Bangkok’s notorious bus services face shake-up

[Thaivisa News]

Bangkok:- The Land Transport Department has ordered an overhaul of bus-routes in the capital.

Land Transport Director General Thirapong Rodpraserrt said as part of the overhaul, the number of bus routes will be reduced from 209 to 190.

The buses will also be rerouted to supplement the services of electric trains and subways, he added.

The new bus routes will be shorter and will link electric train systems in the capital, Thirapong said.

The bus services in the Bangkok Metropolis are notorious for their confusing and long routes. New comers have to rely on maps to navigate on the Bangkok buses.

The Land Transport chief said the new concessions of running busses on 95 routes will be given to the Bangkok Mass Transit Authority and the remaining 95 routes to private bus operators.

The ratio will be similar to the current one, Thirapong added. Currently, the BMTA runs 114 routes while private concessionaires operate 95 routes.

Thirapong said the Land Transport will have yet to carefully consider the proposal of revoking licenses of certain route operators. He said the department will have to consider whether the BMTA would have enough buses to operate on the revoked routes.

He said the BMTA would receive the first lot of 489 new NGV-fuelled air-conditioned buses in June.

Acting BMTA director Pranee Suparasorn said the BMTA will open an e-bidding on March 23 to buy the second lot of 489 NGV air-conditioned buses. The procurement contact is expected to be signed in April.

She proposed that a Cabinet resolution of 1983 should be amended so that private bus operators will receive concessions directly from the Land Transport Department. This way, the BMTA will be able to focus on its own operations, she said.

[NeverSure]

"New comers have to rely on maps to navigate on the Bangkok buses."

Newcomers need a map to navigate the Metro in Paris, too although it's more predictable because it runs on tracks, has a plan, and doesn't have traffic to deal with, LOL.

[koo wallety tourist]

The bus services in the Bangkok Metropolis are notorious for their confusing and long routes. New comers have to rely on maps to navigate on the Bangkok buses.

unfortunately we haven't all attained nirvana yet.

Edited February 28, 2015 by koo wallety tourist

[sawati]

One general planing the bus services in Bangkk...Give me a break!

[dddave]

Others will disagree but I really don't think Bangkok does all that bad with it's public bus service, considering the traffic congestion, widespread area and enormous population. It has remained affordable enough for the working population to use and I find the buses to be far more regular and plentiful than those in many major American cities.

I use the buses a lot. Excepting peak hours, I find most buses to be not that slower than taxis. The larger AC buses such as Sukhumvit's #511 have comfortable seats and careful drivers. When I have no need to hurry, I get a nice seat, put some tunes on my earphones and enjoy the ride. I have used some of the long bus routes to tour several parts of Bangkok that I would not have seen otherwise.

I hope the reorganization will include English signage on the buses...sure would make it easier for visitors to use the system. I have found most of the ticket takers to be very helpful when approached in a friendly way. Some of them along with drivers have gone out of their way to help me plan interesting return routes from the end of their route.

For anyone with a sense of adventure and a desire to see a city as it really is and meet regular people along the way, city buses are the way to go. Try it some day when you are bored and have nothing to do; just jump on an AC bus (the Yellow ones are quite cramped) and ride to the end...then ask for a different way back. I think you'll be surprised just how enjoyable it can be.

Try this one, Bus #79 starting from Petchabury Rd. by Pantip Plaza and ending at the Southern Bus Terminal via Pinklao, then return on the #507 bus which runs through Chinatown and along Rama-4 to Sukhumvit at Phra Khanong and on to Samut Phrakhan.

All in will cost about B70.

Edited February 28, 2015 by dddave

[Benmart]

One general planing the bus services in Bangkk...Give me a break!

One General. Many "soldiers". I'm sure he has plenty of staff to help.

Read and believe what one wishes. Often times, its not reality.

[khunken]

Others will disagree but I really don't think Bangkok does all that bad with it's public bus service, considering the traffic congestion, widespread area and enormous population. It has remained affordable enough for the working population to use and I find the buses to be far more regular and plentiful than those in many major American cities.

