Phuket Public Transport: The Decision To Have Public Buses Is Ours

[Lite Beer]

Phuket Public Transport: The decision to have public buses is ours

With the residents and police behind it, a public bus could outflank an army of private tuk-tuks.

PHUKET: The Phuket Provincial Land Transportation Office has responded admirably to criticism that it has obviously failed over the past 20 years to develop public bus transportation in this province.

Office Chief Terayout Prasertphol says he has applied to his superiors in Bangkok to approve more bus routes on the island, adding that the precise location of stops will soon be determined. These, he says, will take into account the need for passengers to simply “hop on, hop off” en route – thus finally offering Phuket genuine bus services of the type found all over the world.

With this genuinely bold initiative, he has now thrown down the gauntlet for Provincial Police Commander Pekad Tantipong to make sure that it will be safe for operators to run these services.

Offering the opportunity for operators to provide safe, reliable bus services is Chief Terayout’s job.

Ensuring the safety of the people of Phuket is Maj Gen Pekad’s job.

But Gen Pekad does not have to carry this burden alone; he has much support. Indeed, he need look no further than the Phuket Provincial Office.

When told in late September that not a single operator had stepped up to run buses along any of the currently available routes on the island, due to fear of violent attacks from “opposing forces” – meaning private tuk-tuk and taxi operators – Vice Governor Weerawat Janpen’s face morphed into the most grave of expressions. He knew that Phuket’s public administration was failing its people.

With this in his favor, it would be very surprising if Gen Pekad did not receive robust support from Phuket’s top government officials.

The catch is that Gen Pekad must now step up and announce precisely how he intends to ensure that operators will be safe in providing the services. If he doesn’t, all these glorious plans of having normal bus services in Phuket will come to nothing.

He could assign police officers to ride the buses, but that might be a tad too 'Africa' for Thailand’s liking.

What Gen Pekad really needs is the overt support of the people. That covert support exists among the vast majority there can be little doubt, so it would behoove the police to devise a campaign to nurture it, to foster enthusiasm for it and to take it very public.

At the heart of the campaign would be the issue of safety. Every bus would need to carry signs in various languages telling passengers to report any acts of violence or intimidation against either themselves or the bus operator. And the police would need to provide a simple hotline for receiving such reports in mulitple languages.

To preempt any protestations that language difficulties would undermine response time, the police would only need to note that their cousins in the Tourist Police volunteers possess language skills in spades.

The residents of Phuket have the right to enjoy the same public transport facilities that are available in the rest of Thailand and throughout the world. It is asking too much now to expect the public to continue tolerating the threats and violence that are destroying the reputation of Phuket as a credible place for a holiday.

.

The decision to have reliable and reasonably priced public transport is ours. It does not belong in the hands of “dark influences” or others who would rob us wholesale for their personal financial benefit.

Source: http://www.phuketgazette.net/archives/articles/2011/article11427.html

-- Phuket Gazette 2011-11-13

[LivinginKata]

I must be living in some sort of twilight world. What has that report got to do with any sort of reality here in Phuket ...

[tombkk]

I must be living in some sort of twilight world. What has that report got to do with any sort of reality here in Phuket ...

Isn't the article about changing the reality?

Or are you saying that in reality, there is no tuk-tuk mafia in Phuket?

[LivinginKata]

I must be living in some sort of twilight world. What has that report got to do with any sort of reality here in Phuket ...

Isn't the article about changing the reality?

Or are you saying that in reality, there is no tuk-tuk mafia in Phuket?

I'm saying that 'in reality' nothing much is going to change. Yes there is a Tuk Tuk mafia, but if anyone thinks that the police force is going to protect any public bus service that cuts into 'the establishment' profit then they must be in that twilight world.

"He could assign police officers to ride the buses, but that might be a tad too 'Africa' for Thailand’s liking." ... Come on, that's just a joke. In my opinion it would need the army to ride the buses, but that is never never going to happen.

[KarenBravo]

Ever since this subject about tuk-tuks and public buses has been discussed on this forum, those that have always taken the position that "nothing will ever change" have been accused of cynicism, or negative thinking; yet, they have always been right.

This is what I think will happen. The bus services from the airport to the three beach destinations will go ahead. The caveat being that they will be a point-to-point bus service. No stops to get on, or off between the airport and the beach.

This way the service will not be a threat to the entrenched tuk-tuk cartel and black taxis. Face will have been saved with the authorities claiming that they have instigated a public transport system.

The only people that will be hurt are the airport limousine service which have no power anyway and are under AOT's thumb.

[tombkk]

I must be living in some sort of twilight world. What has that report got to do with any sort of reality here in Phuket ...

Isn't the article about changing the reality?

Or are you saying that in reality, there is no tuk-tuk mafia in Phuket?

I'm saying that 'in reality' nothing much is going to change. Yes there is a Tuk Tuk mafia, but if anyone thinks that the police force is going to protect any public bus service that cuts into 'the establishment' profit then they must be in that twilight world.

"He could assign police officers to ride the buses, but that might be a tad too 'Africa' for Thailand’s liking." ... Come on, that's just a joke. In my opinion it would need the army to ride the buses, but that is never never going to happen.

So you have resigned to the status quo?

I believe that every attempt to improve must be encouraged and supported. If you are pessimistic about development, nothing will ever change and you effectively support the status quo.

Some enthusiasm and support for the idea would help, if you want change for the better.

[KarenBravo]

So you have resigned to the status quo?

