Tour Buses are making Pattaya almost undriveable

[NoshowJones]

I saw one of those big tour buses turning and driving right up Sukhumvit soi 7 in Bangkok. Goodness knows how it got back out.

[oneday]

And they travel in trains. This isn't quite Pattaya, but I was driving on highway 36 yesterday from Pattaya to Rayong and during that trip there must have been 3 separate bus trains come barreling along on their speedy way in the fast lane. One train even had its own escort cars with flashing red lights; one at the head, one in the middle and of course one at the end. The end escort car was driving very dangerously, but that's par for the course.

It's only going to get worse. Pattaya city officials could care less because these buses (tourists) are a huge part of the city's (politicians) cash intake. They could care less about the people who actually have to live here.

[NoshowJones]

Tour Buses are making Pattaya almost undriveable

Not to mention they're destroying all the roads because of the excessive weight. Just look at the condition of all the roads they frequently travel.

As one poster has rightly said "the biggest problem on earth is human", it is humans who make the sub standard material used for the roads in Thailand.

These buses travel on roads in other countries without leaving the roads in the condition they are in here in Thailand.

[NoshowJones]

Most of these buses are filled with Chinese tourists and they seem to follow a daily route up to Pattaya Floating Market, elephant village Na Jomtien, then turn around back to Jomtien and Pattaya. I call it a Chinese invasion , business must be good for the buses and tour guides.

I can't imagine them getting paid well with that type of tourists.

Wait a minute! I haven't seen anyone in Scottish skirts in Pattaya.

[novo58]

Last time I was in Pattaya I stayed at Golden Seas hotel which is located just off the south Pattaya rd end of Soi Bukahao( not sure on that spelling). It has 3 separate 7 storey buildings that make up the hotel . Just next to this is a vacant block that was being used for overnight parking of tourist buses. Perhaps these were just buses for groups staying at this hotel ....I dont know.

If organised properly I reckon you could easily fit about 20 tourist coaches in this area. It is close to most " attractions" in central pattaya.

Problem is the access for this area is off Soi Bukahao and/or 3rd road which ( to my mind) isnt very driver friendly.

But I agree ......they need to do something about the on street parking and off loading of passengers particularly on beach road.

[newnative]

It would be nice if ThaiVisa would forward these questions regarding Pattaya problems to the Pattaya City Hall for a response. The buses are a huge problem. As many have noted, a lot of the time they are driving around with just a few passengers. Have them park out of the city and use minivans around town.

[shaurene]

Sitting in the bar Katesaree in Soi Bakau these big busses just go alson this very narrow road, they are the bosses and everything else has to move. No contrôle, likely we need few padestrians deaths for the authority's to do something. But hope that will not be the cause for them to do something.

[twozeds]

Maybe they will get to grips with traffic management in another 50 yrs or so…when someone explains to them about putting weight and width restrictions on certain roads to help with congestion…but i suppose it will come when they get the hang of what and how a roundabout should be used to ease congestion instead of stop start, stop start, red green at every junction…but i suppose even if there were restrictions would any of them comply while the police turn a blind eye to them too busy stopping farrang for a quick buck…i think i will be long under the sod when that day comes lol….. being civilised means more than having wealth and all the latest gizmos and toys…. Greed is one of the biggest stumbling blocks here as we know, thinking about profit and revenue all the time from the tours…..instead of standing back and looking at the big picture of how these buses impact traffic flow in the city.

[cnx355]

There are many hotels located outside Pattaya city center so the Chinese and other "group tourists" uses big buses to get down to the speed boats and other places.

Not much to be done about it but it would be nice if they could start using some buses that don't pollute so much.

What you mean nothing can be done about?

25 years ago in the big tourist cities in Spain a tour bus would not be allowed in the city. They all needed to park outside the ring road and transport from there with local transport.

Why wouldn't the same be possible in Pattaya, where they could say that buses need to stay East of the railway road.

By the way the biggest problem is at night, when there are no jetski's, but a group of 10 Chinese get transported to Alcazar with a 50 seater bus, while 12 Chinese from another group get there with another similar 50 seater.

You are right ! It can be done if the Mayor pass a bylaw and police( or municipal agents ) enforce it.

In Quebec City-Canada ,a tourist town, the big intercity or charter buses are not allowed except in a few designated point to drop or pick-up passengers.

Then they must go on a special parking lot outside the Old City. Agents man those area with portable radio and when a group is ready to board they call the bus from the parking. Running the diesel engine on the parking area is also prohibited.

