BTS rule change over giving and receiving goods at barriers creates online furor

[webfact]

Picture: Sanook

 

Sanook reported that there was a social media backlash after the BTS transport system in Bangkok announced that you couldn't give and receive goods at barriers.

 

They claimed this was blocking other people. They said you would need to tap into the paid ticket area before you could receive or deliver goods. 

 

Many online said that the BTS were being penny pinching "jobsworths" - worrying about a small thing that doesn't affect anyone else.

 

Others pointed out it may be because people were gaming the system by taking long rides to deliver things, not tapping out then returning to the original station to pay for one stop only.

 

Whatever the reason there was a huge amount of comment on Thai social media about the issue yesterday, reported the media. 

 

-- © Copyright Thai Visa News 2021-06-16

 

- Whatever you're going through, the Samaritans are here for you

- Follow Thaivisa on LINE for breaking COVID-19 updates

[mtls2005]

21 minutes ago, webfact said:

They claimed this was blocking other people.

 

Bogus.

 

Everyone exchanges at the fence/gate out of the way of the turnstiles.

 

18 minutes ago, webfact said:

Others pointed out it may be because people were gaming the system by taking long rides to deliver things, not tapping out then returning to the original station to pay for one stop only.

 

This is irrelevant. The receiving party could tap-in/tap-out for the minimum fee (15 baht? maybe 16 baht? I can't remember), receive the package ("legally") 'track-side' while the delivering party could return with the minimum charge.

 

 

This has been going on for millenia, and wasn't a problem until now?

 

Tell the Karen who highlighted this probelm to go away. Focus on important stuff.

 

Yes, I know that BTS is running in the red. Government shoud fully SUB-sidize public transport.

[digbeth]

The rules has been in place for decades, and security guard often enforce it or turn a blind eye in some occasion, only that it's been publish on BTS's facebook page that people are aware of it and furore.

 

Is it fair or honest that you can pay the minimum of 15baht to enter and exit the same station, travel to meet your customer, deliver your goods over the turnstile/gate and travel back to your original station without paying anything beyond the initial 15 baht. Legitimate travelling passengers making legitimate trip that exit the station would have to pay the actual fare twice to return to their original station.

 

The fact that BTS is way overpriced for the typical wage of Thai workers is beside the point.

 

BTS can close the loophole by making the 15baht to exit the same station valid only within 15-30 minutes, not the 2 hours currently, even then within 30 minutes you could be travelling quite far to 'deliver' your goods 

[ExpatOilWorker]

Back when my daughter was younger, we sometimes took sub 2 hours joy rides to all possible terminal stations, had a look around and went home to our original station.

My daughter loved the train ride.  Best spend 15 baht ever.

[bradiston]

3 hours ago, ExpatOilWorker said:

Back when my daughter was younger, we sometimes took sub 2 hours joy rides to all possible terminal stations, had a look around and went home to our original station.

My daughter loved the train ride.  Best spend 15 baht ever.

Used to do it on double deckers in London with my daughter. A bit off topic, so apologies.

[Caldera]

Many online said that the BTS were being penny pinching "jobsworths"

 

I think they've nailed it. What an idiotic and completely unnecessary rule.

[new2here]

It makes sense.. Someone (like a delivery person) can start their day - buy the cheapest B15 ticket- then enter.. so long as they remain within the fare payment area (ie don’t cross out) the MAX they will pay is the highest fare as the BTS caps the maximum time a person can remain inside the fare payment area.

 

So, it might be possible to make numerous “gate-side deliveries” and since the delivery person didn’t leave the fare payment area, the max would be the full rate (again, due to exceeding the time cap) BUT this “penalty” rate is still far cheaper than buying multiple successive tickets (mist likely short distance trips too) from each delivery station to the next. 

Edited June 16, 2021 by new2here

[Scott Tracy]

7 hours ago, mtls2005 said:

Yes, I know that BTS is running in the red. Government shoud fully SUB-sidize public transport.

 

Why?

[peterdarby]

29 minutes ago, Scott Tracy said:

 

Why?

All public transport is completely free in Luxembourg. They seem to think it is a good idea. Maybe to encourage less car usage?

[kynikoi]

Maybe with online everything and food orders groups are gaming the system?? Keep a runner inside and ask people to pick up at gate.

