What is it with BTS?

[smutcakes]

Perhaps the OP could improve his efficiency by popping a few coins in his pocket on days you plan to be in BKK so you dont have to queue twice.

[richard_smith237]

Wow.. a lot of people ganging up on the Op who posts quite a valid question..

Queueing up twice is just silly - its clear that the change and ticket machines were implemented without thought.

The Ops Question is different though: Why Sell a ticket at the change kiosk one day and not the next? - this has already been answered, but people still want to attack the Op.

Not everyone has change on them at all times and not everyone wants to carry numerous cards in their wallet (I have just 3 cards in a very slim card wallet - Bank Card, Medical Insurance and Drivers Licence)

I too rarely use the BTS and have been caught out when 'popping' up the road on a whim.

The suggestions for a Rabbit Card are good, I for one never knew of its existence - I'll get one, especially if 7-11 accept it etc...

A Join Card is the obvious answer - I can't believe this hasn't already been sorted out.

[SoiBiker]

How can you have used the BTS and not be aware of the Rabbit card?

I believe there's a 'joined up' BTS/MRT card due this year.

[Crossy]

How can you have used the BTS and not be aware of the Rabbit card?

I believe there's a 'joined up' BTS/MRT card due this year.

Don't believe everything you hear or read

[SoiBiker]

How can you have used the BTS and not be aware of the Rabbit card?

I believe there's a 'joined up' BTS/MRT card due this year.

Don't believe everything you hear or read

I said it was 'due'. I didn't intend to imply it will actually happen!

[NoshowJones]

If you have a bbl account you can get a rabbit card branded atm card. Stick some value on it and then you don't have to carry around an extra card.

OB

Great idea, I might just do that, I imagine it would last a long time.

[NoshowJones]

Perhaps the OP could improve his efficiency by popping a few coins in his pocket on days you plan to be in BKK so you dont have to queue twice.

I am going to take Oceanbats suggestion as I have a BBL account.

[SoiBiker]

Well I for one will sleep better tonight now.

[Thian]

So you've avoided the BTS for years rather than work out how to use it properly.

Like others have said - Rabbit card. Bangkok 101.

No, I know very well how to use it, it is very simple, but if you read my OP, I said I object to queueing up twice for

the one thing, and if possible, I walk, use a bus, or the MRT where you only queue once.

I do not live in Bangkok, so a rabbit card would not suit me, and a lot of times my business is not near BTS stations.

I live in Bangkok and travel to HK and Singapore each 2-3 times a year for work. I have an Octopus card and an EZ-Link card I keep with spare bits of cash from each city after each visit, which I stick back in the wallet when heading out again. Not having a Rabbit card is sheer laziness.

It's not laziness, it's not obvious where to get one and even there they act like you're the first who asks for that card.

6 months ago i ordered 2 rabbitcards at the cashier of the bts, put 500 baht on the counter and i asked her to put 200 baht on each card. She didn't understand it so my wife told her again in Thai.

Then she was examining the cards for a minute, had to make a phonecall about them and finally after 3-4 minutes we had the cards. They are anonymous cards.

Why is it not as easy as being a skytrainticket to buy the rabbitcard? And why don't they come out of the vendingmachines?

The card works well and i even buy more stuff because paying is so easy.

[anotheruser]

I don't think there is too much to complain about when it comes to the BTS. It is clean, safe, frequent and affordable. so you have to queue to buy a ticket.Buy a Rabbit Card. Problem solved. An integrated card that covers the MRT and BTS would be brilliant. It will come eventually.

Well, not necessarily a complaint but there should be at least twice as many ticket machines on every platform, in addition the machines should be able to issue more than one ticket at a time. So you can push a button and request anything between 1-6 tickets in one transaction. This works very well in Japan. Why does a family of four have to take 5 (doesn't sound like a lot of time but when the line is 30 people long...) minutes to buy 4 tickets separately? That is insane.

Although even with more capable ticket machines you would just wait again when the trains are too full at peak times to process that many people being moved through efficiently anyway. The system is running way over capacity and will need to address this issue soon.