For visiting( sightseeing) the city they must use smaller tour bus with local drivers.

Note: it was the situation in 2007. It may have changed over the years.

[mic59]

Often when someone books a bus to Trat, Koh Chang etc. the driver will arrange to collect them from their accommodation which is usually a guesthouse in a soi. It would be much better if they could collect them from an agreed place on one of the main roads depending on where they were staying.

[Sealbash]

Tour Buses are making Pattaya almost undriveable

Not to mention they're destroying all the roads because of the excessive weight. Just look at the condition of all the roads they frequently travel.

Is there any possibility the road condition is caused by poor construction practices, not overloaded vehicles?

[TomYumpoochai]

Disagree strongly with your second paragraph. Pattaya is NOT a "tourist town". It's a sex addict town that inexplicably has some clueless Chinese and Russian tourists wandering around it pushing baby strollers or following a person holding a flag, all wondering how on earth they ended up there, and finally realizing they were scammed by unscrupulous tour operators.

Best laugh of the day! You havnt been there for some time, have you? Its game over for good trouser action for around 4 years now...probably like you which is why you feel the need to get twisted over people enjoying their lives.

[mogandave]

I'm not clear why 80 people in 10 pickups makes for less traffic than one bus.

Driving, parking & and stopping needs to be better regulated.

You are assuming that all tour buses are at full capacity, which most are not. So if you had a 40 people it would be half the pickups.

The main difference is that Baht bus are normal width normal length vehicles. They can easily navigate the larger and smaller roads. They are much easier to merge into a gap in traffic. The drivers do not pull out and block the roadway to cause complete gridlock. Drive from dolphin circle towards naklua about 200-300m in between 6-9 pm tonight and you will see why tour buses do not work on that stretch of road. Last night there were buses from both directions attempting to pull off on to a side soi. The side soi was already full of buses that could not pass each other. So everyone sat there for 5 minutes until they finally figured out how to pass each other.

If those were baht buses they could easily navigate down that soi. Also cars and motorbikes can see around and pass a baht bus that is stopped and is slightly over to the left (like they almost always do when stopping). The tour buses have to swing wide on the turns so you can not pass them on the right because there is no room. Is that sufficient explanation about traffic management?

Yet we assume all the pickups are full, yes?

One would assume you have to have enough pickups to handle the buses at capacity, so when the buses are light, the pickups will be light as well.

Then add in all the transfer time and don't forget, you still have to find all the busses some place to park.

Every bus needs 8 pickups to support it, so now you have 9 guys doing man's job.

Don't forget, all the pickups need to stay together to make sure the group does not get broken up, so better add a few more tour guides while we're at it.

What about people that pay extra for air-conditioning?

Were traffic laws enforced, I think it would be much less of an issue, you disagree, whatever.

[MiKT]

Disagree strongly with your second paragraph. Pattaya is NOT a "tourist town". It's a sex addict town that inexplicably has some clueless Chinese and Russian tourists wandering around it pushing baby strollers or following a person holding a flag, all wondering how on earth they ended up there, and finally realizing they were scammed by unscrupulous tour operators.

You are absolutely right about Pattaya being nothing more than a sex addict town. My wife forced me into buying our Condo in Pattaya, and she wont leave me alone. Every morning, every night, in the shower, up on the tower, after a feed, after a swim, harassing me, so much so it's ungodly.... When does a man get a chance to sleep.....Not often in my house unfortunately...Those damned sex addicts.....

Must be your turn!

Sorry, sorry, very, very sorry, could not resist the old Thai joke; no insult to your good lady intended. Lucky You, but "don't drive and f..."!........at least not going to Pattaya there's to much traffic nowadays........."back in the day"!

The problem is the problem is not just inside Pattaya, it is also that the overloaded tour busses have become much more dangerous and aggressive on the motorway, driving in packs and hugging the outside lane at 80/90kph going up the small hills and then speeding up to more than 130/40 kph on the downside.

They have always done this, but so many more busses this year and so many more bad drivers (in theory one would not have thought that was possible in Thailand, but it is a fact). The Thai traffic police who are busy jumping about trying to radar speeders on the stretch of motorway before the airport (heading towards Pattaya)are never are out trying to regulate the busses driving between the airport and Pattaya (and back).

"Somebody needs to be summons".

[Rimmer]

Troll post removed.

[NickJ]

You can always move, rather than keep telling yourself I live here because of the culture....Pattaya the City of Sin.....Where more and more people try and tell themselves, Im not here for the cheap and easy sex........ha.....admit it. Thats why I go there; and some of the food.....

