Phuket Opinion: Speak Up For Public Transport

[Lite Beer]

Phuket Opinion: Speak up for public transport
Phuket Gazette -

The Chief Transport Technician of the Phuket Land Transport Office, Jaturong Kaewkasi, encourages Phuket residents to work together with the transport office in order to reduce traffic jams. Photo: Saran Mitrarat

Jaturong Kaewkasi, a 41-year-old native of Pattani, has been the Chief Transport Technician of the Phuket Land Transport Office for one year. He has a master’s degree in Social Development from Yala Rajabhat University and before coming to Phuket worked as a transport technician in Bangkok. Here, he talks about how to convince people to use buses in order to reduce traffic problems in Phuket.

PHUKET: Traffic jams are a problem for everyone in Phuket nowadays. One of the causes is the First Car project and companies offering very low down payments – 900 baht – for motorbikes. More people can afford to have a vehicle now, so there are more private vehicles on the road, and more traffic jams.

If 30 per cent of vehicle owners used public transportation instead, we wouldn’t have a problem with traffic jams.

I realize that it’s our job to make public transportation attractive so people will use it.

Right now, I think we do a good job in terms of seats, safety and information.

We provide enough public transport for everyone who wants to use it. In high season and holiday times we boost the number of buses, so people can be confident we will get them to their destinations on time.

During the Songkran period, we test every driver at the Phuket Bus Terminal for drugs and alcohol before every trip, but even in non-holiday periods we conduct random tests on our drivers.

And we do our best to make information easily accessible for travelers.

We don’t have information online, but travellers can call us to check bus schedules (076-373193) and check seat availability (076-211480, 076-373259).

What we need to improve in order to get more people to use buses in Phuket is coverage. Right now we don’t have enough routes.

We want to make a more complete network of routes, and we want to use the Downtown Market [map here] as a hub, because people are already used to taking buses from the market.

If the old airport bus dropped people at the Downtown Market, they could easily connect to the pink buses or beach buses. To make this convenient, we would create a schedule so people can plan their journey and not waste time. I would like to see this set up within the year.

We hope within five years to improve mass transportation to cover all of Phuket. If we can get support from private investors, the project can go even faster, but I’m not optimistic about this. The pink bus, for example, is not making money.

The public can also do their part to help us improve transportation.

Consider the project to start the new airport bus service. We have faced protests from a group of people who think they will lose benefits.

If people really want to improve the system of transportation, when we have a public hearing they should share their ideas or vote to support us.

I think most people want to improve the transport system, but they are too lazy to come and express their opinions. If they do nothing, they will get nothing.

We at the Public Land Transport Office will do our best to make public transportation comfortable, economical and punctual, with routes covering the whole island.

After that it will be up to the people of Phuket to change their own behavior, leave their private vehicles at home and take public transport.

Source: http://www.phuketgazette.net/phuket_news/2013/Phuket-Opinion-Speak-up-for-public-transport-20894.html

-- Phuket Gazette 2013-04-28

[hansgruber]

What public transport??

[tingtongfarang]

Seems to me the local government are testing the water as to whether the tuk tuk mafia will allow them to have a bus.

[bubblegum]

Huh ?

[JetsetBkk]

And we do our best to make information easily accessible for travelers.

We dont have information online, but travellers can call us to check bus schedules (076-373193) and check seat availability (076-211480, 076-373259).

We need clearly marked buses and clearly marked bus stops. Something like this?:

Also, schedules in the most common tourist languages, maps of where the bus stops are and where the routes go.

.

[britpop]

I'm not going to hold my breath, if the infrastructure for buses is like the roads, drains, water supply, electric, so on and so on, then it's typical Thai propaganda, smoke and mirrors, it's a excuse so in the future they can say "oh in may 2013 we looked into that" the place is literally falling to bits, great!!!, have more buses but in the next few years the roads will be so bad, the old chicken and egg dilemma, get the roads sorted first, of coarse that will reduce traffic jams, buses would be great, but i simply can't see it happening

[lovetotravel]

Hard to have the public speak up for this when the thugs threaten violence against them. If the thugs do this, they should be arrested. Only then will the public be able to speak up.

[madmitch]

This guy is living in Cloud-Cuckoo-Land.

I could comment on just about every sentence, starting with:

"Right now, I think we do a good job in terms of seats, safety and information."

It could take half a page to comment on that sentence alone so I don't think I'll go any further.

[winstonc]

hes right about thais being lazy tho,,as for the traffic,,easy just stop em parking where they want,and blocking lanes ,,,its that rocket science thing again,,,,

[wiyada]

Why buy a car or motorbike and then take public transport... I think this guy is on a loser right from the start. Then he goes on about bus safety...oh dear

I'm sure lots of people would use the airport bus except of course the councils seems reluctant to use them, bet that route has an excellent safety record

[eezergood]

Speak up - havent people been doing just that for bloody years?

[Felt 35]

What about discourage people from buying and driving personal vehicles and educate the the general public about actual cost to have and drive a car vs using public transportation.

[hansgruber]

What about discourage people from buying and driving personal vehicles and educate the the general public about actual cost to have and drive a car vs using public transportation.

Then we come full circle back to the non existence of the public transport.

Can't educate people on something that isn't even there.

[NamKangMan]

What about discourage people from buying and driving personal vehicles and educate the the general public about actual cost to have and drive a car vs using public transportation.

"What about discourage people from buying and driving personal vehicles" - do that, and watch the price of tuk-tuks and taxis go through the roof, as you definately have NO other option but to pay them.

[Felt 35]

Oh yes sorry, I was on another planet

for a minute. On that planet the Governments actually want the society to be
functionally for the general people and have regulated public transport and not
need to ask either the taxi drivers or vehicles manufacturers if it’s okay to
open a new bus route. Then they also can educate people about the actual cost
of owning a vehicle and by that people slowly start to understand the benefits
of a stable public transport system.