The unbearable burden of Bangkok bus fare collectors
By English News



BANGKOK: -- During rush hours, and not only rush hours, there are many times that bus fare collectors can be seen frustrated, brooding or bad-tempered to passengers who wonder what causes them to have such facial expressions and unhappy behaviours.

In the capital of the Land of Smiles, most bus fare collectors are women, and while they sometimes offer passengers a smile, frazzled ticket collectors are not ‘fair maidens’, but ‘fare maids’. Damsels in distress, they work long hours and must bear with unpredictable passengers, hot weather, and heated tempers fired up by notorious traffic snarls.

Pornthip Ubonsaeng is one of such collectors who must work 8-12 hours/day. Not only must she bear with the weather and packed passengers, but she must also endure the stress, even torture, of holding her urine.

There are no statistics available, but poorly paid female ticket collectors must invest in even more clumsy adult nappies at all times while working on board.

"It's difficult when I can't hold my urine,” says Pornthip.”Sometimes, my legs ache all over. It's many things, the discomfort. Sometimes, I go to the hong nam (Thai for water closet, loo, or toilet) but as I'm slow, I don't want to keep the bus driver or passengers waiting, so I wear nappies,” she said.

Another hardy bus ticket collector shared her experiences. Patcharin Sengsuebpon said she must work at least 13 hours continuously every day. She said she was so stressed from work and ill with cystitis and that she thought she wanted to commit suicide.

"When that happens, it's torturing, so torturing, that I no longer want to live. I think I'd better kill myself. Better to commit suicide. I weep. It hurts. Why do I have to suffer so much? I thought a lot. It's very painful. A close friend of mine even took me to a psychiatrist. Those who never have cystitis will never know it's very painful," she confided.

A human resources related agency conducted a survey of 761 female bus fare collectors in December and January concerning their quality of life.

Almost half of the respondents said they worked an extra two hours for overtime, but about 94 per cent admitted that they were stressed from traffic problems.

Most of them said they had illnesses as a result of their duty on the buses. Ninety per cent said they faced muscle pain or muscle weakness. Eighty per cent said they suffered stomach trouble, or peptic ulcers, while 79 per cent said they had urinary tract concerns. One in four of those surveyed said they had to wear adult nappies, while on duty.

The health problems of those in this career has been brought to the attention of concerned organisations and agencies several times for resolution but the problems have not been resolved.

The labour union of the Bangkok Mass Transit Authority (BMTA) has asked the BMTA to provide better welfare for the better health of its employees, particularly lavatories, suitable working schedules and a larger workforce to meet more passengers' demand. (MCOT online news)


-- TNA 2014-03-05

All the bus terminals I know have staff toilets, and they can easily reduce the crowding by putting on more buses. The thing that really needs done is replace the management

I must say I thought that the headline meant that the conductresses are the burden, not that they carry burdensome duties.

i've travelled the buses here for over 10 years, cant say i've ever experienced the conductors as 'frustrated, brooding or bad-tempered...' actually i find them remarkably pleasant given the job they do.

More human rights issues, forget about whistle blowing!

Yes they are really unbearable.

Just see their circumstances.

All day: hot and dirty air, dirty and 100 yrs old buses, crazy driver who thinks he is F1 pilot, crowd, extreme bluster, and high risk for trauma.

If some-one has feeling to smile with these, that is pretty sure an idiot.

Dear MCOT: They're called bus conductors, actually, or "clippies" in British slang.

I feel really sorry for them, I know how painful it is... as I used to take bus a lot when I was a teen in BKK going to college.

Most people dont really care at all and just sit and wait for the "maid" to come collect money.

The fare collectors are treated like shit most of the time.

All this could be solved if there was more higher quality buses and less cars, but This goverment is so damn corrupt and people are just so dam_n stupid to just keep buying cars...

Most Thais cannot take bus because it looks bad and it's for the poor without car.

Some people I know rather spend 200B per day to drive and park (2 hours) than spend 40B to take the aircon bus and an extra 30 minutes on the road.

It's in the mentality of the population, and will never change....

i've travelled the buses here for over 10 years, cant say i've ever experienced the conductors as 'frustrated, brooding or bad-tempered...' actually i find them remarkably pleasant given the job they do.

you have been taking the aircon buses then. try those red buses or the small green buses... it's a hell. they are like 50 years old blowing smoke like a coal factory.

Well, then, that's one of the most F'd up things I've read all day.

That intelligent adult humans cannot get together and work out a system where workers can get a bathroom break says a lot about the labour culture here.

BTW, what of the bus drivers?
Do they not need to take a leak on their shifts?

Feel sorry for them and for the collectors on the river taxis who must find the 20-30 new passengers among the 60-100 or more already onboard in sardine can conditions.

I can appreciate the problems fare maids have with passengers and other obstacles doing their job. But why are there fare maids at all? Can't fare boxes be installed by the driver with no entry through side doors to eliminate the fare maid position? It strikes me that the fare maid is a "featherbedding" position to help with general employment of Thais than it is as a necessity of public tansportation service.

I've caught a few of those non airconditioned busses. They are terribly hot. The bus conductor on 2 separate occasions was very helpful in giving me directions, and letting me know when I had to disembark. Treat people well and usually they will respond likewise, albeit they may be working under dreadful conditions.

Dear MCOT: They're called bus conductors, actually, or "clippies" in British slang.

Dear sprq - you are not in england anymore, get used to it.

On of the basic problems is that bus drivers are paid by the number of runs they make every day instead of a flat rate. This also leads to problems with erratic driving and passing bus stops to pick-up passengers. I agree that these conditions could be cured by implementing common sense procedures on bathroom and rest breaks.

I can appreciate the problems fare maids have with passengers and other obstacles doing their job. But why are there fare maids at all? Can't fare boxes be installed by the driver with no entry through side doors to eliminate the fare maid position? It strikes me that the fare maid is a "featherbedding" position to help with general employment of Thais than it is as a necessity of public tansportation service.

Yes, employment. The same reason that my school hires half a dozen older women to sit on the lawn for five days straight and snip the grass by hand with shears, when they could just buy a lawn mower for 5000 baht and have the job done in 30 minutes.

Well, then, that's one of the most F'd up things I've read all day.

That intelligent adult humans cannot get together and work out a system where workers can get a bathroom break says a lot about the labour culture here.

BTW, what of the bus drivers?

Do they not need to take a leak on their shifts?

Some of them have a Po beside their seat, and can pee without anyone seeing them.

And I thought the waft of sewerage was just coming in off the streets.

On of the basic problems is that bus drivers are paid by the number of runs they make every day instead of a flat rate. This also leads to problems with erratic driving and passing bus stops to pick-up passengers. I agree that these conditions could be cured by implementing common sense procedures on bathroom and rest breaks.

That explains something. I've seen buses with loads of room blowing by the stop as potential passengers look on with quizzically. Getting paid by the number of runs is nuts. That is until you consider that the bosses want to discourage goofing off. Same thing applies to immigration officers. I understand they get paid a bit for each person they process. Encourages them to stay at their desks. I won't wonder why that is. LOL

Blue bus private own need to race to ticket sales due have small commission in it F1 driver but you took red and air-cord buses very good services as government own buses some fare collectors greeting passanger too , I don't have much problems with red buses as if free buses thier commission are fixed by government already not hurry a very good attitute on passanger.