Slightly off topic but is...

1. The BTS getting busier all the time? It literally seems to be packed ALL the time now whether I get on at 11am on a Sunday morning, midnight on a Tuesday or 2pm on a Wednesday.

2. The aircon not working very well anymore? I swear it used to always be chilly on the BTS. Now the air con hardly seems to work and it's border line sweaty when it's busy (see point 1: always busy - maybe that's why?)

I still think the BTS is the best public transport system in the world. It's the opposite of everything you'd expect from Thailand - efficient, fast, clean, on time, never misses a trick.

I love cruising along on the BTS at night seeing the bright lights of the city.

Slightly off topic but is...

1. The BTS getting busier all the time? It literally seems to be packed ALL the time now whether I get on at 11am on a Sunday morning, midnight on a Tuesday or 2pm on a Wednesday.

2. The aircon not working very well anymore? I swear it used to always be chilly on the BTS. Now the air con hardly seems to work and it's border line sweaty when it's busy (see point 1: always busy - maybe that's why?)

I still think the BTS is the best public transport system in the world. It's the opposite of everything you'd expect from Thailand - efficient, fast, clean, on time, never misses a trick.

I love cruising along on the BTS at night seeing the bright lights of the city.

It would be surprising if it was getting less busy! Maybe the a/c level has been reduced because it's so cold in Bangkok right now!

Wow... tough crowd here. I agree with OP. I don't mind advertising but the multi-media overkill is quite annoying and obtrusive, especially if you are trying to carry on a phone conversation on the platform.

Kudos to the Thai authorities though for cracking down on the "who authorized and was paid for this" advertising mysteriously showing up on police boxes

And while we're on the subject of 'over the top' advertising... that ring of flashing and constantly changing lights around EPL football pitches that seeks to distract you from what is happening on the field... especially the adverts shamelessly promoting sports gambling. Can't wait for the "You'll never bet alone" adverts to start showing

Simple. The advertisement fees is still not enough to cover the cost of operating the entire BTS system while ensuring that it is spanking clean.

Plus, BTS is not a government thing. It's run like a private corporation. That's why. They have shareholders to answer to, dividends to pay. Bonds to redeem.

Advertising takes advantage of "evolutionary" features of the brain hard-wired for survival back on the African savanah.

"The use of young and attractive women in decorative roles in advertising is steeped in the differential mating strategies of the two sexes. An analysis of several content-analytic studies demonstrates that the more frequent use of women as young and attractive decorative models is longitudinally stable and culturally invariant further attesting to the Darwinian roots of this phenomenon."

http://www.researchgate.net/publication/229578962_Applying_evolutionary_psychology_in_understanding_the_representation_of_women_in_advertisements

Well I don't get on the thing to make conversation either, but compared to London where I am from or Chicago (where my wife is from) it's a somewhat sterile and miserable experience.

I can see that unity and friendliness is encouraged here!

Sterile and miserable? Sounds like you, OP!

I like the BTS.

Just getting it built in the congested city of Bangkok was a major accomplishment. It works. It's efficient. It's clean. It might get busy at various times, but so do the roads.

Advertising is everywhere in case you hadn't noticed. The advertising on the trains is actually well done. There is no graffiti and it helps keeps things clean looking.

There are so many things in Thailand worthy of a rant...the BTS is not one of them.

Wear sunglasses.

"It's sad because people are afraid to make eye contact these days and nobody dare speak to a stranger or start a conversation."

What what what? Just on the BTS?

In Thailand, strangers are more friendly to other strangers than most countries.

And are you blaming the advertisements for people not talking on the BTS? I think this doesn't logically follow, buddy.

As others have mentioned, The BTS and MRT here are wonderful compared to western transport.

However, i will agree with you that it should be free. I think everything should be free. I am a socialist at heart and don't believe there should be a price tag on everything on this planet.

But to answer your question: Why Isn't the Skytrain Free?

Because virtually nothing is free....OK???