Phuket Airport Express bus ready to roll on July 19

[webfact]

Phuket Airport Express bus ready to roll on July 19
Phuket Gazette

Staff at the Phuket Land Transport Ofifce make sure Phuket's new Airport Express busses are safe to hit the road. Photo: Chutharat Plerin

PHUKET: -- In what seems to be the last shuffle of dates for the launch of the long-awaited Phuket Airport Express bus service, wheels are now to be rolling by July 19, operator Prakob Panyawai confirmed to the Phuket Gazette.

“The airport buses will be ready to run on July 19. We thought we could start on July 15, but we had to delay it for a few days,” Mr Prakob, the owner of the bus operating company, said.

“We have finished the graphic art for the posters to be displayed at the bus stops and sent it to a shop for printing,” he said.

“However, the final details of the marketing campaign are still being drawn up. All this should be finished by this week,” he added.

Each bus stop sign, standing 1.2 meters tall, will display a map of the bus route, a picture of the bus, the company website address (click here) and contact phone numbers (076-328291 and 084-065 2122).

The bus stops will be at:

• Phuket Airport: under the pedestrian bridge to Terminal 2

• Muang Mai: in front of the Highway Police checkpoint

• Thalang: in front of Thalang Police Station

• Tesco Lotus Thalang: on Thepkrasattri Road

• Tah Reua: at the Heroines Monument bus stop

• Kow Kaew: in front of the Boat Lagoon

• Bypass road: to be confirmed – will be either in front of Thanachart Bank before the Samkong Intersection, or in front of Billion Plaza on Phra Phuket Kaew Road (heading to Patong)

• Kathu: before the Moom Muang Lung Restaurant

• Thung Thong: in front of the Caltex gas station

• Patong: in front of JJ Plaza directly behind Jungceylon (map here)

The buses will be at the market for only 10 minutes before departing and will not be allowed to pick up people from anywhere else in Patong.

“We will work on our marketing to let people know that we are about to launch the service,” Mr Prakob Panyawai said.

“We will start the service with six buses and just go from there,” he added.

Source: http://www.phuketgazette.net/phuket_news/2013/Phuket-Airport-Express-bus-ready-to-roll-on-July-19-21625.html


-- Phuket Gazette 2013-07-13

[andreandre]

If what you read on another site is correct, not only will this be a short term service, it may well not even start.

[Bourne1974]

Looking at their website http://phuketairportbusexpress.com/en in English doesn't help much when you click the English tab. Can anyone translate the breakdown of fares please?

[ToddWeston]

It would be nice if they showed the interior of the bus and also show pictures of the cargo hold or do passengers have space on board like many buses and trains offer. I personally dislike the cargo hold when passengers are on/off at multiple stops I'm worried someone will nick my luggage.

[bushman1666]

I wonder if it will still be running a week later? Can't see the tuk tuk mafia being too cooperative with this scheme.

[craigt3365]

I wish them the best of luck. Expensive and unreliable local transport is one reason I don't visit there any more.

If this works, maybe they can replicate it here in Pattaya!!! 55555

[slipperylobster]

How about passenger safety? Will there be "incidents" of harassment or need I not be concerned? I live in Udon, but can get a flight all the way to Phuket for a very reasonable price. The transportation issues put me off. I feel traumatized, something like being taken hostage, when I ride in taxis. Once I was mistakenly taken on a 2 hour trip to a different city outside of Bangkok, and I had my Thai wife with me. The driver apologized for making us miss an appointment, and charged us only one half fare. But the price was double than if he would have taken us to the correct place. It would be great to have a nice, aircon bus and not have to deal with a cab driver.

[slipperylobster]

The van

If this works, maybe they can replicate it here in Pattaya!!! 55555

Last year I took the Bell Bus from Svnbm to Jomtien. The cost was very cheap...I think 115 baht. Very fast and reasonable. When I tried to buy a return ticket, I booked online and paid the van driver. Wow, I got booted off of two buses and then was told to go to the main office. The office said I was wrong to reserve a seat online. I should have had the hotel do it. Next time I will just take a tuk tuk from my hotel to the Bus Departure. Oh yeah, even though it was a Bell Bus, it left from the Pattaya Bus Station....not the same as when they took me to Jomtien. I would have thought that was the place to get the return bus.

