White Bus In Chiangmai -- Information, Please.

[Oneman]

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Where to find information about the white buses in Chiangmai: routes & schedules?

These are real buses, large, a few steps up, big seats, big windows, with a uniformed driver and uniformed money lady.

Does anybody here know where they go, and when?

Today, while I was riding stuffed into the back of a red pickup truck, one of those white buses came to a stop just behind.

I could see inside.

While I was breathing exhaust fumes and sweating in the heat, inside the white bus, the driver and the money lady looked cool, comfortable, and composed.

So I searched for information on this forum, and on the web using Google, Scroogle, and Live.com.

Found a few indirect references, but could not find any specific details.

Does anybody know?

Thank you.

-- Oneman

Chiangmai

Edited October 23, 2008 by Oneman

[keo]

When I stayed on the Hang Dong Road, near Big C, I was without a motorbike for quite some time so used to ride the saungtaews into town. One rather hot day, after quite a long wait, two saungtaews drove past me without stopping. After the second one did so I was a bit pissed and threw my hands in the air. I turned round only to find the bus you are talking about already stopped and waiting for me. I'd never seen a bus like this before in Chiang Mai. It was like a dream! I got on, it was nice a cool, comfortable seats, and I was the only passenger on the bus.

I only saw the bus again once in the following months, and again I was the only passenger.

sorry, not much help, but I thought I'd share my experience!

[NancyL]

I'd love to know the answer to this question, too. During our last visit to CM hubby and I decided we'd take a day to figure out the CM bus system. We're done this in other cities -- just ride around in buses all day, sightseeing and figuring out the routes. Getting on and off a few times to see something that looked interesting.

We never could find a CM bus schedule on the internet and hotel staff said "take red taxi truck", so we sat in the bus stop near Central for about 90 minutes and never saw a bus. Lots of song taews stopped to offer a ride, but no pretty white A/C buses. The map at the bus stop was absolutely unscrutable -- all in Thai, but the roads didn't even make sense.

[jdinasia]

Get a pic showing any writing on it .. and post it

[Goshawk]

I've used these buses before also along Hang Dong Rd.. nice they are too..

if you can read Thai, here's their website

[Mapguy]

There IS a municipal (city) bus system. It was launched during the last mayoral administration. There are too few of them (26 for all routes, as I recall) for the area, too large for Chiang Mai streets, generally too big for the traffic now using them, the schedules are irregular, and there is an awful wait between buses. It is a good idea to have public transit, but it was very poorly implemented. These are not my comments; I repeat what the current mayor has said --- and she actually went out on her own to take a bus and check it out.

[shepsel]

I used the city bus about 6 months ago from the Central Bus Station to Thapae Gate. It was spotlessly clean, air conditioned and efficient. I was the only passenger on the bus the whole route. I asked for a bus schedule in English but the attendant shrugged his shoulders. The cost was 15 baht.

[Greenside]

I have recently seen one brand new bus, smaller than the others which may be the first of the new ones the mayor said would be more suitable for the city srteets. Sadly it was empty too.

[ricklev]

Sinister dark forces resist new competition in public transportation everywhere in Thailand.

[Slogger]

Sinister dark forces resist new competition in public transportation everywhere in Thailand.

It was the red bus drivers who opposed the buses and stopped them being deployed on their more lucrative routes, or else..... They have a lot of power and can threaten strikes, road blocking and not voting for local politicians who oppose them. There has been a previous posting on this subject so do a forum search. There are special bus stops all over CM but you really need a bus map and they are difficult to understand. The main base is in the Arcade Bus station and you should be able to get route maps there.

[mcgriffith]

I see the (number 6?) white bus all the time out here in the Far West (Huay Kaew Rd. near CMU).

I know local expats who use it often to go to the airport, etc. I've never ridden (own 2 motorsai) but understand it starts somewhere north (Changpuek area), loops up HK Rd., transits through the university, and ends up at the airport.

My sense is that a lot of these white buses operate on the periphery of muang.

Check them out, ride on them, and support them when possible.

I personally feel the red songthiew, as ubiquitous and convenient as they are, are a throwback to the olden daze when CM was like Nan, or Chiang Rai.

Very inefficient and wasteful of energy for a major metro area like Chiang Mai.

Just my 25 satang....

