Bangkok Mass Transit System (BTS) Considers Intergrated Public Transport Pass

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BTS Considers Intergrated Public Transport Pass

The Bangkok Mass Transit System, the operator of the BTS Skytrain, expresses its support for a common ticket system for the skytrain, subway, ferries and public buses.

The Bangkok Mass Transit System, or BTS, Director Anat Arbhabhirama expressed his support for a common-ticket system between all forms of public transport system in Bangkok.

The common-ticket system has long been one of the development plans or campaign promises made by political parties hoping to win votes of city residents.

Anat said the BTS is more than ready to join the common-ticket system. Such a system would allow commuters to use one card to pay for all types of public transportation in the city, inclusive of the skytrain, subway, ferries and even public buses.

The BTS director tentatively agrees the price for an integrated ticket could start at 40-baht.

However, Anat pointed out that there are two main ways of integrating public transport services.

One of the ways is to allow commuters to use one common card as a mode of payment that's accepted by all types of public transportation.

However, the commuter will need to make separate payments for each ride and mode of transportation.

According to Anat, this integrated payment system will be easiest to implement.

The second type is an integrated pass system where the public holds a single card and pays a fair that allows them access to all types of transport services for a limited duration of time.

This type of integrated ticketing system will allow the public to seamlessly transit from one type of public transport to the other by paying just once.

However, the downside is the system will require high technological maintenance and changes to each transport company's revenue collection operation since prices for different transport services vary.

-- Tan Network 2011-06-13

[givenall]

I will extremely happy if they just integrate the BTS andMRT. The rest is just a dream, technology is not just there, and put the rightequipment in the entire busses system, well will take a life time

[jybkk]

Oh... I wish this could be true. But thi is Thailand and project that make sense tend to never come to an end.

Bah... let's try to be positive a bit.

The simplest would be indeed to have one common card acting as a simple "wallet" being debited by the various transportation systems. Combine it with some discount on volume (top up 500THB, get 50THB free...) and you might actually encourage people to use public transportation rather than their cars.

Even better, make the terminals NFC compatible and you're ready for the future... you can even advertise Bangkok as being Hi-Tech.

Traffic is worsening every day in Bangkok. The ONLY solution is improving the public transportation system.

The air-con buses, for example, are actually a pretty good way of transportation, but it's almost impossible to use them for anything else than daily commute as information about routes and stops is virtually inexistant. I don't think it would cost that much to put some maps at the stops and in the buses. You can even ask Google, they already have the routes on their map.

[Nisa]

Not sure about mass transit transfer now-a-days in major modern cities but as a kid it was easy because you got a paper ticket that allowed you to transfer to other services within a certain amount of time. In addition to it taking a life time to fit the buses with the proper equipment, it would be pointless too since so many of the buses look like they are on their last legs anyway. Agree they need to put the BTS and MRT under one roof first and heard that this is not that far off. But to encourage more people to use mass transit, the next step should be allowing users to print out a bus pass transfer as the enter or exit the MRT or BTS .... it could pop out the same way the paper skytrain passes pop-out in the turn style if the rider hits a button requesting the transfer.

Regardless of having an integrated system, it will not encourage additional ridership unless they move to a system that allows for a single price to use all services within a designated time. If somebody has to transfer from the BTS to the MRT then to a bus and still pay for each service then they might as well take a taxi. You can still have pricing dependent upon stops if the rider is only using one service but a transfer pass should be a flat fee to both encourage ridership and for ease of accounting and technology needed.

Edited June 13, 2011 by Nisa

[ricklev]

I just wish the buses would reliably stop at the bus stops to pick up passengers. If you take buses here, you know what I'm talking about!

[gregb]

I just wish the buses would reliably stop at the bus stops to pick up passengers. If you take buses here, you know what I'm talking about!

Clearly you haven't learned the fine art of jumping directly in front of a speeding bus. Even if the driver's intention is to run you over, it is an instinctive reaction to step on the brakes and swerve in this situation, generally slowing the bus enough so you can grab onto a mirror as it goes by. Once he realizes it will be more difficult to shake you off than to let you get on, he generally admits defeat and opens the door.

The non aircon busses often leave the rear doors open while travelling, so you can simply do a flying leap into the bus while it zips past at speed.

The problem is with your approach to gaining entrance to the busses. The nature of the busses themselves are simply a fact. Your fear of dying is not their problem.