[andreandre]

It would be nice if they showed the interior of the bus and also show pictures of the cargo hold or do passengers have space on board like many buses and trains offer. I personally dislike the cargo hold when passengers are on/off at multiple stops I'm worried someone will nick my luggage.

All i see on this is...quote from a news outlet;

Although the buses were previously used at Bangkok's Sucvarnabhumi Airport and have luggage racks for large bags

[skipper]

I wish them the best of luck. Expensive and unreliable local transport is one reason I don't visit there any more.

If this works, maybe they can replicate it here in Pattaya!!! 55555price

There is a airport bus going from the corner of Tappraya Rd and Tepprasit for several years now, the price 134 bath to Swampy same same from svampy to Pattaya

[johnlandy]

If what you read on another site is correct, not only will this be a short term service, it may well not even start.

That's correct "the scum" are not gonna stand for this competition and the authorities will capitulate once again. Why? because the have no balls.

The should get real and exterminate the low lifes once and for all. There is a word for it "GUTLESS"

[up-country_sinclair]

I hope this venture is successful, but the taxi/tuktuk gang is surely plotting multiple ways for it to fail.

[craigt3365]

I wish them the best of luck. Expensive and unreliable local transport is one reason I don't visit there any more.

If this works, maybe they can replicate it here in Pattaya!!! 55555price

There is a airport bus going from the corner of Tappraya Rd and Tepprasit for several years now, the price 134 bath to Swampy same same from svampy to Pattaya

It's not bad, but would be nice to have it stop on Beach Road and a few other places. The one in Phuket seems to have a bunch of stops.

I should have been more clear. I was really referring to the baht bus mess we have here. They've actually put in bus stops with shelters and signs displaying bus route numbers on Jomtien 2nd road. Would be fantastic to be able to catch a real bus and go all the way into Pattaya.

[hawker9000]

Looking at their website http://phuketairportbusexpress.com/en in English doesn't help much when you click the English tab. Can anyone translate the breakdown of fares please?

Well, the fare charts on the website show that there are 10 stops, and the 10 stops are listed in the OP. 'Should be pretty easy to replace the thai names on the charts with the 10 stops listed in the opening post... ('Did a quick google translate, and the top chart shown on the 'Ticket' page does begin with the airport at the top - the word with the thai character at the beginning that happens to look like an 'a' is in fact "airport".)

Edited July 13, 2013 by hawker9000

[deecee10]

Hope they have installed the bullet-proof glass windows.

[madmitch]

Obviously a number of posters haven't been following this story.

Patong tuktuks are accepting this bus. Why? They do't get much airport business and they now have a lucrative new trade waiting at the bus stop and taking passengers to their final destination. Note there is only one place in Patong where passengers are allowed to get on or off the bus and the driver would be foolish to open the doors anywhere else.

Karon and Kata is a different matter and for more info look at the dedicated threads.

[Songhua]

Obviously a number of posters haven't been following this story.

Patong tuktuks are accepting this bus. Why? They do't get much airport business and they now have a lucrative new trade waiting at the bus stop and taking passengers to their final destination. Note there is only one place in Patong where passengers are allowed to get on or off the bus and the driver would be foolish to open the doors anywhere else.

Karon and Kata is a different matter and for more info look at the dedicated threads.

Precisely. The Patong stop has very diplomatically been placed behind JungCeylon and will no doubt become a new congregating point for tuktuks ferrying passengers to beachside hotels (at ฿200 a pop).

[craigt3365]

That's a big problem here in Pattaya. The baht buses congregate outside Central Festival mall, blocking traffic and causing a very long jam. All waiting for a tourist to come out and agree to an inflated fare.

If you do this in your private car to, say, pickup a passenger, the police are there waiting for a handout.

[andreandre]

Obviously a number of posters haven't been following this story.

Patong tuktuks are accepting this bus. Why? They do't get much airport business and they now have a lucrative new trade waiting at the bus stop and taking passengers to their final destination. Note there is only one place in Patong where passengers are allowed to get on or off the bus and the driver would be foolish to open the doors anywhere else.