[Oneman]

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.

Thank you to those who posted some clues above.

Other posters didn't have a clue, but posted anyway.

I turned round only to find the bus you are talking about already stopped and waiting for me. sorry, not much help, but I thought I'd share my experience!

Agreed, not much help, but gave a clue to one route.

During our last visit to CM hubby and I decided we'd take a day to figure out the CM bus system. We're done this in other cities.

She has no information at all about Chiangmai buses, but posted anyway.

I've used these buses before also along Hang Dong Rd.. nice they are too..

if you can read Thai, here's their

website

Thank you, Goshawk, for specific and helpful information, directly related to the original post.

My Google search did not catch that website, because it is entirely in Thai.

I used the city bus about 6 months ago from the Central Bus Station to Thapae Gate. I asked for a bus schedule in English but the attendant shrugged his shoulders. The cost was 15 baht.

Thanks for another clue to one of the routes, and the fare.

Sadly it was empty too.

Asked for route and schedule information, but he posted an emotional response.

Sinister dark forces resist new competition in public transportation everywhere in Thailand.

It was the red bus drivers who opposed the buses and stopped them being deployed on their more lucrative routes, or else..... They have a lot of power and can threaten strikes

Always lots of irrelevant speculation on ThaiVisa.

I see the (number 6?) white bus all the time out here in the Far West (Huay Kaew Rd. near CMU).

I know local expats who use it often to go to the airport, etc.

More useful clues to routes.

Thank you.

I personally feel the red songthiew, as ubiquitous and convenient as they are, are a throwback to the olden daze when CM was like Nan, or Chiang Rai. Very inefficient and wasteful of energy for a major metro area like Chiang Mai.

Under the illusion others care about his personal feelings.

Now, here's the payoff for anybody who has read this far.

Thanks to Goshawk for posting the web site URL -- I found route maps there.

The maps are large, clear, easy to read.

The good news is they have English descriptions.

The bad news is they seem to be dated "1999".

A lot can change in nine years, especially in Thailand.

The route numbers are 2, 11, 6, and 6 again.

As for that numbering sequence of the routes, must be Thai logic at work.

Click here for the page with those PDF maps for download.

http://www.chiangmaibus.com/index.php?click=m2

-- Oneman

Edited October 24, 2008 by Oneman

[Oneman]

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A warning for those not familiar with Thai-style maps: North is not always up.

On those Chiangmai bus maps, North points East, and West points up! . . .

This is Thailand.

[ricklev]

I curse Oneman to an interminable wait for a non-existant bus for his unpleasant rudeness regarding my post.

[Greenside]

.

Where to find information about the white buses in Chiangmai: routes & schedules?

Clearly not here in future if you treat respondents so rudely.

Today, while I was riding stuffed into the back of a red pickup truck, one of those white buses came to a stop just behind.

I could see inside.

We're thrilled with your detailed and completely unnecessary account about how you saw a bus but.....

While I was breathing exhaust fumes and sweating in the heat, inside the white bus, the driver and the money lady looked cool, comfortable, and composed.

...there's at least some compensation in knowing that you were sweaty and one step closer to a respiratory problem

So I searched for information on this forum, and on the web using Google, Scroogle, and Live.com.

Found a few indirect references, but could not find any specific details.

Good to know you wasted some of your own time on this

Does anybody know?

And now nobody cares either.

[WinnieTheKhwai]

Sheesh.

I'm not gonna post now.

Oh wait.

[mcgriffith]

Jeez, Oneman....

For a guy who has more opinions than Rush Limbaugh, and is a self-appointed food critic (who doesn't know beans about burritos or comida mexicana) you have somehow managed to offend your customers, yes us, the people who you are apparently writing to.....

What does this have to do with buses? Not much, I admit.

The forum is really just a place where people chat, opine, and offer often irrelevant and irreverent commentary.

Not everyone approaches it as a task of crafting a perfectly worded concise commentary/review, etc.

Just kidding ya, I'll buy you a Dos Equis at the TV party in November.....

[Slogger]

.

.

Thank you to those who posted some clues above.

Other posters didn't have a clue, but posted anyway.

I turned round only to find the bus you are talking about already stopped and waiting for me. sorry, not much help, but I thought I'd share my experience!

