13 hours ago, Jonathan Fairfield said:

Despite a budget for repairs the Pattaya authorities are suggesting that this is not the time to start the service and are calling for further inspections to be carried out before even the chance of permission to operate is considered.

Apart from this ferry proposal/dream, aren't others using this pier? If the authorities have the budget for repairs, why not fix it? Why further inspections? Duh!

15 minutes ago, Falcon said:

 

Exactly, you beat me to it. I was about to say exactly

rhe same thing, that all this means is that the operators of the ferry haven't given the correct amount of money as a bribe to the right people yet so they have made an excuse to put a hold on it until they do. Typical behavior and outcome really and nothing more than expected.

hope you are right. it could be that the pier is genuinely not safe.

5 minutes ago, sahibji said:

you cannot take a chance with peoples lives. if the pier is not safe then the whole exercise is a danger to everybody.

of course I meant why are the authorities concerned about the price the operator was charging

 

There always seemed to be something wrong with the pricing to me. One hour in a boat for roughly the same price as a twenty four hour round trip train ticket to Chiangmai.  

good, I wasn't so hyped on the ilk of the skid-mark of the kingdom coming this way so easily. 

12 hours ago, Deepinthailand said:

As far as I am concerned it was a dead duck long before it was a dead duck. Then reading how much they were charging it became a dead Elephant. I will just continue to drive thank you.

The dead Elephant then became a dead whale......But hey! the Navy could lend out their submarines and tourists could be charged even more for the trip, now converted to a scenic underwater tour where all the sand from Pattaya to Hua Hin can be watched up close!

It is fortunate that the tourists have one less vehicle to their final resting place in Thailand after the buses & minivans. 

Given the outrageous number of ferries that topple over killing people every year, perhaps the headline is a little tasteless.  

27 minutes ago, sahibji said:

clear case of cart before the horse. surely they should have checked up all the infrastructure even before thinking of planning the ferry.

 

They could have priced in the cost of building and operating their own pier in their feasibility studies...

13 hours ago, GuiseppeD said:

I wanted to hold hands with my friend on the inaugural crossing from Pattaya to Hua Hin.  Just such a disappointment.

 

And I wasn't expecting a pink speedboat.  That's just so gay.

 

 

What do you mean by the word Gay ?

Idf I was going to start a ferry service, one of the first things I'd do is make sure I had somewhere to board that ferry.

 

this ferry service or similar ventures have failed time and again, one would have thought that anyone considering this project would have a bit more business nouse than has been exhibited so far.

37 minutes ago, sahibji said:

you cannot take a chance with peoples lives.

 

When did that start?

Sounds like someone didn't make enough money out of this deal

13 hours ago, Jonathan Fairfield said:

an accident waiting to happen

 

4 minutes ago, Loeilad said:

Idf I was going to start a ferry service, one of the first things I'd do is make sure I had somewhere to board that ferry.

 

this ferry service or similar ventures have failed time and again, one would have thought that anyone considering this project would have a bit more business nouse than has been exhibited so far.

 

One of the underlying "virtues" of Thai culture seems to be the ability to do much talk but very little successful action.

38 minutes ago, sahibji said:

you cannot take a chance with peoples lives. if the pier is not safe then the whole exercise is a danger to everybody.

Unfortunately in Thailand you often can. But you have to pay for the privilege. Something seems to have gone wrong in this regard.

 

Complete nonsense that they find the pier to be unsafe just 1 month before operations start. Moreover - as mentioned already - the pier is in use by other services like the Koh Larn ferry every day. If it is really unsafe it should be closed down immediately and not deny an additional service to use it. Business as usual in Thailand. 

Hype, Hype, Hype.... I'm betting it was never going to happen, anyway.  There was one before, but it died too.  Why not clear the way for cheap flights into Hua Hin?  The traffic from BKK is almost a crawl,  surely it could help some. 

What about a high speed rail link?

1 hour ago, yellowboat said:

Poor supporting infrastructure and an over priced service.  Does anyone know the French and Thai word for "deja vu" ?

"tea money"?

Is that the same pier that is being used daily to take people to Koh Larn and back?

The pink boat is so that it doesn't get lost or left behind. I have a pink purse thingy that I carry my ereader/phone/foster grants in; never fear forgetting it in a bar or restaurant. Someone is always looking at it for me, same same pink boat.

1 hour ago, impulse said:

 

And the vast majority of people (especially tourists) who don't own cars?   Throw them to the mercy of the kamikaze mini-vans?  Or 8 hours on a scooter around the horn, barred from many roads that could shave hours off the miserable trip?

 

Just because a project doesn't meet my needs or my budget, doesn't mean it's not needed by thousands of others.  

 

In this case, if I lived in HH or Patts, I'd go for it, and leave the driving to the captain.  And I don't even drink.  Another consideration for many who would gladly pay to be able to sip on a frosty cold one or 5 during those long hours instead of being sober behind the wheel or crammed into a careening mini-van with no booze allowed.

Well as I'm not a tourist I can't speak for them. I take your point about mini vans. But I will continue to drive. There is something bothering me about this ferry can't put my finger on it but time will tell.

Edited November 30, 20169 yr by Deepinthailand

Will just start my swim to Hua Hin early....no need to worry about the ferry passing me by.....?

Is the pier still being used by 10,000 people a day? Even though it's dangerous. Or has it been closed due to it being dangerous?

As for 'some think that the service is being rushed', I suppose it is by Thai standards. The service has only been mooted for about the last 10 years or so.

The city would like to inspect the pier before repairs are made, but inspectors refuse to do so, as it is too unsafe. So there is the problem

1 hour ago, yellowboat said:

Poor supporting infrastructure and an over priced service.  Does anyone know the French and Thai word for "deja vu" ?

Easy enough, deja vu is French for "already seen" and the Thais say "day ja woo".

2 hours ago, yellowboat said:

Poor supporting infrastructure and an over priced service.  Does anyone know the French and Thai word for "deja vu" ?

French  word is de ja vu

Thai word is mai bpen drain. ..lol

The first dead duck is about the journey time offered : A boat  travelling Pattaya/ Hua hin in 90 minutes for 61 NM.... mean an "average" speed above 40 kts.....or 75 Km/h
Due to leaving/docking operation it's mean need  little be more cruise speed..

How many boat have a cruise speed above 40 knots ?   That's all end of the duck...

1 hour ago, sahibji said:

clear case of cart before the horse. surely they should have checked up all the infrastructure even before thinking of planning the ferry.

"Failing to prepare is preparing to fail".

The technology is readily available for a fast, comfortable vessel that can accommodate both passengers and their vehicles. However I don't see either the investment or the competency required to select the correct vessel.

Plenty of examples of stable high speed ferries that operate in worse conditions and over greater distances. 

 

8 minutes ago, nchuckle said:

"Failing to prepare is preparing to fail".

I agree.

As stated:

The jetty in Laem Bali Hai is severely damaged after being used by 10,000 people a day and is an accident waiting to happen, it has been claimed.

 

Despite a budget for repairs the Pattaya authorities are suggesting that this is not the time to start the service and are calling for further inspections to be carried out before even the chance of permission to operate is considered.

 

They have admitted the jetty is in poor shape.  Why do you need to have more inspections?  Do you really need to inspected what has already been deemed piss poor?  Or are the further inspections to find the right inspector to say 'Things are A-okay'? hmmmm