 

BTS MRT both way overpriced especially for a developing country. You want poor people to spend 120b to go to a 420b day job? Country has no shame.

Edited June 16, 2021 by kynikoi

[Bangkok Barry]

9 hours ago, webfact said:

They claimed this was blocking other people.

 

Of all the reasons they might have come up with as reason to disallow the practice, this has to be the most stupid. So many people are doing it that it blocks other people. Really? More proof that Thailand is a lunatic asylum.

What actually blocks people is the chaotic design of busy stations such as Asok where people are forced to cross the path of others as they enter and exit before and after the barriers. That involves hundreds, not the occasional 'courier'.

 

Here's a suggestion for Asok. You have two entrance/exits. Use one for entry only and the other for exit only. Not too hard.

[digbeth]

31 minutes ago, Bangkok Barry said:

What actually blocks people is the chaotic design of busy stations such as Asok where people are forced to cross the path of others as they enter and exit before and after the barriers. That involves hundreds, not the occasional 'courier'.

 

Here's a suggestion for Asok. You have two entrance/exits. Use one for entry only and the other for exit only. Not too hard.

 

The turnstile already has entrance/exits to one side, problem is that people leaving the platforms on each side that has to cross to get to the exit side of the turnstile

 

if you mean the separating the two entrance into entry only on one side of Sukhumvit and exit only on the other, that'll never work, no Thais would walk around just to get to the other side to enter/exit 

 

 

Anyway, people delivering stuff over the barriers is not blocking other people, but is gaming their system for cheap ride.

 

It used to be that the time limit to exit the paid area was lower when the BTS was first introduced, staggered 30/60/90 minuted depending how much the ticket was, but it was changed to 2 hours, and it became effectively 4 hours in practice according to those that surf the system to deliver stuff. I suspect that they had to increase the time limit when they had frequent breakdowns that result in delays and queues a while back. 

 

Renting out businesses inside the paid area is not helping either, there are nail salons and government office inside the paid area that you can spend hours in, and if their customers got fined for spending time inside the station, they had to reimburse or get the ticket validated to stay longer, so they had increased the time limit to cover most use case,

[Bangkok Barry]

7 minutes ago, digbeth said:

if you mean the separating the two entrance into entry only on one side of Sukhumvit and exit only on the other, that'll never work, no Thais would walk around just to get to the other side to enter/exit 

 

That isn't what I mean. If BTS enforced using one set of turnstiles to enter only at, say, the Asok/MRT entrance and exit only at the other, western side, turnstiles, the passengers would have no choice but to walk around the outside of Terminal 21 to the MRT etc. In civilised countries they implement crowd flow measures. In Thailand chaos is simply accepted as normal. If they are too lazy to walk 100 metres then they could always take the bus.

[unblocktheplanet]

9 hours ago, digbeth said:

Is it fair or honest that you can pay the minimum of 15baht to enter and exit the same station, travel to meet your customer, deliver your goods over the turnstile/gate and travel back to your original station without paying anything beyond the initial 15 baht

 

The fact that BTS is way overpriced for the typical wage of Thai workers is beside the point.

No, it's not at all beside the point. I'm no Thai-basher but goodwill & customer service breeds loyalty. Two-tier pricing for old foreigners, too. Just because they're the only game doesn't give them licence to be bullies. That 'delivery' system costs BTS nothing. But it's a timely system and allowing it makes everybody happy.

 

I've often wondered about the investors in such transport. Money laundering? Surely it's obvious they will NEVER turn a profit!

[digbeth]

On 6/16/2021 at 7:29 PM, unblocktheplanet said:

No, it's not at all beside the point. I'm no Thai-basher but goodwill & customer service breeds loyalty. Two-tier pricing for old foreigners, too. Just because they're the only game doesn't give them licence to be bullies. That 'delivery' system costs BTS nothing. But it's a timely system and allowing it makes everybody happy.

 

I've often wondered about the investors in such transport. Money laundering? Surely it's obvious they will NEVER turn a profit!

 

How does riding beyond what you paid the ticket for and back not cost them anything? by the same logic, people jumping over the tunstile cost the nothing and shouldn't be prosecuted 

 

As for what they have in the game

BTS gets to develop the land around the station, there are many condo near stations that was developed by BTS, some even get preferential treatment to connect to the skywalk, and also advertising around the stations