Troubled Bangkok Rapid Bus Route Gets Early Deadline

[webfact]

Troubled rapid bus route gets deadline

By Mayuree Sukyingcharoenwong

The Nation

The Bt2-billion Bus Rapid Transit (BRT)'s Sathorn-Rajapreuk route - which was trial-launched in late May - is reported to be facing many problems, and public dissatisfaction has prompted another four routes in the pipeline to be suspended and possibly cancelled.

The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) has asked for another four months for the BRT Sathorn-Rajapreuk route to operate before making a decision on whether to cancel it and the other four routes.

After the Sathorn-Rajapreuk route opened on May 29, transporting 20,000 commuters daily, it was reported that 10 per cent of personal car users had shifted to the BRT. However, about 60 per cent of surveyed motorists were not satisfied with the project, said Bangkok Deputy Governor Theerachon Manomaipibul.

The route was to charge a flat fee of Bt10 from September 1 onwards and collect fares ranging from Bt12 to Bt20 after January 2.

The city has now suspended the BRT route, studying procedures on the Mor Chit-Civil Service Complex-Nonthaburi, Sathorn-Suksawat, Don Muang-Min Buri-Suvarnabhumi and Min Buri-Sri Nakarin-Samrong routes.

Theerachon said the problem was that car drivers were not observing traffic laws and some were not familiar with the BRT and the fact that it had its own lane. He said it would take three or four months for people to adjust to this.

Krungthep Thanakom executive Amorn Kitchawengkul said traffic congestion in the Rama III Bridge area was prompting police to direct cars into the BRT lane. This, combined with BRT drivers' lack of expertise, meant buses were taking longer than usual. He said there were 20 BRT buses running on the route during the morning rush hours from 6am to 9am (one bus released every five minutes) - and 10 BRT buses from 9.30am to 4pm (one bus every 10 minutes).

Financially, the BRT route's break-even point will be Bt180 million to Bt200 million per year, or about Bt15 million per month.

Wat Phraya Krai precinct Colonel Methee Rakpan said the Rama III area had already been notorious for traffic congestion and, after the BRT opened, it had lost one lane while the number of cars remained the same. The traffic police's short-term solution was to dispatch 20 officers during rush hours to direct traffic at the problematic intersections and to give a green light signal to the side with the largest volume of cars first.

Affirming that police would usually arrest motorists encroaching on the BRT lane, he explained that cars with more than three passengers were allowed to use the route's sections deemed as "high-occupancy vehicle (HOV) lane".

A 26-year-old company worker, who gave his first name as Pongsak, said he drove his car to work every day using the Phetkasem-Rama III-Asoke route. As one lane of Rama III Road was now reserved for the BRT, the traffic became jammed, and it took him up to two hours to drive home compared with the previous one-hour journey.

The BRT system had also made some spots accident-prone - such as at the Sathorn Bridge towards Tha Phra Intersection where traffic lights for the BRT and other cars were side by side, confusing motorists, he said. After using the BRT for two days, he felt it took longer than driving a car to work. Halting at bus stops was a slow procedure and the buses still suffered from traffic jams because they had to share some HOV parts of the route with other vehicles.

Office worker Wirachada Pengsawang, 40, said she used the BRT service every day from the Rajapreuk station to Wat Dokmai station before taking a motorcycle taxi to her Sathupradit office. Before the BRT, she took a No 205 bus from The Mall Tha Phra, which was very crowded in the morning rush hours. Expressing hope the BRT would be in place in future to help ease traffic jams, she said current problems with the system included waiting times for buses - it often took up to an hour to pass four stations -- and the use of their lane by other vehicles.

Another office worker, Arkapong Bopanich, 25, said he used the free BRT ride from the Rajapreuk station to Wat Dokmai every day and found it convenient, except when the bus reached the Rama III Bridge neck, where many cars occupied its lane. He said that if administrators could ensure the BRT lane wasn't used by other vehicles, the buses would be convenient and fast public transport.

-- The Nation 2010-09-02

[Crushdepth]

Did anyone seriously expect drivers to respect the BRT lane?

[mezzoninny]

I think this is one of those ideas that... a lot of scholars in the field will say OMFG it's such a good idea, OMG it's the freaking way forward, it's progress... but the idea doesn't really work in real life for all sorts of reasons.

I've seen the idea thrown about in my home country but probably never put into practice... most likely for the reasons discussed here.

