District chief: Ban tour buses from Pattaya

[Rimmer]

District chief: Ban tour buses from Pattaya

PATTAYA:--Banglamung’s district chief has resurrected the idea of banning large tour buses from downtown Pattaya, requiring instead they park out of town and bus tourists to the beach in minivans.

Chakorn Kanjawattana said at a July 5 meeting that he believes large coaches are the main cause of Pattaya’s traffic woes. They park where they want, often double-park, and get stuck trying to navigate on to small sois where they should not go, he said.

The district chief said the buses could park at a large lot in the eastern part of town, then transfer their passengers into mini vans or songthaews to travel to the beach or to their hotels.

Read more:http://www.pattayamail.com/news/district-chief-ban-tour-buses-pattaya-142135

-- Pattaya Mail 2016-07-15

[NormanW]

Fingers crossed this will happen.

Now to change those extremely ambiguous 'Wait red light turning left ' signs.

[colinneil]

Good idea !!! will it ever happen?

I have not been in Pattaya for a few years and it was a nightmare then.

[Peterw42]

The best idea I have ever heard. Do it .

At a minimum stop tour buses coming along beach road and trying to negotiate that left turn at the start of walking st.

[nev]

I would go further and close beach road to all traffic and extend the beach back, would stop all the erosion and give more room for a better boardwalk.

[zakk9]

Hopefully this will happen. Some parts of the city looks like a storage ground for buses.

[henrymeier99]

bad idea. One large Bus with around 50 or more passenger need how many minibusses? The traffic and the parking problem will grow.

[ezflip]

bad idea. One large Bus with around 50 or more passenger need how many minibusses? The traffic and the parking problem will grow.

Exactly what I was thinking also. 1 large bus holding 30 to 40 passenger will be replaced by 3 to 4 minivans holding 10 passengers. How is that going to help? It will triple the numbers of vehicles on beach road and 2nd road.

[MROLL320]

At last some common sense! So it will never happen....

[Peterw42]

A minivan, being smaller, can easily pull into a driveway or a parking spot to drop or pickup. Even if double parked, traffic can still get around it.

I have watched big buses bring major roads to a standstill dropping passengers.

Have you ever watched the big buses trying to get around the left turn at the start of walking st.

Traffic in papaya is not so much the number of vehicles,

It's more the vehicles that stop the traffic flow.

[Dexlowe]

A partial ban would be better. A total ban would end up creating even more problems and inconvenience for all, and would meet with fierce resistance. A partial ban would involve allowing buses to drop guests and gear off at their hotel and then hot-foot it out of the city zone (and reverse, of course) - each hotel would be required to furnish directions for the buses with City Hall, and the drivers would be required to stick to those plans. Any bus parking in the city zone or wandering aimlessly around the city zone would be taken to an allotment outside of the city and held for 24 hours, then a fine of !!!k baht.

How's that plan for a new police payday?

[peterdarby]

A partial ban would be unenforceable. You either ban them completely or not at all. Transferring to smaller vans inside the city is a much better idea and, despite needing more vehicles, they would cause less congestion because of their ability to flow with the traffic. Same as they do in every city including Bangkok. Last time I was sitting on Pattaya-Nakleua road in the evening, there were coaches stretching as far as the eye can see.

[overherebc]

Restrict beach road to private cars. baht buses and bikes.

99.99999% of tourists have legs.

[Berty100]

bad idea. One large Bus with around 50 or more passenger need how many minibusses? The traffic and the parking problem will grow.

Exactly what I was thinking also. 1 large bus holding 30 to 40 passenger will be replaced by 3 to 4 minivans holding 10 passengers. How is that going to help? It will triple the numbers of vehicles on beach road and 2nd road.

The songteaws are on the road already, so it will not increase vehicles by 1 jota.

It's also long ago that I've seen those 50 seat buses filled by more than 50% of their capacity.

When they arrive from Bangkok they are almost full, but when they take the tourist to the attraction they aren't even half full.

Even when overloaded in 5 minivans, a 5 minvans are easier manageable in all the small sois than 1 large bus

[NoBrainer]

bad idea. One large Bus with around 50 or more passenger need how many minibusses? The traffic and the parking problem will grow.

Exactly what I was thinking also. 1 large bus holding 30 to 40 passenger will be replaced by 3 to 4 minivans holding 10 passengers. How is that going to help? It will triple the numbers of vehicles on beach road and 2nd road.

Best idea ever, but I bet it will never get implemented. Many of these busses are running around town with 5 to 10 passengers on board, and many hundreds more are parked everywhere blocking traffic lanes.

Also there are many hundreds of Songteaw driving around empty, which could be used to moving around all the tourists from the tour busses. You would be using mostly vehicles that are on the road already, rather than adding many more vehicles.

