Why are bus transportation so bad in the South of Thailand?

[organicman]

It seems that down south around Phuket, Krabi, Surat there are mainly minivans run by private companies if you want to get from one location to another.

 

Why are there no buses? You would expect alot of tourists visit these places hence there will be a normal bus stations like how it runs back in our home country? I went to the Krabi bus station and tried to purchase a ticket to Koh Samui where he gave me a price of 200 baht more at first (950 baht). I asked for a normal bus.

 

A bus took me to Surat then I had to get onto a minivan then another bus through a tour company. 

 

Do normal Thais go through the same nightmare? 

 

 

 

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

Some glimmer of hope on the horizon, maybe....

 

 

"Atthawit noted that AOT has recommended starting with a scheduled service from Phuket airport to Khao Lak in Phang Nga province to gauge the effectiveness of these connections. "

 

 

[Dawesy]

I wouldn't get on a bus in Thailand , I value my life more than that .

 

[oscarsmum]

15 hours ago, organicman said:

It seems that down south around Phuket, Krabi, Surat there are mainly minivans run by private companies if you want to get from one location to another.

 

Why are there no buses? You would expect alot of tourists visit these places hence there will be a normal bus stations like how it runs back in our home country? I went to the Krabi bus station and tried to purchase a ticket to Koh Samui where he gave me a price of 200 baht more at first (950 baht). I asked for a normal bus.

 

A bus took me to Surat then I had to get onto a minivan then another bus through a tour company. 

 

Do normal Thais go through the same nightmare? 

 

We use Phantip Travel. They have big buses to most major destinations.

 

 

[oscarsmum]

Not sure if my reply posted. We use Phantip travel.

[Deputy7]

19 hours ago, organicman said:

It seems that down south around Phuket, Krabi, Surat there are mainly minivans run by private companies if you want to get from one location to another.

 

Why are there no buses? You would expect alot of tourists visit these places hence there will be a normal bus stations like how it runs back in our home country? I went to the Krabi bus station and tried to purchase a ticket to Koh Samui where he gave me a price of 200 baht more at first (950 baht). I asked for a normal bus.

 

A bus took me to Surat then I had to get onto a minivan then another bus through a tour company. 

 

Do normal Thais go through the same nightmare? 

 

The 100 Bhat bus runs from the airport all the way to Rawai with stops along the way. Then you can get a tuk tuk to your hotel, etc if it’s not close to the stop. Works for me!

 

 

[Kinok Farang]

3 hours ago, Dawesy said:

I wouldn't get on a bus in Thailand , I value my life more than that .

 

Yes,much safer in a minivan.Their expert drivers can smoke,talk on the phone,stick their head out the window to berate slower drivers and drive the van at the same time.Remarkable.

[kickstart]

21 hours ago, organicman said:

It seems that down south around Phuket, Krabi, Surat there are mainly minivans run by private companies if you want to get from one location to another.

 

Why are there no buses? You would expect alot of tourists visit these places hence there will be a normal bus stations like how it runs back in our home country? I went to the Krabi bus station and tried to purchase a ticket to Koh Samui where he gave me a price of 200 baht more at first (950 baht). I asked for a normal bus.

 

A bus took me to Surat then I had to get onto a minivan then another bus through a tour company. 

 

Do normal Thais go through the same nightmare? 

 

 

 

A lot of the intern city buses were/are run by privet companies, you can tell privet buses from government ones by the badge on the side of the bus.

The problem was Covid, no buses running then the privet buses just stopped, not enough government buses to fill the gap.

The route I use, Bangkok -Lomsark ,they use to be one an hour, mainly Por 2, second class buses, they have now all gone, with just 3 double decker buses, government ones running a day.

And now Minin buses have filled the gap cannot see a change back to the old system.

I was at Morchit bus terminal last week in Bangkok, mid-morning, hardly any buses they, it seems a nationwide thing, still a good few running at nighttime still. 

[paulikens]

7 minutes ago, Dawesy said:

I wouldn't get on a bus in Thailand , I value my life more than that .

