BTS riders grumpy over possible fare hikes

[webfact]

BTS riders grumpy over possible fare hikes
By Sasiwan Mokkhasen, Staff Reporter


The platform of BTS Saphan Taksin in 2004 photo. Photo: Tom Page / Flickr

BANGKOK — Commuters are reacting unhappily to rumored fare increases coming to outlying BTS stations along the Silom and Sukhumvit lines.

Despite the usual complaints that Bangkok’s Skytrain fares are expensive compared to the cost of living, a proposal reportedly submitted earlier this month seeking higher fares for stations past BTS Saphan Taksin and BTS On Nut has been met with disappointment.

Full story: http://www.khaosodenglish.com/news/transpo/2016/07/12/bts-riders-grumpy-possible-fare-hikes/


-- Khaosod English 2016-07-12

[jpinx]

Classic case of "They'll charge as much as they can get away with". The Extended line past On Nut to Bearing used to be quiet, but not anymore, so the people have moved to live further out with cheaper rents, so they won't want to go back. Also - the further extension past Bearing will be operating in 2018, so better get the existing prices up to a high baseline so that the new line will make even more for the operators - even without providing enough carriages to prevent the sardine-packing.....

[lust]

Cost of living keeps rising, salaries stay the same. In what world is that sustainable?

[gandalf12]

Cost of living keeps rising, salaries stay the same. In what world is that sustainable?

Thaiworld

[amdy2206]

One thing I find difficult to comprehend is how can multi-nationals sell coffee, burgers, fried chicken etc. At the same equivalent price as in the western world when all expenses are cheaper, especially wages. Starbucks coffee 150B - America $4.50. KFC meal 270B - UK £5 - £6. Where is the justification in charging such prices?

[Cats4ever]

One thing I find difficult to comprehend is how can multi-nationals sell coffee, burgers, fried chicken etc. At the same equivalent price as in the western world when all expenses are cheaper, especially wages. Starbucks coffee 150B - America $4.50. KFC meal 270B - UK £5 - £6. Where is the justification in charging such prices?

It is called capitalism. Which I broadly support apart from exploitative manipulation.

[bark]

One thing I find difficult to comprehend is how can multi-nationals sell coffee, burgers, fried chicken etc. At the same equivalent price as in the western world when all expenses are cheaper, especially wages. Starbucks coffee 150B - America $4.50. KFC meal 270B - UK £5 - £6. Where is the justification in charging such prices?

There are many other choices for coffee. Why would you pay 150 baht for a coffee ? When you can go to Amazon Coffee and pay 50 baht.

[MaxLee]

Are you ********* kidding me???

[new2here]

One thing I find difficult to comprehend is how can multi-nationals sell coffee, burgers, fried chicken etc. At the same equivalent price as in the western world when all expenses are cheaper, especially wages. Starbucks coffee 150B - America $4.50. KFC meal 270B - UK £5 - £6. Where is the justification in charging such prices?

I suspect that for those businesses, while the labor unit costs would be lower than say a similarly sized unit in "the west" the cost of materials - call me the coffee itself, is probably higher due to a combination of governmental taxes, etc..

I'll bet that expressed as a simplified ROE figure, that lower-wage locations, like Thailand, probably have marginally higher ROE's than locations like Manhattan (central NY city) might, I don't think the labor costs alone drives the discussion over pricing.

I also think that for globally available items that are essentially a commodity - units being indistinguishable - that the notion of global/regional price parity also applies.. Somewhat analogous to how companies like Apple price their products using local currency, but commonly a price points that are reasonably similar to the prices in other near markets.

[mike324]

One thing I find difficult to comprehend is how can multi-nationals sell coffee, burgers, fried chicken etc. At the same equivalent price as in the western world when all expenses are cheaper, especially wages. Starbucks coffee 150B - America $4.50. KFC meal 270B - UK £5 - £6. Where is the justification in charging such prices?

I don't see why a multinational company can't sell it for the same price, for example starbucks have to pay import tax for the coffee they import. Same goes for many other western style restaurants that require western ingredients. Even thoug manyh western ingredients is locally made it still costs more as sometimes the raw material still needs to be imported or that production volume is too small to justify a big discount.

What I don't understand more is that local restaurants charging western prices using local ingredients yet serving half the portion of western countries and using inferior ingredients!

[little mary sunshine]

Another fare hike?? Second or third??

[razer]

BTS never has and never will care about what customers think about them. For God's sake, it took a military government order just to get lifts for the elderly, injured or handicapped.

[MaxLee]

Another fare hike?? Second or third??

More than that.....

[trogers]

Run 8 boogies like other developed cities before they be allowed to charge similar fares...

[outsider]

Run 8 boogies like other developed cities before they be allowed to charge similar fares...

I'm no engineer, so I'm merely speculating... but could not running more carriages be an engineering consideration? Perhaps the lines and the platforms they are built on cannot support the weight of eight carriages, or the weight of 16 carriages (when two trains pass by each other)?

[american12bthai]

i love it how they raise prices when everything is more expencive and everyones getting more poor. IF the bts was safe and secure and on time... maybe it would justify the raise in prices. but when there are "mysterious software issues" and the problem isnt solved... .... sounds just GREEDY to me.

[Happy Grumpy]

KFC meal 270B - UK £5 - £6

The BTS is a great service. Enjoy traveling from Chitlom to Bearing without it. Worth every baht, and more.

