Why Skytrain fare hike may end up wrecking Bangkok’s mass-transit success story

[robsamui]

3 hours ago, miamiman123 said:

If we can’t get it from the farang’s….let’s hit up the locals ….

the Thais 

Ye's. The local's - the Thai's. Not the farang's.

Edited February 8, 2021 by robsamui

[Andrew65]

1 minute ago, Andrew65 said:

I factored in the cost of fuel, parking, and congestion charge, still cheaper than the train. Time wise, it took 8 hours, about the same as in the car, or even more. By car was cheaper than the train. If you go on the internet, you can get parking for £3-5 per hour.

They privatised the trains many years ago in the UK, train fares have been rising ever since. Forget all that BS about competition making things cheaper, it didn't here. With competition came the profit-motive.

It was £92 on the train, £82 to London, then £10 on the tube. (That £82 involves 4 hours on the train, about 200 miles).

Would have been about £70 by car, all expenses included.

[Derek B]

2 hours ago, SoilSpoil said:

104 baht gets you quite a distance in a taxi. 

Yes........but slowly.

[ThailandRyan]

2 hours ago, crickets said:

Still less than half the price we pay in Australia

Of course, but tell us what the income difference is for daily users.  Most riders here make 300 baht or so a day.

[pacovl46]

2 hours ago, crickets said:

Still less than half the price we pay in Australia

Still less than 10% income of what Australians make! 

[Venom]

1 hour ago, Elkski said:

105 baht each way.  210  That will be 25% of many workers daily wage.   I guess it's been so crowded they think they can raise fares.  So much for those who rent or bought a condo way out on the line. 

So your assertion is that workers are making 840 baht per day? ???? Tell that to the cashier next time you are in 711. 

[Disparate Dan]

I don't think anyone has published the proposed scale of charges. How far would this B104 take you? Obviously from one end to the other, but no-one would want to do that on any kind of regular basis.

 

What would be crippling would be a rise in fares from, say, Siam to Bearing - a typical commute.

As it is, many locals use the train from further south as far as Bearing, as it's free, and then get off and change to buses - mainly the B8 open ones - for the rest of the journey. I guess at the northern end it will be the same. The operator of the southern section probably knows ridership will disappear if they charge.

 

Having different and competing operators on the same line is (I think) a uniquely Thai way to f8ck up the system. It all stems from the fact that no-one in authority here has ever even contemplated using public transport even to see what it's about, because it's so far beneath their dignty, so they haven't a clue how to run a railroad, as it were. They are only in it to trouser what they can, not provide a service.

[Pib]

Wait to these high speed rail lines being built/planned go operational....I expect the initial fares will be much lower than the fares needed to pay the bill of building and operating...and the fares needed to actually pay all bills will be much higher than the average Thai can afford.   We will then have a huge money pit.

 

 

[sandyf]

1 hour ago, Searat7 said:

Everyone has made some good points but the 65b fare was in place a long time...I think Mo Chit to Bearing ?   Wouldn’t future fares be agreed upon before big expansions of the line are undertaken ?  The government has some serious responsibility here.

In what way? Are you trying to say there is not a multitude of low cost bus services available.

Is the government supposed to be responsible for using taxpayers money to provide a better service than the cheap buses to those that live in Bangkok. What about other cities aren't they also entitled to a cheap mass transit system?

At the end of the day, unless there is no alternative and government subsidy is justified, any service must pay for itself or go out of business.

[Xonax]

BMA has never managed to make BTS or MRT the favored mode of transport for Bangkok city commuters. Only with more frequent trains and a lower price, public transportation will be able to move the masses from cars to public transportation. The price should be fixed at no more than 40 Baht for any number of stations. Remember that all we get for the money is to be allowed to stand like fish in a barrel in the always overcrowded trains. Outside of rush hours, the trains are still crowded, as there are just fewer trains.  Whoever compares the ticket price to a car or taxi ride, should keep in mind, that probably most people using public transportation, will also have to pay for a taxi ride in one or both ends of the ride, to get to and from the stations.

One can only imagine, what kind of ticket price they will be charging for the coming high speed trains, but I am absolutely sure, that it will never be profitable.

[Harry Fingerling]

Seems par for the course a 50%+ fare tax hike. Lack of tourism & low exports must be biting hard.

[tinca tinca]

4 hours ago, SoilSpoil said:

104 baht gets you quite a distance in a taxi. 

but not quickly like the BTS !!!!

[Disparate Dan]

1 hour ago, sandyf said:

Is the government supposed to be responsible for using taxpayers money to provide a better service than the cheap buses to those that live in Bangkok. What about other cities aren't they also entitled to a cheap mass transit system?

Absolutely. Given 'governments' (not just this one) are incapable of doing anything else, it should be their responsibility to provide efficient public transport at affordable rates, for the sake of health, economics and the environment, among other reasons. Apart from a proper medical system, I can't think of a better way of disposing of taxpayers' money.

[Magenta408]

I guess you could say that this is a rather massive price increase!! Why? I think this is going to be well beyond the means of many. Good for the taxi business I guess.

[berton]

1 hour ago, Derek B said:

4 hours ago, SoilSpoil said:

104 baht gets you quite a distance in a taxi. 

Yes........but slowly.

it means 52 baths one way ticket = complete line....30 stations= 45 min, but iwith taxi : ??? double at 11h , triple at 8h, 4pm, quadruple at6pm , up to you ! and 2 times per day !!!