I use the buses a lot. Excepting peak hours, I find most buses to be not that slower than taxis. The larger AC buses such as Sukhumvit's #511 have comfortable seats and careful drivers. When I have no need to hurry, I get a nice seat, put some tunes on my earphones and enjoy the ride. I have used some of the long bus routes to tour several parts of Bangkok that I would not have seen otherwise.

I hope the reorganization will include English signage on the buses...sure would make it easier for visitors to use the system. I have found most of the ticket takers to be very helpful when approached in a friendly way. Some of them along with drivers have gone out of their way to help me plan interesting return routes from the end of their route.

For anyone with a sense of adventure and a desire to see a city as it really is and meet regular people along the way, city buses are the way to go. Try it some day when you are bored and have nothing to do; just jump on an AC bus (the Yellow ones are quite cramped) and ride to the end...then ask for a different way back. I think you'll be surprised just how enjoyable it can be.

Totally agree.

There's nothing notorious about Bangkok's bus services but they do have to operate in the city's notorious traffic.

It takes an ability to read Thai to be able to understand the routes without a map but there are maps available at Asia bookshops which are surprisingly accurate.

It also just requires some basic spoken Thai to ask the driver or fare collector if they are going where you want to go.

Overall it's a very cheap service even if using the air-conditioned buses.

[joboss]

Jump on an A/C bus. 20 baht busses are my favourate. Pay the fare to the end. Have an adventure. Too easy and very affordable.

[USNret]

Channeling bus routes to feed into the train in general makes sense; many cities around the world do this. It would make even more sense if they would increase train capacity at peak hours to deal with the increased demand.

On the downside, many Thai find the BTS/MRT too expensive to use on a regular basis. This could be a big hit to the pocketbook of working class Thais.

[BKKdreaming]

English signs on the buses telling where they are going would help,

Also if you take the bus from MBK area / Siam back to Sukhumvit the bus has its own lane so is quicker than taxis......

otherwise they get stuck in the same traffic as Taxis , except Taxis can take a short cut if there is one

it somehow works

[ratcatcher]

One general planing the bus services in Bangkk...Give me a break!

One General. Many "soldiers". I'm sure he has plenty of staff to help.

Read and believe what one wishes. Often times, its not reality.

I presume you guys are referring to Land Transport Director General Thirapong Rodpraserrt?

And I'm sure he has many staff members ready to try and implement this plan.

[meltingpot2015]

How do we ask to buy bus tickets on the local bangkok buses. I usually travel to the BTS station by bus and saying <name of BTS station> BTS is fine for this. However, when going anywhere else. Do we say the bus stop name?.

sometimes I have to go three stops (to the shops) from where I live, and I tried saying "three stops" in Thai, but this was no use. So I just said the BTS station (which is further) and got off at the third stop.

It'll be handy if the bus stops have signage. (even in Thai..maybe we can take a picture on the mobile and show it to the conductor...that's where I need the ticket to) and also businesses can use this bus stop name/number on their websites. e.g. Take BTS to Asoke then Bus route X and get-off stop "XX".

Edited March 1, 2015 by meltingpot2015

[Briggsy]

"Notorious" bus services.

[siam2007]

Channeling bus routes to feed into the train in general makes sense; many cities around the world do this. It would make even more sense if they would increase train capacity at peak hours to deal with the increased demand.

On the downside, many Thai find the BTS/MRT too expensive to use on a regular basis. This could be a big hit to the pocketbook of working class Thais.

Agree.

what costs 52 Baht on board of the skytrain can be had for 9 Baht on a non-AC-Bus (albeit the journey takes 7-8 times as much).

The majority of Bangkokers can simply not afford to pay the fares of the excellent Skytrain and MRT Systems.

Plus these are already running over capacity, despite the most frequent schedule technically possible (every 90 seconds or so on BTS Sukhumvit Line during rush hours).

In relation to the average income here, Bangkok's Skytrain and MRT are probably the most expensive public transport on earth (that is why it is a good idea to hold shares of the BTS Skytrain company)