Karon and Kata is a different matter and for more info look at the dedicated threads.

Exactly.... and here is as i posted in the other similar thread..;

You choose to take the bus from the airport which dumps you off at Ban Zaan markets [ since been changed to JJ markets ]where you will be surrounded by the tuk-tuk vultures.and face near the same scenario as arriving at the airport where the taxi vultures are waiting..

As it stands now with the bus only going to Patong, the Patong tuk-tuk mob are very happy..they have a captive customer base right there at JJ market

If you are travelling with minimal baggage, and your accomodation is nearby, you can walk..OK this can work, but in reality for what % of travellers?

If you are out of walking distance and or have a lot of/heavy baggage you are at their mercy basically and the quoted prices will reflect this..so add min 2-300 baht to your 120baht bus fare just to travelling Patong area..min 320-420+baht..

May as well take the 150baht vans from the airport direct to your hotel etc [but suffer the inevitable ''stop-offs'' on the way] but still probably quicker and easier.

If you want to travel to kata, chalong,rawai etc, you may as well bite the bullet and get ripped off by the airport taxis and get a direct ride from the airport

[Secondmouse]

Looking at their website http://phuketairportbusexpress.com/en in English doesn't help much when you click the English tab. Can anyone translate the breakdown of fares please?

This is going to be a big joke before it evens begins.....every page on the website is in Thai despite having an 'English' button on each page....when selected, nothing happens.....I would have thought this service would be appealing to Tourists, (with at least some understanding of the "English language') to get to their hotels in Patong, Karon, Kata etc, and also to allay some of the fears of the Taxi and Tuk Tuk scams that many of them would have either read, or been warned about.....

If you cannot decipher where and what time to catch or alight from the bus or the cost of the ticket at this late stage, 4 days before commencement, I don't see this service being very professional or reliable if this is the standard currently being set by the company.... .

[LivinginKata]

5 times per day - 09.00/10.30/13.00/16.30/18.30 That's not so good. Folks are not going to wait that long. This is going to be a joke, and loose money. No future. The web site still shows Kata as the final destination.

Looks like it's 120 baht to Patong and 150 baht to Karon/Kata. Not much cheaper that a mini-bus fare, and that should go to your hotel door.

[andreandre]

5 times per day - 09.00/10.30/13.00/16.30/18.30 That's not so good. Folks are not going to wait that long. This is going to be a joke, and loose money. No future. The web site still shows Kata as the final destination.

Looks like it's 120 baht to Patong and 150 baht to Karon/Kata. Not much cheaper that a mini-bus fare, and that should go to your hotel door.

Exactly right, i read tho' that there will be 9 times day but even that with only 24 pax each time its a short term dream by some " entrepreneur'' who is relying on a lot more good luck than good business planning..

If it even gets past day one, good luck to them, but i have my doubts about even that success.

If the "powers that be'' [mafia] allow this first stage to Patong to actually operate ,fine, but the next proposed stage to the south is very, very unlikely to go ahead.

[NamKangMan]

5 times per day - 09.00/10.30/13.00/16.30/18.30 That's not so good. Folks are not going to wait that long. This is going to be a joke, and loose money. No future. The web site still shows Kata as the final destination.

Looks like it's 120 baht to Patong and 150 baht to Karon/Kata. Not much cheaper that a mini-bus fare, and that should go to your hotel door.

It was set up to fail. I bet these buses have already been sold.

The influential people will make a press release to the world stating that they have trialed buses on Phuket and no one used them. Then, back to the same old BS.

Just more Thai lies and deception.

[ableguy]

I live in Hua Hin and love to travel, I ruled out Pattaya 3 years ago having visited many times before, I will never visit Phuket simply because I hate the way the Mafia work, I should add I have my own transport, I am aware they ( the tuk tuk , Taxi , Jet ski dont give a rats ass ) as they have always many new suckers lined up. What we really need is our embassies to be seriously lobbied to warn people all the time on their web sites about these ass holes, Pointless to yak yak any Thai authority as they are all on the take as it is ingraind in the society graft is ok. Love living here just pissed off that a few greedy ass holes are giving this lovely country such a bad rap, The only people can stop this is our embassies, lets face it Thailand needs us more than we need them. Just an obversation from a long time resident loves a lot of the people forgives a lot of the people and hates a few inc BIB,

[andreandre]

If the new bus operator was to be lucky enough to get a start on Friday coming , he may well have now self destructed..if those in opposition read the other news outlet.