[jaywalker]

Well I agree with you, they should have a huge holding area for all buses just outside town and then transport the tourists down town in baht buses/trucks.

I wonder what city hall will think about that? Getting all big buses out of Pattaya would help a lot regarding traffic pile up.

Good idea. It would also employ the 3,999,997 perpetually empty baht buses that also clog traffic. They're already there. Might as well give them something to do.

[ToddinChonburi]

You miss the Russians yet ?

[asdecas]

I have a solution: turn Pattaya into a miniature Singapore. A few months later, poll the remaining ThaiVisa Pattaya resident farangs about how much they like the changes. Not much, I'll bet.

No Thais give a toss about foreigners' opinions on 'what should be done' in their country. They never have and they never will.

[loppylugs1]

I have a solution: turn Pattaya into a miniature Singapore. A few months later, poll the remaining ThaiVisa Pattaya resident farangs about how much they like the changes. Not much, I'll bet.

No Thais give a toss about foreigners' opinions on 'what should be done' in their country. They never have and they never will.

Could put that the other way round too No foreigner living here could give a toss about Thailand either

[crickets]

Will the buses fit in the new klang tunnel? Hope so or everyday a bus will get stuck even if there are a hundred warning signs before it.

[jacko45k]

There are many hotels located outside Pattaya city center so the Chinese and other "group tourists" uses big buses to get down to the speed boats and other places.

Not much to be done about it but it would be nice if they could start using some buses that don't pollute so much.

What you mean nothing can be done about?

25 years ago in the big tourist cities in Spain a tour bus would not be allowed in the city. They all needed to park outside the ring road and transport from there with local transport.

Why wouldn't the same be possible in Pattaya, where they could say that buses need to stay East of the railway road.

By the way the biggest problem is at night, when there are no jetski's, but a group of 10 Chinese get transported to Alcazar with a 50 seater bus, while 12 Chinese from another group get there with another similar 50 seater.

Well I agree with you, they should have a huge holding area for all buses just outside town and then transport the tourists down town in baht buses/trucks.

I wonder what city hall will think about that? Getting all big buses out of Pattaya would help a lot regarding traffic pile up.

Well I am not sure if 10 smaller vehicles are going to alleviate traffic problems by much.

The issue is the way these battle-ship size coaches drive, they often just pull out before me particularly when I am on the bike.

And yesterday I rode Beach Rd and wherever I hit a delay large coaches accessing various places and double parking were the reason for it.

There has actually been a large coach park built on the railway line bypass road... but that was for the Russian Pegus company, not very busy these days.

Pattaya is a traffic nightmare......

[jacko45k]

I have a solution: turn Pattaya into a miniature Singapore. A few months later, poll the remaining ThaiVisa Pattaya resident farangs about how much they like the changes. Not much, I'll bet.

No Thais give a toss about foreigners' opinions on 'what should be done' in their country. They never have and they never will.

Could put that the other way round too No foreigner living here could give a toss about Thailand either

Well I can't speak for all of them but enough complain here on TV to suggest that they actually do.

As I rode into town yesterday I noticed a Thai riding his M/C the wrong way coming at me on the Railway line Rd, dangerously in the right lane and he tossed his empty drink container casually into the bushes, I thought I could care less.

[morrobay]

!seems funny to me somehow,

half tv posters say country is bankrupt. tourism is down, TAT is fabricating statistics, and, ummmmmm,

more whinng about more tourist buses than ever before blocking the roads

And like tv posters have also been saying its not just the numbers.

Lines 2 & 3 above are not mutually exclusive. There is a major increase, and counting, in the big touring business. Chinese and Indians.

While a decrease in the previous traditional nationalities. .

Edited March 28, 2015 by morrobay

[neeray]

Third Road is like a train track for tour buses in the evenings, especially. Remove the tour buses and park them outside, is a great idea. This gives the hundreds of wandering song taews something to do all day.

There's long been rumours of a casino for Pattaya, should certain things happen. If this comes to pass, today's road mayhem will look like paradise when the gamblers come to town from China, Vietnam and elsewhere. For this reason and the recent road closure shambles, this Darkside kid is out of here sometime this year.

Actually, a casino might be not only a great addition to Pattaya, but also might be a necessity to continue to attract tourists and fill hotel rooms now that the influx of Russians has died down and less Chinese are coming.

They should build the casino on the darkside, maybe around the end of highway 7 or around the end of highway 36 in Banglamung.