As far as integrated payment systems, yes this would be very welcome. My Bangkok bank card works for the BTS and I have a MRT card as I live on the MRT. So really if you can somehow justify the couple hundred Baht to do this amazing feat of having both it isn't really any big deal. Assuming of course you have enough spare room in your wallet to fit an extra card in. Pro tip: put those cards on the outside of the flap so either can be easily read without even opening your wallet. Yikes! Where did I hear that phrase before?!?! Buying your top ups when you notice there is no lines or it isn't busy is also wise.

So now that the OP knows his options if he is still waiting in lines.... up to him.

[kkerry]

I usually top-up when I finish my trips for the week but sometimes the line can be long, so topping up at places like McDonalds is an option which may save time. Slight downside is they will charge you a fee of I think 2.5% to do so but I'd rather pay that than add another ten minutes to my trip home.

[Thian]

I usually top-up when I finish my trips for the week but sometimes the line can be long, so topping up at places like McDonalds is an option which may save time. Slight downside is they will charge you a fee of I think 2.5% to do so but I'd rather pay that than add another ten minutes to my trip home.

I didn't know about topping up at the macdonalds but yes also that has to go smooth and easy.

I really like the rabbitcard, especially when i get 10% discount in other shops if i use it. Cash money is very dirty in Thailand, just have a look at the butchers on the market how they get paid and you understand what i'm saying. That's the same cash you'll get in your hands one day. And it goes the same in the Makro or Tesco, there the customers grab raw meat with bare hands.

But i agree that we have too many cards to carry all day in Thailand. Also i get tired of people who don't even bring their card (to get discount) but they mention their phonenumber to the cashier and then also get discount. I hate to wait for that nonsense (in Topsy).

I hope we can pay by phone soon.

[SunLover2]

Most BTS stations have ticket vending machines that take baht notes. Avoid the twice queue process that way.

SL

[SoiBiker]

I think 'most' is overstating it. 'Some', perhaps.

[gdgbb]

Also i get tired of people who don't even bring their card (to get discount) but they mention their phonenumber to the cashier and then also get discount. I hate to wait for that nonsense (in Topsy).

I hate that nonsense whereby some customers make others wait by having their Tops card swiped and verified when it takes the cashier less than 5 seconds to enter a phone number.

[gdgbb]

My response was very serious but perhaps you "don't have the mentality" to understand it.

The location of the the business you are doing has no bearing on whether you get a ticket from a machine or from the staff which is what you were complaining about.

So what was the "anti whinging" remark about? I call that being nasty, I have only asked if anyone knows the reason for something.

No, you didn't only ask if anyone knows the reason for something, you had a dig at the BTS system by giving your OP the exasperated title of "What Is It With BTS?"

When someone complains about something for which there is an easy and obvious solution, the original complaint becomes redundant and that is whinging.

[TimTang]

They're just trying to get you to do the obvious thing, get a prepaid anti-whinging card and you don't have to queue at all.

I am usually only in Bangkok for a couple of days at a time, I know you can buy an all day ticket, but that is only OK if the business you are doing is nearby BTS stations.

If you don't have the mentality to answer a serious post, just leave it and run along.

Just buy a rabbit card, put some money on it and be done with it. It can stay there for long periods. Saves me a lot of time when I use it.

Thanks Robbok, I will google it, I only go to Bangkok maybe about every two months, then only a couple of days at a time.

It is nice to get a proper answer, instead of the crap you get from some posters, though only a very small minority.

I've been using BTS for years and typically you are required to buy your ticket from the machines. The Kiosk is there to provide change and information. They probably do have the ability to issue a ticket but they rarely do because they don't want people lining up to get tickets when they've spent millions on loads of machines that are designed to automate that process; they are very convenient and do that task well, I might add.

[NoshowJones]

My response was very serious but perhaps you "don't have the mentality" to understand it.

The location of the the business you are doing has no bearing on whether you get a ticket from a machine or from the staff which is what you were complaining about.

So what was the "anti whinging" remark about? I call that being nasty, I have only asked if anyone knows the reason for something.

No, you didn't only ask if anyone knows the reason for something, you had a dig at the BTS system by giving your OP the exasperated title of "What Is It With BTS?"

When someone complains about something for which there is an easy and obvious solution, the original complaint becomes redundant and that is whinging.

No it's not, you are just one nasty poster, so welcome to my ignore list.