[Pib]

I drive over to the Sathorn area about once week and ever since the bus lane has went into affect in that area, it sure has slowed down/jammed up traffic on Sathorn, especially South Sathorn Road, due to certain stop lights staying red a LOT longer due to the revised traffic flow caused by the bus lane on the intersecting road. Before going down South Sathorn use to be fairly quick; quicker than the north side. And I'm sure the city pulled that 10% figure out of their rear to try to save the project...instead of 10% I bet it's around 1% or less...probably 99% of the people riding the new bus system were just people who rode regular buses on the same route below. This new bus lane setup in the Sathorn-Rajapreuk area is causing a bigger traffic jam/slower commute for many more people than who may be benefiting from it. And I'm sure the BIB traffic police are benefiting also.

Edited September 2, 2010 by Pib

[jayjayjayjay]

Did anyone seriously expect drivers to respect the BRT lane?

Gotta cry when you think of the stupidity. BKK already has only 8% of it's surface area commited to roads, a far cry from the 20% plus in well laid out cities. The only way to do it is up in the air or underground. Let cars fight it out on the street.

[way2muchcoffee]

I live on one of these lines. I am opposed to the whole notion. It doubles or triples a commute time for perhaps 200,000 people while only helping 20,000. Stupid idea for a city like Bangkok, notorious for terrible traffic and the low percentage of street-covered surface area.

[almavro]

This scheme was lifted from a very successful program initiated in Curtitiba, Brazil. (It has other great solutions to social and ecological problems: give it a Google.) However, the Thais added their own twists:

1) They eschewed the *extremely* cost effective Curtitiba bus stations, which look like they're made of 55-gallon drums and whose total cost was less than a *single* BRT station, in favor of... well, something resembling a honey-pot.

2) They saved lots, however, on buses: in Curtitiba, there's a bus every 1-2 mins.

2) They overlooked the remaining 80% of the program, which is a coordinated implementation of one-way roads for car traffic *plus* extended suburban express bus links that meld perfectly with the tram-buses in order to provide extended reach for the system.

There's a great video on the system available on the net. Watch it and weep. ###

[beppi]

The idea of separate bus lines as a much cheaper but equally efficient alternative to subways or other rail systems originated in Brazil in the 80ies and has been working well in many places for years (e.g. Jakarta).

The surprising thing is not that 60% of the surveyed motorists are against having one of their lanes taken away for another mode of transport, but that 40% of them didn't and thus approve of this attempt to improve the overall situation!

Chaotic traffic is not solved by giving it more area, but by giving it less and at the same time enabling people to use other, more efficient methods!

Edited September 2, 2010 by beppi

[DaninBangkok]

Efficient planning is the key to the success of the BRT. Sadly, it seems that this step was omitted from the equation.

I acknowledge the huge amount of traffic and the fact that the BRT doesn't seem to be making much of a dent in the cars on the road. That aside, let's look at the terminus of the route...Sathorn Road, necessitating a long and circuitous walk to the Chong Nonsi BTS station. There are already bus lanes in place, complete with platforms and stairs up to the station, directly under the BTS station. After leaving the Chong Nonsi station, the buses could then continue on to Suriwongse Road, where there is a beautiful u-turn lane already there.

Perhaps a little forward thinking would have been in order.

[123ace]

Rama 3 was one of the few really free flowing roads in the downtown, now ruined and made far more dangerous by this comical bus route.

Clearly a badly concieved idea, but one which can never be admitted to.

They should use the buses as normal bus routes and replace the ancient junk buses now on the roads, demolish the barrier to the bus lane and convert the staions for use as a light rail by inverting the platfroms, with the rail over the klong that is on the whole route.

Yes its going to cost more money but I am told the economy is booming here.

[stub]

If you want to kill a public transport system, survey motorists.

Identify, fix and don't repeat the implementation issues. Add more routes so it is an option for more people. I guess scrapping it would be a short term political win though, even though residents will lose the inevitable housing price increase.

[jfchandler]

Any of the issues here sound familiar relative to the implementation (or lack thereof) of the Airport Rail Line????

[Silurian]

Rama 3 was one of the few really free flowing roads in the downtown, now ruined and made far more dangerous by this comical bus route.

Clearly a badly concieved idea, but one which can never be admitted to.

They should use the buses as normal bus routes and replace the ancient junk buses now on the roads, demolish the barrier to the bus lane and convert the staions for use as a light rail by inverting the platfroms, with the rail over the klong that is on the whole route.