He may have got away with a new bus service under the guise of "Phuket Airport Express bus service"..but, he has said this;

QUOTE

"Most tourists are expected to continue to take taxis and limousines on arrival on Phuket.
Many of the passengers are expected to be locals making short trips."

Locals making short trips?..Isn't that exactly what will be his demise..re local taxis, tuk tuks?

Edited July 16, 2013 by andreandre

[jocko]

When we first read about this bus service we thought, What a good idea, A step in the right direction, A light at the end of the tunnel, It will be great for locals and tourists etc etc,

But after 5 mins thinking about it we wondered ,How are they gonna manage that.

[stevenl]

When we first read about this bus service we thought, What a good idea, A step in the right direction, A light at the end of the tunnel, It will be great for locals and tourists etc etc,

But after 5 mins thinking about it we wondered ,How are they gonna manage that.

I'm wondering the same, but still it is a step in the right direction. I'm just hoping it is not going to be one step forward two steps backwards.

[andreandre]

I live in Hua Hin and love to travel, I ruled out Pattaya 3 years ago having visited many times before, I will never visit Phuket simply because I hate the way the Mafia work, I should add I have my own transport, I am aware they ( the tuk tuk , Taxi , Jet ski dont give a rats ass ) as they have always many new suckers lined up. What we really need is our embassies to be seriously lobbied to warn people all the time on their web sites about these ass holes, Pointless to yak yak any Thai authority as they are all on the take as it is ingraind in the society graft is ok. Love living here just pissed off that a few greedy ass holes are giving this lovely country such a bad rap, The only people can stop this is our embassies, lets face it Thailand needs us more than we need them. Just an obversation from a long time resident loves a lot of the people forgives a lot of the people and hates a few inc BIB,

Thailand needs us more than we need them.

For sure, you know that and i do,but you would never get them to admit that...

[jocko]

I live in Hua Hin and love to travel, I ruled out Pattaya 3 years ago having visited many times before, I will never visit Phuket simply because I hate the way the Mafia work, I should add I have my own transport, I am aware they ( the tuk tuk , Taxi , Jet ski dont give a rats ass ) as they have always many new suckers lined up. What we really need is our embassies to be seriously lobbied to warn people all the time on their web sites about these ass holes, Pointless to yak yak any Thai authority as they are all on the take as it is ingraind in the society graft is ok. Love living here just pissed off that a few greedy ass holes are giving this lovely country such a bad rap, The only people can stop this is our embassies, lets face it Thailand needs us more than we need them. Just an obversation from a long time resident loves a lot of the people forgives a lot of the people and hates a few inc BIB,

Thailand needs us more than we need them.

For sure, you know that and i do,but you would never get them to admit that...

I think the Embassies know well enough the problems here but because of the saving face rule they have to watch there Ps&Qs and keep smiling some people in the Thai government dont seem to be to concerned about tourism in the scheme of things.

[iSabai]

Thailand needs us more than we need them.

For sure, you know that and i do,but you would never get them to admit that...

I think the Embassies know well enough the problems here but because of the saving face rule they have to watch there Ps&Qs and keep smiling some people in the Thai government dont seem to be to concerned about tourism in the scheme of things.

I don't buy into this "face" excuse for everything. Seems it's mostly farangs using it as an excuse about 'things Thai' more than anything else. There's a certain pride and ego (which is what "face" is after all) in everyone, everywhere, that affects their thoughts and actions. It's not a strictly Thai concept by any means, no matter what you might choose to call it.

If some farang gets into a fight at some bar because he felt somehow insulted or disrespected, or argues with the lady at the 7-Eleven over a price or his received change, do we describe it as his effort to save face? Or is that term restricted solely to Thais to describe when they feel insulted or disrespected and attempt to save face?

No doubt different cultures react to things and act things out differently, but it's still basically a pride and ego thing, which exists in everyone everywhere.

Edited July 16, 2013 by iSabai