[NoshowJones]

Tim Tang. You do have a point, but it would be much easier if BTS followed the MRT system.

Give a ticket, give change. Job done.

[swampdonkey]

So you've avoided the BTS for years rather than work out how to use it properly.

Like others have said - Rabbit card. Bangkok 101.

No, I know very well how to use it, it is very simple, but if you read my OP, I said I object to queueing up twice for

the one thing, and if possible, I walk, use a bus, or the MRT where you only queue once.

I do not live in Bangkok, so a rabbit card would not suit me, and a lot of times my business is not near BTS stations.

The card lasts for 5 years

the money you have on the card lasts for 18 months from top up

you don't have to live in Thailand never mind Bangkok for the card to suit you

the idea of the card is you do not have to cue

[gdgbb]

No, you didn't only ask if anyone knows the reason for something, you had a dig at the BTS system by giving your OP the exasperated title of "What Is It With BTS?"

When someone complains about something for which there is an easy and obvious solution, the original complaint becomes redundant and that is whinging

No it's not, you are just one nasty poster, so welcome to my ignore list.

Er, yes it is.

You can't imagine the hurt I am feeling right now knowing that I'm on your ignore list.

[SunLover2]

No, you didn't only ask if anyone knows the reason for something, you had a dig at the BTS system by giving your OP the exasperated title of "What Is It With BTS?"

When someone complains about something for which there is an easy and obvious solution, the original complaint becomes redundant and that is whinging.

TITV - the OP was never looking for solutions as they are plentiful. Having the common sense of a six year old being first and foremost. In typical TV style he was looking for us to serve him up some cheese to go along with his purposeless whine, and as if on cue the usual socially starved suspects with nothing to contribute but muck chimed in hoping for some attention crumbs to bounce their way.

SL

[Asiantravel]

I have question of a different nature.

Between 2003 and 2007 I lived in Bangkok and used the BTS almost every day. Some days the carriages were half empty and even at night time you could hardly describe them as being packed. In other words there was plenty of room for standing passengers.

Now I live in Pattaya and when I visited Bangkok last week and caught the BTS again I couldn’t get over how people now need to squeeze in like sardines. In fact even more surprising was how during the evening rush it was so full that some people were left on the platform and had to wait until the next train arrived. It was unbelievable.

My question is where have all these extra passengers come from and why were there so few using the BTS during 2003 to 2007 compared to now?

[kkerry]

The standard of living has risen for many people, so people who ten years ago would travel by bus just to save ten baht on their way to work now no longer feel they need to.

The tax rebate on new cars also greatly increased the number of cars on city roads. While more people now drive to work, others have switched to the skytrain as it can be faster and more predictable as to what time you will get somewhere. Same has happened in other large cities around the world. Even my wife rarely drives into downtown Bangkok anymore.

[SunLover2]

I have question of a different nature.

Between 2003 and 2007 I lived in Bangkok and used the BTS almost every day. Some days the carriages were half empty and even at night time you could hardly describe them as being packed. In other words there was plenty of room for standing passengers.

Now I live in Pattaya and when I visited Bangkok last week and caught the BTS again I couldn’t get over how people now need to squeeze in like sardines. In fact even more surprising was how during the evening rush it was so full that some people were left on the platform and had to wait until the next train arrived. It was unbelievable.

My question is where have all these extra passengers come from and why were there so few using the BTS during 2003 to 2007 compared to now?

The system has been extended. More passengers are traveling longer distances and not getting off at intermediate stops.

SL

[NoshowJones]

No, you didn't only ask if anyone knows the reason for something, you had a dig at the BTS system by giving your OP the exasperated title of "What Is It With BTS?"

When someone complains about something for which there is an easy and obvious solution, the original complaint becomes redundant and that is whinging.

TITV - the OP was never looking for solutions as they are plentiful. Having the common sense of a six year old being first and foremost. In typical TV style he was looking for us to serve him up some cheese to go along with his purposeless whine, and as if on cue the usual socially starved suspects with nothing to contribute but muck chimed in hoping for some attention crumbs to bounce their way.

SL

You are nothing more than a nasty troublemaker hiding behind a keyboard, I was only asking something, which is what forums like this are for, so run along

and crawl back in to where you came from.

Edited July 14, 2016 by possum1931