Sorry, did i miss something. I thought the number of Chinese tourists has exploded, hence the coaches. You say their numbers have lessened? Please explain...

Agreed. All other accounts say that Chinese visits have sky rocketed.

[Maggusoil]

There are many hotels located outside Pattaya city center so the Chinese and other "group tourists" uses big buses to get down to the speed boats and other places.

Not much to be done about it but it would be nice if they could start using some buses that don't pollute so much.

What you mean nothing can be done about?

25 years ago in the big tourist cities in Spain a tour bus would not be allowed in the city. They all needed to park outside the ring road and transport from there with local transport.

Why wouldn't the same be possible in Pattaya, where they could say that buses need to stay East of the railway road.

"Not much" is the same as nothing?

It is a tourist town.

It seems so, because nothing is done about.

And you think that only in Thailand are tourist towns? Did you bother to read my post or were you just to eager to post a snide remark?

The Spanish solution is at least a good suggestion. Well worth considering.

The Europeans have been generally far wiser in their approaches to tourism. Maintaining the look and character of what you're visiting is an important part of the experience for tourists and to get a real flavour of what you're looking for. I'm no tourist, but even for a visitor or local resident, we should try to keep the conditions right, for everyone.

[loppylugs1]

Make it all one way,no right turns

Is the Chinese probably Koreans,few Indian buses,bumper to bumper down Naklua road,loads of 'em.It becomes spot the white man drinking and eating down that road loads of em gawking,camera shots galore at white man,all pouring one side of the bus to the other when white man is spotted.

Cattle trucks easily springs to mind cattle trucks,feel like giving them the finger but turning your back on them achieves .

If that lot make for a tourist town god help it

[crickets]

What would be worse for thai people, a casino or yaba? Especially in pattaya.

[balo]

I think there must be a big increase in Chinese tourists that started last year and continue this year, I live near Pattaya floating market and NaJomtien elephant village and I would say 90% of the visitors are Chinese. They come in group tours and stay at each place for about 1 to 2 hours before moving on to the next.

So despite tourism falling in Pattaya , the Chinese keep buses and tour guides busy .

[1BADDAT]

I'm not clear why 80 people in 10 pickups makes for less traffic than one bus.

Driving, parking & and stopping needs to be better regulated.

You are assuming that all tour buses are at full capacity, which most are not. So if you had a 40 people it would be half the pickups.

The main difference is that Baht bus are normal width normal length vehicles. They can easily navigate the larger and smaller roads. They are much easier to merge into a gap in traffic. The drivers do not pull out and block the roadway to cause complete gridlock. Drive from dolphin circle towards naklua about 200-300m in between 6-9 pm tonight and you will see why tour buses do not work on that stretch of road. Last night there were buses from both directions attempting to pull off on to a side soi. The side soi was already full of buses that could not pass each other. So everyone sat there for 5 minutes until they finally figured out how to pass each other.

If those were baht buses they could easily navigate down that soi. Also cars and motorbikes can see around and pass a baht bus that is stopped and is slightly over to the left (like they almost always do when stopping). The tour buses have to swing wide on the turns so you can not pass them on the right because there is no room. Is that sufficient explanation about traffic management?

Yet we assume all the pickups are full, yes?

One would assume you have to have enough pickups to handle the buses at capacity, so when the buses are light, the pickups will be light as well.

Then add in all the transfer time and don't forget, you still have to find all the busses some place to park.

Every bus needs 8 pickups to support it, so now you have 9 guys doing man's job.

Don't forget, all the pickups need to stay together to make sure the group does not get broken up, so better add a few more tour guides while we're at it.

What about people that pay extra for air-conditioning?

Were traffic laws enforced, I think it would be much less of an issue, you disagree, whatever.

Replace pick ups with vans instead if the passengers require air conditioning. Even if we assume your 8 pickups per every bus, the traffic would still flow much better than it does now. I explained why the gridlock occurs, but you just chose to ignore that.

Your other points about extra manpower would help to keep the people in taxis and baht buses busy that sit idle so much of the time. And if you need a place to park all of these vegicles there is a HUGE open lot in between beach and second road near hard rock hotel. If they wanted the lot outside the main city area, there is tons of open space along railway road.

The whole issue and the point of my thread is that there are no traffic laws in place for the buses to abide by. They are allowed to park wherever they want and go down sois which they can not fit down properly. Make them limited to major roads (at least two lanes in each direction) and this problem would be diminished greatly.