[siam2007]

to be fair, those fares for stations past On Nut have been cheaper than Ac-Bus fares until now ! traveling three stations cost as little as 10 Baht. If you do the same at lower Sukhumvit, three stations will set you back 20-25 Baht me thinks.

[planr]

Run 8 boogies like other developed cities before they be allowed to charge similar fares...

I'm no engineer, so I'm merely speculating... but could not running more carriages be an engineering consideration? Perhaps the lines and the platforms they are built on cannot support the weight of eight carriages, or the weight of 16 carriages (when two trains pass by each other)?

Each BTS and MRT station platform can handle six carriages at a time (each direction).

[WishWashMan]

Cost of living keeps rising, salaries stay the same. In what world is that sustainable?

Thaiworld

It can last awhile . USA for example is going thru this............

[Dancin Dna 11]

You can always walk for free!

[scorecard]

Cost of living keeps rising, salaries stay the same. In what world is that sustainable?

Seems to me that in a developing country the fares should be strongly subsidized as part of policies to share the wealth and give low income earners more in their pockets for food, education costs etc.

[Thian]

One thing I find difficult to comprehend is how can multi-nationals sell coffee, burgers, fried chicken etc. At the same equivalent price as in the western world when all expenses are cheaper, especially wages. Starbucks coffee 150B - America $4.50. KFC meal 270B - UK £5 - £6. Where is the justification in charging such prices?

They can ask it because there's no decent competition for them.

In India i've seen copy copy fastfoodchain restaurants who were just as good but half the price. Yes those were busy.

The Thai can't copy a Macdonalds or KFC or whatever. It's not strange that Swenssen, Sizzlers, Pizzacompany all belong to the same owner, only he understands what it takes to run restaurants and make profit.

But in Thailand many students use the MD as their studyroom, after school they go do homework there in big groups. You pay to have a seat, aircon and some space around you.

The BTS is expensive enough i would think, it's always overloaded and they should buy more carriages.

[SunLover2]

Each BTS and MRT station platform can handle six carriages at a time (each direction).

This; and operating additional trains during peak hours by spacing them closer together:

Now: 4 car trains every 4 minutes = 60 cars per direction per hour

Add cars: 6 car trains every 4 minutes = 90 cars per direction per hour

Could be: 6 car trains every 3 minutes = 120 cars per direction per hour

So the potential for an approx. 50-100% capacity increase? But can the infrastructure at Asoke or Silom stations really absorb that type of a max customer load?

SL

[impulse]

One thing I find difficult to comprehend is how can multi-nationals sell coffee, burgers, fried chicken etc. At the same equivalent price as in the western world when all expenses are cheaper, especially wages. Starbucks coffee 150B - America $4.50. KFC meal 270B - UK £5 - £6. Where is the justification in charging such prices?

Because they sell plenty at those prices, even if the vast majority of locals can't afford them.

The fallacy in your thinking is that the local selling price of a product should reflect the local cost of the product. It doesn't. It reflects what the local market is willing to pay. If that market price and the volume sold at that price is high enough, the company makes a profit. If it's not, they close down that shop- or never open it.

In BKK, with 15 million people, if only 10% make enough to afford Starbucks, that's the same as opening up in a US city of 1.5 million people.

Sucks for the majority of people who get left out, but they can get a 20 baht coffee right out front on the street.

Bringing it back to the BTS, if they're overcrowded at one price, that would allow them to either raise the price, or add more capacity. I wish they'd add capacity, but they seem to be going the other way.

[little mary sunshine]

Well,I really enjoy The Starbucks Experience....If all

You look at is the delicious, extra large cup of

Coffee you get for about $3 it seems a little expensive.

However, I enjoy sitting in the air conditioned

Restaurant, comfortable, upholstered chairs, I read

The English Newspaper, usually meet some nice

Person and chat for a few minutes, I log on to my

Cellular IPad, check emails and spend an hour or hour

And a half in a wonderful, clean coffee shop.

Option is to spend B15 at 7-11 for instant coffee, sit on

The steps outside with the Soi dogs and inhale bus fumes

In the broiling sun and humidity...$3. Seems cheap to me!!

[gdgbb]

i love it how they raise prices when everything is more expencive and everyones getting more poor. IF the bts was safe and secure and on time... maybe it would justify the raise in prices. but when there are "mysterious software issues" and the problem isnt solved... .... sounds just GREEDY to me.

Since when has the BTS been considered unsafe by any rational person?

Not on time? There is no timetable but then why would there be a need for one when in the rush hours trains arrive every 2 minutes and every 7 minutes at other times?

[gdgbb]

This; and operating additional trains during peak hours by spacing them closer together:

In peak hours the trains on the Sukhumvit line come every 2 minutes, give or take 30 seconds or so. How much more frequent could they safely be?

[gdgbb]

Bringing it back to the BTS, if they're overcrowded at one price, that would allow them to either raise the price, or add more capacity. I wish they'd add capacity, but they seem to be going the other way.

"I wish they'd add capacity, but they seem to be going the other way."

What? The only other way compared to adding capacity would be reducing capacity and that certainly is not happening. There's the fallacy of your statement

[SunLover2]

This; and operating additional trains during peak hours by spacing them closer together:

In peak hours the trains on the Sukhumvit line come every 2 minutes, give or take 30 seconds or so. How much more frequent could they safely be?

BTS published "service interval between trains during Normal Operations" here: http://www.bts.co.th/customer/en/pdf/ServiceTimetable.pdf Feels like they actually run slower than published during peak periods, but I never put a stopwatch to it.

How closely they could run them together? Depends on: system hardware, system software, and station duration times.

SL