Yes its going to cost more money but I am told the economy is booming here.

Agreed.

Since both ends of the BRT are BTS stations, an extension to the BTS Skytrain would have made more sense. Why add another type of public transport to this mess of BTS Skytrain and MRT Subway mismatch anyway? How many different types of public transportation does Bangkok really need?

The BRT creates more problems than it solves. You need to get additional traffic away from the road and not add to it. Several U-Turns were removed which also adds to the crowded intersections. Right turns at the intersections are also messed up due to BRT specific lights/timing. I have seen taxis beep and push when the light specifically doesn't allow them to go. I have seen several close calls between the BRT and motorcycles. The BRT just doesn't work. Plain and simple.

Suspend...remove...re-evaluate...put in a Skytrain. No brainer there.

Edited September 2, 2010 by Silurian

[nowork114]

Rama 3 was one of the few really free flowing roads in the downtown, now ruined and made far more dangerous by this comical bus route.

Clearly a badly concieved idea, but one which can never be admitted to.

They should use the buses as normal bus routes and replace the ancient junk buses now on the roads, demolish the barrier to the bus lane and convert the staions for use as a light rail by inverting the platfroms, with the rail over the klong that is on the whole route.

Yes its going to cost more money but I am told the economy is booming here.

Agreed.

Since both ends of the BRT are BTS stations, an extension to the BTS Skytrain would have made more sense. Why add another type of public transport to this mess of BTS Skytrain and MRT Subway mismatch anyway? How many different types of public transportation does Bangkok really need?

The BRT creates more problems than it solves. You need to get additional traffic away from the road and not add to it. Several U-Turns were removed which also adds to the crowded intersections. Right turns at the intersections are also messed up due to BRT specific lights/timing. I have seen taxis beep and push when the light specifically doesn't allow them to go. I have seen several close calls between the BRT and motorcycles. The BRT just doesn't work. Plain and simple.

Suspend...remove...re-evaluate...put in a Skytrain. No brainer there.

This would be probably the answer ...

BRT is a good system and will not be re-evaluated or suspended. If done so someone up there who got the 300 mil THB lost in the project (obviously DSI got share so they didn't charge anybody) would loose face ... and anyway, this is Thailand and Thai people like BRT ... you foreigners do not understand Thailand ... and if you don't like it, go home ...

[timejester]

I think this is one of those ideas that... a lot of scholars in the field will say OMFG it's such a good idea, OMG it's the freaking way forward, it's progress... but the idea doesn't really work in real life for all sorts of reasons.

I've seen the idea thrown about in my home country but probably never put into practice... most likely for the reasons discussed here.

In Ottawa, canada, a similar system has worked really well. Of course we have a Bus Police System that is very effective; drivers that use the exclusive lane for the buses are fined heavily when caught and usually are. It's quite effective actually. While cars are just edging along the buses are whipping by. Buses are on schedule and supply meets ever increasing demand.

I drive a motorbike here in Bangkok and see the traffic snarls every morning. My wife has to take the Bts which is jam packed every morning Simple answer to all the congestion is to apply more resources to public transportation and properly police it so that it works properly. Furthermore, this idea of having the police arbitrarily decide when to let the traffic go is ridiculous. At the Sathorn, RAma 3 I think (just south of Saphan-Thaksin BTS) there are often waits of 10 minutes at the intersection while the other side goes through. I'm told there is hostility between the two police districts that control the intersection so that it is really difficult to alternate movement from one route to the other. The backups from this section constipate the whole area. They should use lights effectively timed through the whole mainthrough to maintain an evenly flow of traffic like any other large city. Having the BIB regulate the system is where all the trouble lies.

[asiawatcher]

A lot of the traffic solutions in Bangkok could be sorted by losing the Police from controlling traffic lights (what a stupid system) and having 30 second or 45 second changes at intersections. Intersections like Asoke to Sukhumvit can last 5 minutes per side x 4 and total 20 minutes wait if you miss a change. Other intersections like Rama IX and Ratchadaphisek, Naratiwat and Sathorn, all suffer from the stupidity of police chatting to each other and their girlfriends on cell phones and changing when they feel like it, often missing a green light for some lanes turning. It is total stupidity.

