Improving Cm's Public Transprt System

[WaiWai]

I was reading of some proposals for improving the public transport system in CM (at http://www.2bangkok.com/2bangkok/MassTrans...hiangMain.shtml ) . I believe such changes are necessary, for the obvious reason of making it easier for the average person to get around as well as to keep numbers of private cars in check. More taxis on the roads would help, too.

What do you think would work best here - subway, light rail, bus ... ?

And how do you like to get around CM at the moment ?

I use a combination of songthaews, tuk tuks, taxis and feet.

[Rinrada]

So whats the latest in CM with all of the new transport ideas that seem to have been on the cards for years.

On last visit (feb /mar) I commented on the fact that I never saw any of the new BIG white buses that according to rumours were introduced to transform things and revolutionise getting about the joint..

Also seem to remember that there were talks to get rid of the old World War 2 surplus red Song Tails (luv-lay bits of rusting junk in a modern city ) but there was something about a local Mafia Chav gang who were running the show rather than the legit.Government and has continued to hold up the master plan ...for it seems .....years.....

[lannarebirth]

The 24 white buses were a n ice addition, though use was slow at first. I note that the rideship has improved a great deal. I see also they've sold ad space all over the buses. Hopefully those revenues will find their way into city coffers.

I read a couple of months ago that they were going to order 150 more buses. I think that's a good idea, if at the same time they get rid of all the song taews operating in the city limits.

[SamSipEt]

If you look at a copy of the B&B City Streets map of Chiang Mai there are subway stations clearly marked all over the city and the legend states that the system is under construction

I do favour a subway system but it would never pay for itself and will never be dug

[sinkorswim]

get rid of 50% of the baht buses then have the drivers share doing split shifts. Less buses means more customers so they should be able to make a living working less hours and they can share the maintainance costs (if they ever do any)

I am always in the city stuck behind 10 empty buses. Where the hel_l are they going to.

[Rinrada]

So still a bit of a mess and nobody seems to be getting the ants out of their kecks

...report I picked up from an on line info source.... maybe recent ..cant tell...

Commercial tourism a disaster, seminar told from the National Economic and Social Development Board,..

Chiang Mai province is not ready to become a centre of the Mekong River Basin Sub-region, as panned by the government, a seminar heard yesterday.

The province lacked a properly skilled workforce and was suffering from pollution, flood and garbage problems and city-centred development, Uthit Khaothian, a policy and planning adviser to the National Economic and Social Development Board, said.

He told a Post Today-sponsored seminar, “Future Crises and Opportunities of Chiang Mai,” that government policy to turn Chiang Mai into the sub-region’s transportation, aviation, information technology-linked international conference, tourism, educational, medical, business and industrial centre was premature.

The 1200 schools in the province did not meet the international standards needed to produce a high quality workforce.

“Local bodies are not ineffective enough to run the city in line with the plan to develop Chiang Mai into a leading city of the region,” he said.

“The entire managerial system and mechanisms of Chiang Mai need improvement because the vision is now limited to the development of Chiang Mai for local people only.”

Deputy provincial governor Parinya Parnthong said Chiang Mai was a culturally and naturally beautiful city that attracted 3-4 million tourists a year, but tourism was also destroying the province.

“Nowadays, we present culture and tradition in a commercial way, which is a disaster,” he said.

“New tourist spots have been opened but there is no maintenance at all, which is disastrous.

It can be said that tourism management here is very far from being professional.”

Chalermchart Nakarangkul, deputy chairman of Chiang Mai’s Chamber of Commerce, said the government was projecting 500% growth for Chiang Mai within five years, but failed to think about poor rural farmers who made up 60-70% of the 1.6 million populations.

These people could not keep up with the high cost of living and higher education, medical and transport fees when Chiang Mai became and international city.

Those who would benefit most were foreign and Bangkok investors.

“The people of Chiang Mai will be nothing but employees of foreigners and investors from elsewhere, or workers in industrial factories,” Mr Chalermchart said...Sounds Familar...

“These things are going to change Chiang Mai. So I want to ask, what will Chiang Mai get from it?”

Thanet Charoenmuang of Chiang Mai University’s social science faculty said the governor, MPs, senators and local body heads, academics businessmen and the people’s sector, should brainstorm draft development guidelines for Chiang Mai.

Development had been centred only on the city for the last five decades, and this had caused many problems

[PeaceBlondie]

The above post has a lot of interesting information, quoting lots of apparent experts, that CMai is growing too fast. This quote, however, must have been pulled out of the Ping River at flood stage:

"It can be said that tourism management here is very far from being professional.”

Chalermchart Nakarangkul, deputy chairman of Chiang Mai’s Chamber of Commerce, said the government was projecting 500% growth for Chiang Mai within five years, but failed to think about poor rural farmers who made up 60-70% of the 1.6 million populations."

Absolutely impossible. They won't grow 100% in five years. Cannot be done, mai dai. Maybe it's 50%; even that is difficult to manage with real urban planners who can manage it, which CMai doesn't have, according to the article.

[meadish_sweetball]

"Local bodies are not ineffective enough to run the city in line with the plan to develop Chiang Mai into a leading city of the region"

It must be a truly cunning plan that relies on the ineffectivity of officials.

[krikrik]

"Local bodies are not ineffective enough to run the city in line with the plan to develop Chiang Mai into a leading city of the region"

It must be a truly cunning plan that relies on the ineffectivity of officials.

The level of ineffectiveness required to fulfill the plan is beyond the capacity of CM ? What is the place coming to ?

Perhaps there are other contenders for the position of "leading city of the region" with the necessary capacity for ineffectiveness ?

[The Dan Sai Kid]

They would be better off worrying about getting the countless road upgrades completed.

Driving in Chiang Mai is a joke