Get it done. Try it for 3 months. It either works or it doesn't.

Edited July 15, 2016 by NoBrainer

[andre47]

I would go further and close beach road to all traffic and extend the beach back, would stop all the erosion and give more room for a better boardwalk.

yes, maybe not the full length, but from Pattaya Klang to Walking Street could be closed, open only for baht busses

[onemorechang]

Someone will make a tidy packet on the Mimi Vans.

Anything is better than the large buses, they just block the complete carriageway.

Mini vans wont be as bad.

Good job City Hall, if it ever happens

Edited July 15, 2016 by onemorechang

[zakk9]

It's correct that the buses are hardly ever as much as half full, and the tiny sois they are driving into aren't dimensioned for this kind of vehicle. The most annoying this is still how they park, 10-15 buses in a row, blocking half the road and making the sidewalk a dark place, ideal for pick pockets etc. This phenomenon has made Pattaya a less attractive place to be.

[spidermike007]

This is what is known in other parts of the world as progressive thinking. I do not see alot of it here. Hope this happens. They need those tourist buses in the central area, like they need cancer, or a hole in the head. Same goes for Samui, downtown Bangkok, and other tourist areas.

[edwardflory]

Good idea !!! will it ever happen?

I have not been in Pattaya for a few years and it was a nightmare then.

Ban TOUR BUSES from BEACH Road, restrict their entry in the downtown area to North - Central - South Pattaya "Roads" and only travel 2nd road ( drop off and pick up passengers ) and 3rd road. Problem then is the 100+ "Baht Buses" that line 2nd road after 20:00 at night

[natway09]

If you can find enough mini vans that are not suicide drivers not a bad idea

[bodymassagemyfriend]

Restrict beach road to private cars. baht buses and bikes.

99.99999% of tourists have legs.

Asian Tourists have short legs. Ever tried to walk 1km with your Thai GF?

[smedly]

I would go further and close beach road to all traffic and extend the beach back, would stop all the erosion and give more room for a better boardwalk.

yes, maybe not the full length, but from Pattaya Klang to Walking Street could be closed, open only for baht busses

made the suggestion a couple of years ago, what I would do is close beach road but make a small single lane service way available for delivery vans on the east side of the current road and ban all MB form parking there, some of the sois are one way and still need service access with something connecting them at the bottom

[phycokiller]

only real solution is a monorail, preferably connected to the airport. Pattaya roads have reached their limit.

[impulse]

Ban all traffic between 2nd Road and the beach during daylight hours run electric trams. Sell RFID tokens for the tram at hotels and 7/11's.

Disney World is bigger than downtown Pattaya, and they don't need private vehicles to get their visitors around...

Edit: And they apparently have more visitors at > 18 million a year. Probably spend more money, too.

http://www.wdwinfo.com/news/General_Disney_News/Theme_park_attendance_report_released.htm

Edited July 15, 2016 by impulse

[champers]

Pattaya's growth as a tourist attraction; particularly with regard to visitors from China; has challenged the city's infrastructure and it is found wanting. It's good to hear that some thought is being given to finding a solution, but it is very much a case of shutting the stable door after the horse has bolted. Any sane suggestions need to be considered. No quick fixes, that's for sure. An awful lot of time, good sense & money needs to be invested. Is that possible? The haphazard and "easy come, easy go" (mai pen rai) attitude to life in Thailand is a great part of it's appeal & charm.

[vogie]

bad idea. One large Bus with around 50 or more passenger need how many minibusses? The traffic and the parking problem will grow.

Exactly what I was thinking also. 1 large bus holding 30 to 40 passenger will be replaced by 3 to 4 minivans holding 10 passengers. How is that going to help? It will triple the numbers of vehicles on beach road and 2nd road.

Can I remind you that a 10 seater minibus will hold 20 passengers here in Thailand, hope this clears things up.

[metisdead]

A post containing a derogatory slur for Chinese has been removed as well as a reply.

[Basil B]

With the tragic news from Nice we could see a kneejerk reaction and actually get the ban.

Unfortunately as with all other laws most Thai's assume they do not apply to them.

[Basil B]

bad idea. One large Bus with around 50 or more passenger need how many minibusses? The traffic and the parking problem will grow.

Exactly what I was thinking also. 1 large bus holding 30 to 40 passenger will be replaced by 3 to 4 minivans holding 10 passengers. How is that going to help? It will triple the numbers of vehicles on beach road and 2nd road.

Can I remind you that a 10 seater minibus will hold 20 passengers here in Thailand, hope this clears things up.

Not counting how many school kids you can put up on the roof rack...