take four hours to complete the journey (well under 200 kilometers) from Bangkok to Hua Hin. 

 

The posters were basically saying - good riddance. 

 

Source: Manager Online

 

 

-- © Copyright Thai Visa News 2019-06-14

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[BritManToo]

Nasty stutter you have there.

OK, you've fixed it now.

[AhFarangJa]

Another few death traps off the road. 

With so many negative comments by Thai commuters it just shows how these people do not respect customer service.

[AhFarangJa]

1 minute ago, BritManToo said:

Nasty stutter you have there.

I guess it is one way to pad out a story...........wonder if they get paid per word.....

[Vacuum]

11 minutes ago, webfact said:

a minivan service from Bangkok to Hua Hin was closing down at the end of the month.

Probably saves some lifes.

[watcharacters]

12 minutes ago, Vacuum said:

Probably saves some lifes.

 

Let's hope this is just the beginning..

[NCC1701A]

28 minutes ago, webfact said:

In addition they blamed hoodlums at Hua Hin bus station associated with a "local political gangster" for causing problems and picking fights. 

wow some action here in sleepy Hua Hin.

[monkeycu]

The last time I used this service was about 6 years ago

I still have nightmares about the lunatic driver

No more service = Safer roads 

[Fred31]

1 hour ago, AhFarangJa said:

Another few death traps off the road. 

With so many negative comments by Thai commuters it just shows how these people do not respect customer service.

Like Brits don't  respect Visa laws....

[OttoPollmann]

42 minutes ago, Fred31 said:

Like Brits don't  respect Visa laws....

how you got this spin together?
from a service complaint to an immigration issue ????
 

[Tayaout]

They complain it's slow. In the rare case the driver was slow, I complimentated them. 

[rickudon]

Having taken a coach to Hua-hin, i would say 4 hours is about right. It took 2 hours to clear the Bangkok traffic.

[mrfill]

There's a proper coach which runs from Swampy. Not that well known but a damn site easier than faffing around trying to find a minibus (safe or otherwise).

https://airporthuahinbus.com/

[hotchilli]

5 hours ago, NCC1701A said:

wow some action here in sleepy Hua Hin.

So who's the local political gangster" ?

[manchega]

no idea, but the less white vans the better.  At least big vans have to think and look before making manouvers, they drive just as bad as white van but that size makes it a whole lot easier to see what crap they do, and they can't take your safe stopping distance as easily as white vans do

in fact the concept of safe stopping distance is <deleted> up in thailand, it means you should be parked.

[Ej2562]

mrfill,  Thanks you very much for the post about bus service from Bangkok Airport to Hua Hin.

           I copied the schedule for use next month.

[Almer]

Stopping at the end of the month, what a relief for other motorists, 

[happy chappie]

7 hours ago, NCC1701A said:

wow some action here in sleepy Hua Hin.

Yes we won't hear from hua hin until a turtle lays an egg on the beach or it's the new world hub of nonsense.

if you want hua hin in the news a bit more go out on the beer,steal  an old rusty push bike or even better steal someone's 10b tip on video and guaranteed you'll be all over the media with every cop in the country hunting you down.

[captnhoy]

imagine what it will be like to get a seat on the Swampy bus in the near future. You had better learn how to book online at least the day before you want to go. Even before this I waited through 3 departures at Swampy,  hrs, to get a seat. I did not like the vans much, some are terrible, some not so bad, but they were the fastest way to get either direction and they left every 30 minutes. Could it be that the owner of the bus line knows somebody with enough pull to shut down a competitive business? Why single out the Hua Hin run?

[Almer]

Ye haa, whats good for the goose is good for the gander i do believe

[Farlang]

So we got the airport bus, the slow bus goes to Southern Bus Terminal or the old fashioned slow trains to get to Bangkok from now on... life in Hua Hin for expats are getting tougher but there won't be anymore heart attacks as being in one of those R.I.P vans????

[bendejo]

8 hours ago, rickudon said:

Having taken a coach to Hua-hin, i would say 4 hours is about right. It took 2 hours to clear the Bangkok traffic.

The train down from Bkk took 4 hours as well.

Not that long ago took an overnight train up from Hat Yai to Bkk.  I managed to get some sleep, woke up when it stopped in Hua Hin at 7am.  Didn't reach Hualumpong until 12:30 or so.

I would guess a factor in the drop in customers had to do with the convenience of Victory Monument being on the Skytrain, as opposed to having to deal with taxis and buses to get to Pinklao.  If you ever experienced the traffic on Petchaburi Rd/ Lan Luang during commute hours you know what I mean.

 

 

[samsensam]

28 minutes ago, bendejo said:

The train down from Bkk took 4 hours as well.

Not that long ago took an overnight train up from Hat Yai to Bkk.  I managed to get some sleep, woke up when it stopped in Hua Hin at 7am.  Didn't reach Hualumpong until 12:30 or so.

I would guess a factor in the drop in customers had to do with the convenience of Victory Monument being on the Skytrain, as opposed to having to deal with taxis and buses to get to Pinklao.  If you ever experienced the traffic on Petchaburi Rd/ Lan Luang during commute hours you know what I mean.

 

 

 

agree, they moved the van departure point without a thought about creating an integrated public transport system to benefit the passengers.