Agreed, not much help, but gave a clue to one route.

During our last visit to CM hubby and I decided we'd take a day to figure out the CM bus system. We're done this in other cities.

She has no information at all about Chiangmai buses, but posted anyway.

I've used these buses before also along Hang Dong Rd.. nice they are too..

if you can read Thai, here's their

website

Thank you, Goshawk, for specific and helpful information, directly related to the original post.

My Google search did not catch that website, because it is entirely in Thai.

I used the city bus about 6 months ago from the Central Bus Station to Thapae Gate. I asked for a bus schedule in English but the attendant shrugged his shoulders. The cost was 15 baht.

Thanks for another clue to one of the routes, and the fare.

Sadly it was empty too.

Asked for route and schedule information, but he posted an emotional response.

Sinister dark forces resist new competition in public transportation everywhere in Thailand.

It was the red bus drivers who opposed the buses and stopped them being deployed on their more lucrative routes, or else..... They have a lot of power and can threaten strikes

Always lots of irrelevant speculation on ThaiVisa.

I see the (number 6?) white bus all the time out here in the Far West (Huay Kaew Rd. near CMU).

I know local expats who use it often to go to the airport, etc.

More useful clues to routes.

Thank you.

I personally feel the red songthiew, as ubiquitous and convenient as they are, are a throwback to the olden daze when CM was like Nan, or Chiang Rai. Very inefficient and wasteful of energy for a major metro area like Chiang Mai.

Under the illusion others care about his personal feelings.

Now, here's the payoff for anybody who has read this far.

Thanks to Goshawk for posting the web site URL -- I found route maps there.

The maps are large, clear, easy to read.

The good news is they have English descriptions.

The bad news is they seem to be dated "1999".

A lot can change in nine years, especially in Thailand.

The route numbers are 2, 11, 6, and 6 again.

As for that numbering sequence of the routes, must be Thai logic at work.

Click here for the page with those PDF maps for download.

http://www.chiangmaibus.com/index.php?click=m2

-- Oneman

Hey, you ungrateful pile of crap - we tried tro help u.

[NancyL]

I didn't know if I should be offended with Oneman's comment on my post, but I see that others have much the same feeling I do. Gosh, I was just trying to keep the question from drifting off the 1st page of the forum, where it wouldn't get as many viewings.

Incidentally, am I the only one who can't get Oneman's "valuable" link to work? Whenever I try to click on what seems like a link to a map, I get a message about a "VHCS error Error 404!"

[Slogger]

I didn't know if I should be offended with Oneman's comment on my post, but I see that others have much the same feeling I do. Gosh, I was just trying to keep the question from drifting off the 1st page of the forum, where it wouldn't get as many viewings.

Incidentally, am I the only one who can't get Oneman's "valuable" link to work? Whenever I try to click on what seems like a link to a map, I get a message about a "VHCS error Error 404!"

If Oneman had done a simple search for previous postings on this topic on Thaivisa, we wouldn't have had to put up with all his <deleted>. I suggest no-one tries to help the ungrateful asshol_e again - I certainly won't.

Edited October 27, 2008 by Slogger

[WinnieTheKhwai]

This is the only link you need:

http://www.chiangmaibus.com/

As it's in Thai, the route maps are half way down the page on the right hand side. It's the links where you see the bus numbers such as 2, 11, 6 (clockwise) and 6(counter clock wise).

Personally I think the bus routes are rubbish. They've been running like this mostly empty for over a year now, you'd thin, someone might catch on that the routes are rubbish and need changing.

(I know, I know, This is Thailand)

[Oneman]

... the bus routes are rubbish. They've been running like this mostly empty for over a year now

After looking at the maps, routes seem designed to take working people from areas where they live, to areas with new jobs.

Example: from Northwest, vicinity of Changpuek bus station, to Makro and Carrefour, or to Tesco/Lotus or Airport Plaza.

that is the ugly face of massive corruption and nepotism... because there is a lot of money siphoned off these projects, they are doomed to fail, and they are invented for some people to cash in on them, not for the entertainment, good for the citizen, whose taxes have been spend on the project!

Above posted by Samuian on another topic (new aquarium), but seems the best fit to the facts so far on the white buses, too.

-- Oneman

Chiangmai

Edited October 28, 2008 by Oneman