I believe that every attempt to improve must be encouraged and supported. If you are pessimistic about development, nothing will ever change and you effectively support the status quo.

Some enthusiasm and support for the idea would help, if you want change for the better.

Totally incorrect. What we as foreigners think has absolutely no impact.

This is a problem caused by Thais and can only be rectified by Thais.

As my post above mentions, this has been going on for years and whether you support whatever initiatives have been put forward, or not. nothing has ever changed.

[alstaxi]

So you have resigned to the status quo?

I believe that every attempt to improve must be encouraged and supported. If you are pessimistic about development, nothing will ever change and you effectively support the status quo.

Some enthusiasm and support for the idea would help, if you want change for the better.

Totally incorrect. What we as foreigners think has absolutely no impact.

This is a problem caused by Thais and can only be rectified by Thais.

As my post above mentions, this has been going on for years and whether you support whatever initiatives have been put forward, or not. nothing has ever changed.

Nor will it ever change as long as the people that can change things continue to make money by not changing things.

[thaiIand]

all we can do is laugh our ass out at the thais wasting $ on motorbike gas that they cant afford because of their greediness and unwillingness to complain strongly against stuff that displeases them.

This is just like taking away a trustfund from a bad behaving spoonfed rich child. Best way to teach them a very good lesson. Make them suffer untill they wake up.

[tombkk]

So you have resigned to the status quo?

I believe that every attempt to improve must be encouraged and supported. If you are pessimistic about development, nothing will ever change and you effectively support the status quo.

Some enthusiasm and support for the idea would help, if you want change for the better.

Totally incorrect. What we as foreigners think has absolutely no impact.

This is a problem caused by Thais and can only be rectified by Thais.

As my post above mentions, this has been going on for years and whether you support whatever initiatives have been put forward, or not. nothing has ever changed.

KB, I didn't mean you, I meant Kata. I don't disagree with being realistic, and you pointed out that the best-case realistic scenario is that point-to-point buses will be put in place. That would be a good first step.

Giving up hope is a way to support the status quo, though. And that is what Kata's message sounded like.

I agree that our opinion has no impact, but we do have an opinion. Otherwise this forum wouldn't exist, as nobody would be posting, I guess.

[KarenBravo]

KB, I didn't mean you, I meant Kata. I don't disagree with being realistic, and you pointed out that the best-case realistic scenario is that point-to-point buses will be put in place. That would be a good first step.

I don't agree that it would be a good idea.

What kind of message does that give the tuk-tuks and entrenched interests?

That they are invulnerable and untouchable, of course.......

[melvinmelvin]

I thought there were some public buses in Phuket.

I seem to remember seeing buses Airport <--> Phuket Town and buses Patong <--> Phuket Town.

[LivinginKata]

I thought there were some public buses in Phuket.

I seem to remember seeing buses Airport <--> Phuket Town and buses Patong <--> Phuket Town.

Yes there is a public bus from airport to Phuket Town, and also a public bus from Patong to Phuket Town but that does not run after 18.00. There are also public bus routes about Phuket Town. No public buses run between the popular beaches.

[gamini]

The taxi-tuk tuk mafia is a nation wide organisation run by powerful people. They own the taxis and tuk tuks. The poor drivers have to charge exorbitant rates most of which goes to the Mafia owners. For years we have all supported a change to no avail. In Chiangmai some years back a bus service was started but all the baht buses got together and blocked the roads so the bus service was scapped

[stevenl]

I thought there were some public buses in Phuket.

I seem to remember seeing buses Airport <--> Phuket Town and buses Patong <--> Phuket Town.

Yes, there are, there are busservice from all beaches to Phuket Town.

But there are no busservices between the beaches, and exactly that would be of interest to quite a few tourists.

[ScubaBuddha]

I thought there were some public buses in Phuket.

I seem to remember seeing buses Airport <--> Phuket Town and buses Patong <--> Phuket Town.

Yes there is a public bus from airport to Phuket Town, and also a public bus from Patong to Phuket Town but that does not run after 18.00. There are also public bus routes about Phuket Town. No public buses run between the popular beaches.

BUT how to you get from the inter-provincial bus station, (which is where the airport bus goes) to the baht bus station across town? I tried it a few months ago an all the tuk tuk drivers and even motosai drivers flat refused to take gf and I to the baht bus stop. The tuk tuk drivers would only take us all the way to Kata for 500B.

This is all by design. The tuk tuk mafia know where their bread and butter routes are and do everything they can to make it very difficult to move around Phuket affordably.

[LivinginKata]

BUT how to you get from the inter-provincial bus station, (which is where the airport bus goes) to the baht bus station across town? I tried it a few months ago an all the tuk tuk drivers and even motosai drivers flat refused to take gf and I to the baht bus stop. The tuk tuk drivers would only take us all the way to Kata for 500B.

This is all by design. The tuk tuk mafia know where their bread and butter routes are and do everything they can to make it very difficult to move around Phuket affordably.

The trick is get off the airport bus at Central, cross over to the other side of the traffic lights and wait for the Patong bus or the Kata/Karon bus.

[sanuk21]

BUT how to you get from the inter-provincial bus station, (which is where the airport bus goes) to the baht bus station across town? I tried it a few months ago an all the tuk tuk drivers and even motosai drivers flat refused to take gf and I to the baht bus stop. The tuk tuk drivers would only take us all the way to Kata for 500B.

The 10 baht pink bus connects between Bor Kor Sor ( inter-provincial bus station) and DownTown (beach songtaew bus station) !

sanuk