 

How do you travel then? As any mode of transport is a risk here because the roads are so dangerous.  So, if you drive yourself that is not really much safer.  no matter how good a driver you may be.  Unless you fly everywhere but that's not always an option if you're not going so far. 

 

Edited July 12 by paulikens

[paulikens]

Just now, kickstart said:

A lot of the intern city buses were/are run by privet companies, you can tell privet buses from government ones by the badge on the side of the bus.

The problem was Covid, no buses running then the privet buses just stopped, not enough government buses to fill the gap.

The route I use, Bangkok -Lomsark ,they use to be one an hour, mainly Por 2, second class buses, they have now all gone, with just 3 double decker buses, government ones running a day.

And now Minin buses have filled the gap cannot see a change back to the old system.

I was at Morchit bus terminal last week in Bangkok, mid-morning, hardly any buses they, it seems a nationwide thing, still a good few running at nighttime still. 

Yes it seems ever since COVID  they never got back to the timetables pre that.  they got even lazier than they were previous to COVID which I didn't think was possible😉

[Bat Kamchai]

It seems you have some bad experience with bus transport in Thailand. I personally use a lot of bus transport in Thailand, and I think a lot of the services are decent if you find the right one. The best way is to book a ticket online. It saves me a ton of time to find the right transport provider compared to finding it locally at the station. Several months ago, I had a chance to visit Phuket and book a bus ticket via an online website, and this website has a lot of buses available to choose from. I did pick a transport company, and their services are pretty good, so you might want to check this website out www.busticket.in.th when you have a chance to visit the south of Thailand again.

[GypsyT]

You must speak Thai... 

https://www.busticket.in.th/

In English only this;

https://www.busticket.in.th/download.php?locale=en-US

 

I've been to many countries and the worse bus system is in the US. Only ex-convicts use Greyhound after being released.

 

Thailand 2nd. It's a real mess... Only local trains are worse.

 

Spain is best!

 

 

 

 

[steven100]

10 minutes ago, GypsyT said:

You must speak Thai... 

https://www.busticket.in.th/

In English only this;

https://www.busticket.in.th/download.php?locale=en-US

 

I've been to many countries and the worse bus system is in the US. Only ex-convicts use Greyhound after being released.

 

Thailand 2nd. It's a real mess... Only local trains are worse.

 

Spain is best!

 

 

 

 

well,  go to Spain then. 

[OneMoreFarang]

On 7/11/2024 at 11:25 PM, organicman said:

You would expect alot of tourists visit these places hence there will be a normal bus stations like how it runs back in our home country?

 

Tourists exist to get as much money as possible from them. 

That is what you can expect it Thailand.

[PaoloR]

From Krabi to Koh Samui, Lomprayah have the best service as they organise all the transfers.

Public buses run from station to station and there is always a disconnect when you wish to switch to a ferry or other form of transport.

They also appear to have more modern buses and slightly better controlled drivers

[impulse]

On 7/12/2024 at 8:11 PM, Kinok Farang said:

Yes,much safer in a minivan.Their expert drivers can smoke,talk on the phone,stick their head out the window to berate slower drivers and drive the van at the same time.Remarkable.

 

I took commercial mini-vans twice in Thailand.  The first trip was so bad I thought it had to be a fluke.  The second one was worse.  Big buses and trains for this boy...  If I had to travel the roads where no buses go, I either drove myself or hired some co-workers' spouses, who were excellent drivers.

 

[geisha]

On 7/12/2024 at 4:21 PM, paulikens said:

How do you travel then? As any mode of transport is a risk here because the roads are so dangerous.  So, if you drive yourself that is not really much safer.  no matter how good a driver you may be.  Unless you fly everywhere but that's not always an option if you're not going so far. 

 

It’s the mini vans that should be taken off the roads .,Death traps for Thais and foreigners alike. The big buses from good companies , yes, there are some, are much safer. I feel safer in a big bus than in a taxi. Nothing to do with saving money . This new bus above looks good. I’ve used Bells Bus services around Bangkok, Chonburi and they’re excellent. They even do home pick ups and drops offs., There’s another one company Gold service, first class. tThese companies should open up in Phuket, but they d probably be shot !