Then we have impatient drivers and Jekkyl and Hide mentality behind the wheel, overtaking against left side concrete barrier then pushing back in 3 - 5 cars further back forcing traffic to slow to allow these buffalo back in. There is no 'wai' to be seen in motorists and the land of smiles turns to land of 'sneers' when it involves traffic.

Then back to Police - riding 'Boxers' that have about as much power as trying to pull the pastry from a pie, whilst a Ferrari used (not driven) by some wealthy kid flashes past with no chance of catching them and people in pickups who drive across two lanes thinking they need to line up the white line to the centre of the bonnet! Police have no ability - or desire - to enforce traffic regulations when it is easier to stand on street corners and pull up people for quick cash!

No fast buses (is there such a thing?) and inability of being able to control or figure out how to keep traffic moving, means no scheme and cost thrown at it will work until there is driver education, driver awareness and rules that people adhere to. Similarly look at your heart beat - stop the flow for minutes and you die - ditto traffic - give them fast turnarounds at traffic intersections and traffic keeps moving and then drivers would not be so impatient. Then re-open the lanes that have been blocked for the buses and see if it makes a difference!

But that is all wishful thinking. TiT

[chantorn]

This would be probably the answer ...

BRT is a good system and will not be re-evaluated or suspended. If done so someone up there who got the 300 mil THB lost in the project (obviously DSI got share so they didn't charge anybody) would loose face ... and anyway, this is Thailand and Thai people like BRT ... you foreigners do not understand Thailand ... and if you don't like it, go home ...

I like your answer. ...

BRT belong to Democrats. ... So if you don't like it, go join the Red-shirt in CM.

[DP25]

lol Of COURSE most car drivers will be against it. The solution is to build even more of these BRT lines, and have even stricter enforcement of the bus only lane. They are already fining people, but if fines aren't enough to keep drivers out of the bus lane, there is another solution. Install metal posts in the ground in the lane, that lower when a bus comes up and raises immediately after. They won't be driving in that lane again

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7kDOzmVKhjU

[way2muchcoffee]

Makes perfect sense. Develop a system that triples the commute time for hundreds of thousands while halving it for tens of thousands.

Edited September 2, 2010 by way2muchcoffee

[scorecard]

The idea of separate bus lines as a much cheaper but equally efficient alternative to subways or other rail systems originated in Brazil in the 80ies and has been working well in many places for years (e.g. Jakarta).

The surprising thing is not that 60% of the surveyed motorists are against having one of their lanes taken away for another mode of transport, but that 40% of them didn't and thus approve of this attempt to improve the overall situation!

Chaotic traffic is not solved by giving it more area, but by giving it less and at the same time enabling people to use other, more efficient methods!

Agree, It can work if organized correctly. I've used it numerous times in Jakarta, it works well. In Adelaide in Australia (similar, not exactly same concept) it works very well, and I understand it works well in numerous European and Canadian cities.

Thai stubbornness of course would not allow any study of how it's organized in other cities and identification of what needs to be in place to make it work.

Somehow it all reminds me of the massively expensive ptoject to computerize all of Bangkok's traffic lights about 12 or 14 years ago. On the first morning of operation there was total chaos, the foreign design and implementation consultants cried foul saying that their Thai counterparts would not provide data and cooperation. After a couple of hours the system was turned off and reverted to manual operation at every intersection, and the computerized system has never been resurected.

[animatic]

Looked good on paper,

to people who don't ever take this route.

[SoftWater]

Way2muchcoffe: where does this figure of 200000 people in cars come from? There may be about 10000 taxis, each with one passenger in, another 56000 riding around all day empty, and another 20 or 30000 cars each with one person in blocking up the whole of the city, including delaying the many more 1000s on the ordinary buses and songtaews. Much of the rush hour traffic is also blocked up by parents doing school runs in their own cars instead of having the kids go in the school minivans.

Back to the point: they started a dedicated bus lane on the M4 into London before I left England (John Prescott's idea, if I remember rightly) and it was much slandered by the inconvenienced motorists at the time. Later, people realised if they didn't want to be late for work, they'd be better off leaving their cars at home and getting on the bus...and that's how the idea works.

The problem with the BRT, going by the above report, is the police, who should be scalped for totally throwing a spanner in the works. Directing traffic onto the bus lane to ease congestion is precisely the opposite of the point of the whole scheme. Of course, the idea that a short term inconvenience will lead to long term benefits doesn't sit well with the idea of..."i'm being hassled by people who want to break the law, so I'd better give in and make my life less stressful."