 

1 hour ago, ThailandRyan said:

Most riders here make 300 baht or so a day.

not in Bangkok, minimum is 400. And basic workers drive motorcycles to die quickly on the road or come by ten in pick-up  ...

Only officers, good salaries take BTS .

[moe666]

Since the begining the skytrain has never been about the poor Thais. Never saw a poor thai on the skytrain, since the opening. Infastrusture isn't that cheap to build and to maintain, the companies who run it need a return on there investment

[Kaopad999]

What an absolute dumb idea, especially given the current circumstances...  

[Bangkok Barry]

3 hours ago, chasboyuk said:

I know but this is meant to be local transport, encourage the public to use instead of the car.
Trains in the UK are shockingly expensive especially for the lack of service u get. 

Plenty of opportunities to buy in advance, and then it can be cheaper than 20 years ago. Until quite recently I used to travel London to Eastbourne and by booking ahead and using a particular timed train it cost me a fiver.

[Bangkok Barry]

2 hours ago, hotchilli said:

Basically the "mass" of people needing transport are the workers on around 350 baht per day.

Those on basic wage take the bus. Those who might be termed middle class, the mass in my view, take the train.

[Bangkok Barry]

1 hour ago, ThailandRyan said:

Of course, but tell us what the income difference is for daily users.  Most riders here make 300 baht or so a day.

Those who make 300 baht a day do not ride the train. They take the bus.

[ThailandRyan]

6 minutes ago, Bangkok Barry said:

Those who make 300 baht a day do not ride the train. They take the bus.

Not always true. I know plenty that work as cleaners/housekeeping for the juristic entities, especially in my condominium that ride the MRT and BTS.  Many of the day workers we meet that work in some of the smaller shops also ride the MRT and BTS.  Most make just 9k to 12K a month, and work 6 to 7 days a week, with maybe 2 days a week off.  We are not talking Thai's only but those other migrant workers.

[hotchilli]

2 minutes ago, ThailandRyan said:

Most make just 9k to 12K a month, and work 6 to 7 days a week, with maybe 2 days a week off

Or month... maybe?

[Bangkok Barry]

6 minutes ago, ThailandRyan said:

15 minutes ago, Bangkok Barry said:

Those who make 300 baht a day do not ride the train. They take the bus.

Not always true. I know plenty that work as cleaners/housekeeping for the juristic entities, especially in my condominium that ride the MRT and BTS.  Many of the day workers we meet that work in some of the smaller shops also ride the MRT and BTS.  Most make just 9k to 12K a month, and work 6 to 7 days a week, with maybe 2 days a week off.  We are not talking Thai's only but those other migrant workers.

Okay. So it's up to them if they want to spend a considerable portion of their wage on taking the train. Personal choice if they consider the speed worth paying for ????

[joe jadore]

Leave the price alone, you Gov goofballs! 

 

Thailand is still the best place on planet Earth, the Gov make stupid mistakes  occasionally, but they are mostly just hiccups.

 

Our biggest problem is the few thousand whinging UK/Aust/US decrepiet ancient super ugly buggers who live here with young beautiful Thai ladies and complain about everything under the sun, when their own countries are way more expensive and less liberated.

 

<deleted> you "woe is me" complainers!  

[condobrit001]

I think the government should take the opportunity to further damage the tourism industry by significantly increasing the cost of travel on both the BTS and MTS for tourists and resident foreigners. The Thais should have to pay at the current rate or lower. After all, such two tier pricing seems to be the norm here.

[Xonax]

41 minutes ago, condobrit001 said:

I think the government should take the opportunity to further damage the tourism industry by significantly increasing the cost of travel on both the BTS and MTS for tourists and resident foreigners. The Thais should have to pay at the current rate or lower. After all, such two tier pricing seems to be the norm here.

As an elderly foreign senior, I already pay double the price as my Thai companions, who qualify for a 50% senior discount on BTS. However the special seats reserved for elderly people, is always occupied by young Thais.

Edited February 8, 2021 by Xonax

[DBath]

I’m not an economist, but it seems to me the last resort should be sticking it to the Thai people and expecting them to make up the shortfall when they are already struggling to survive and put food on the table. 

[rudi49jr]

5 hours ago, crickets said:

Still less than half the price we pay in Australia

What’s the minimum wage in Australia? And what’s the minimum wage in Thailand? 

[charmonman]

5 hours ago, AhFarangJa said:

Several years ago my young Son used to love travelling on the Skytrain. We would get on at Nana, and travel to the end of the line and back a couple of times without leaving the station. Later, he was about 7 years old the three of us went on it to go to Central when the security said I had to buy a ticket for my Son as he was over the metre mark on the wall. From then on we had to pay 3 full fares and stand in overcrowded carriages. We started using taxis again, cheaper and more comfortable. 

The main reason I use the BTS/MRT is speed.

[FitnessHealthTravel]

8 hours ago, chasboyuk said:

Will TIT ever learn, if you want people to get out of their cars and use it, you got keep it worthwhile.

 

Especially as money is getting tighter for the average Thai. 

 

Um...that makes no sense if you know the average person in BKK doesn't have a car. Sure there are a lot of cars but putting up the fee 40 baht is going to make people rush back to alternative transport, hilarious.  I think the increase is a great idea if they need to money to improve and expand the service.