Phuket Airport bus service still struggling

[webfact]

Phuket Airport bus service still struggling
Phuket Gazette


Poor marketing has been blamed for Phuket's new airport bus service losing at least 400,000 baht in its first few months. Photo: Gazette file

PHUKET: -- The airport bus service continues to operate at a loss, mainly due to management and marketing problems, its owner has told the Phuket Gazette.

The buses, which travel from Phuket International Airport to Patong, have been carrying six to eight passengers each morning and about 12 to15 in the afternoons, company owner Prakob Panyawai said.

“We have not been effective in getting customers’ attention,” he said.

“We really need a counter inside the terminal, something similar to what the taxis have. We talked to airport management twice in September about this, but they told us we have to wait for the new terminal to be completed in 2015,” he said.

Tourists looking for the bus stop outside the terminal continue to have difficulty finding it, Mr Prakob said, despite signs that were put up in August (story here).

“Construction materials are impeding the path to the bus stop and also covering the bus stop signs, and some tourists may avoid the bus stop area because the construction makes it look dangerous,” he said.

In addition, Mr Prakob alleged that airport taxi drivers have been luring customers away by telling them their service is better than the bus.

The bus company plans to increase its marketing efforts.

“We will advertise on the radio and in newspapers and also make our website more attractive,” he said.

Last month, the Gazette asked Mr Prakob why information about the bus wasn’t available in English online (story here).

He responded that in the rush to get the bus up and going, he overlooked the website and vowed to have an English-language version available this month.

The bus has lost 400,000 baht since its first run in July, Mr Prakob calculates.

If ridership doesn’t increase in the coming high season, the company will start using smaller vehicles to save money, he said.

Source: http://www.phuketgazette.net/phuket_news/2013/Phuket-Airport-bus-service-still-struggling-22440.html


-- Phuket News 2013-10-07

[LivinginKata]

I guess the taxi mafia have nothing to worry about. It's all going to plan. Bus service cannot make money and will cease to operate. What they expect starting in low season, airport folks giving false information to novice tourists, and all the touts hijacking potential bus passengers.

[KarenBravo]

AOT doesn't want the bus, either..........

[UncleJ]

If the bus had been successful we probably would be reading about the gangs that attacked the bus.

As said above, all going according to plan.

When it comes to scams, the Thais put their thinking caps on

[bangarang]

Are you sure its due to lack of marketing or mafia taking down the sign or purposely making it hard to find?

[sniffdog]

Hire a sexy girl with a low cut dress carrying a sign and the customers will come automatically.

[brianb1944]

Hire a sexy girl with a low cut dress carrying a sign and the customers will come automatically.

do that and she probably get abducted and molested for 5 hours by taxi driver happy to get suspended sentence.

[steelepulse]

What is the major hurdle here is that the service is not allowed to go anywhere after Patong, and for this service to be popular it needs to be a hop on hop off bus that extends to Kata from Patong, but we all know the taxi mafia won't let that happen without a lot of resistance.

[Carrerakiss]

Tourists follow signs WITHIN airport terminals. This bus has no such sign telling arrivals that it exists and where to go. On the other hand, there are many people and counters inside the building for taxis and once outside, well, that is an intrusive, aggressive free for all for taxis of many different colours.

I defy anybody to even be aware of the buses exist after after exiting the terminal building. And outside, so many touts in your face, you'd never see a sign even if it actually is there.

[UncleJ]

I prefer a taxi over a bus.

Why can't they provide a non scamming taxi service?

[sniffdog]

Money?

[oscarsmum]

I tell folks not to bother going to Phuket. People won't listen and they go and waste their money, have a horrible holiday and then complain. It's a dump and a tourist let-down with shoddy, cr@ppy goods, scams and overpriced taxis and transport. It has nothing going for it at all or am I missing something? I feel very sorry for the Airport bus operator. Must be so hard to get a great idea like that up and running with all the interference from taxi and tuk tuk owners and drivers. I wish I understood why Thais allow such corruption and blatant cr*pola to ruin their towns, beaches and visitors holidays. Maybe one day people will wake up and see Phuket for what it is. A blowsy old floozie!

[UncleJ]

This is Thailand. That bus operator is part of the mafia master plan.

For some reason....the bus service just isn't working out......

O well....we tried....

More subtle than blowing up the bus or gunning down the driver.

Edited October 10, 2013 by UncleJ