reader Posted January 24 Posted January 24 From Bangkok Post Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra has ordered free public transport in Bangkok for one week, starting Saturday, in response to worsening air pollution as dust levels have surged across all districts of the capital. Transport Minister Suriya Jungrungreangkit, also a deputy prime minister, said on Friday that the prime minister wanted the ministry and concerned agencies to address the high levels of particulate matter 2.5 micrometres and smaller (PM2.5) in Bangkok. From Jan 25 to 31, people will be given free services on buses and electric trains, said Mr Suriya. He has coordinated with the operators of Bangkok Transit System Plc (BTS) and Bangkok Expressway and Metro Public Company (BEM) to provide free rides for electric train passengers. The Bangkok Mass Transit Authority (BMTA) has also agreed to offer free bus services for the entire week. Bangkok on Friday was ranked as the fourth worst city in the world for air quality, according to the latest data from Swiss-based IQAir. https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/general/2946785/pm-orders-week-of-free-public-transport-to-combat-pm2-5 TMax and floridarob 2 Quote
TMax Posted January 24 Posted January 24 Trains are packed so hope they are putting more on for this period, I suppose doing this is easier than stopping all the burning. reader 1 Quote
khaolakguy Posted January 25 Posted January 25 Realistically how many car owners, if any, will switch to public transport because it is now free.................. The motivation for driving their cars was never financial. vinapu, TMax and daydreamer 3 Quote
reader Posted January 27 Author Posted January 27 On 1/24/2025 at 6:42 PM, TMax said: Trains are packed so hope they are putting more on for this period, I suppose doing this is easier than stopping all the burning. Friend in Bangkok used BTS today and confirms that many more riders are taking advantage of free fares. Said he had to wait for several trains to pass before his queue could board so doesn't sound like additional service was provided. daydreamer and TMax 2 Quote
Keithambrose Posted January 27 Posted January 27 26 minutes ago, reader said: Friend in Bangkok used BTS today and confirms that many more riders are taking advantage of free fares. Said he had to wait for several trains to pass before his queue could board so doesn't sound like additional service was provided. And they still only have 4 carriages,wl with platforms built for 5! TMax and daydreamer 2 Quote
vinapu Posted January 27 Posted January 27 I confirm that on both weekend day trains were more packed than normally. Airlink this morning seemed normal. Passenger are still requred to obtain tokens or tap Rabbit card normal way. It's just no money is, requires to get it and no money is, deducted from balance on card upon leaving system. tm_nyc, daydreamer and TMax 3 Quote
reader Posted January 27 Author Posted January 27 From Bangkok Post Train ridership surged 60% across Greater Bangkok on Sunday, the second day of the government’s week-long offer of free public transport to help combat air pollution, the Department of Rail Transport (DRT) said on Tuesday. DRT director-general Pichet Kunathammarak said ridership on the city's electric train network shot up 60.90% on Sunday, to 1,549,622 trips, over the three previous Sundays in January. The figure was up on the 45.29% growth in Saturday’s ridership, the first day of the free public transport campaign. https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/general/2948581/free-public-transport-gives-big-boost-to-bangkok-train-trip-numbers daydreamer and TMax 2 Quote
floridarob Posted January 28 Posted January 28 14 hours ago, vinapu said: Airlink this morning seemed normal. does that signal your departure? bkkmfj2648 1 Quote
Olddaddy Posted January 28 Posted January 28 16 hours ago, reader said: Friend in Bangkok used BTS today and confirms that many more riders are taking advantage of free fares. Said he had to wait for several trains to pass before his queue could board so doesn't sound like additional service was provided. Oh just push in ,as the doors open I tend to run to the front and push in ,even as people are getting out I'm walking in saying loudly "excuse me ! Excuse me !! 🗣️🤷♂️ Quote
Members daydreamer Posted January 28 Members Posted January 28 Ridership is up so much on the MRT, that I saw the ticket booth agents breaking open big new packs of shiny black tokens today when I went to Yaowarat. Quote
Keithambrose Posted January 28 Posted January 28 5 hours ago, Olddaddy said: Oh just push in ,as the doors open I tend to run to the front and push in ,even as people are getting out I'm walking in saying loudly "excuse me ! Excuse me !! 🗣️🤷♂️ What was that post about foreigners behaving badly? floridarob, Raposa, khaolakguy and 1 other 2 2 Quote
vinapu Posted January 28 Posted January 28 8 hours ago, floridarob said: does that signal your departure? Yes, from Bangkok but like they say " I will be back" soon floridarob 1 Quote
macaroni21 Posted January 29 Posted January 29 On 1/27/2025 at 10:49 PM, Keithambrose said: And they still only have 4 carriages,wl with platforms built for 5! I haven't looked closely, but I think the BTS platforms are built for 6 carriages. The BTS and MRT systems were already packed when I visited in December, It can hardly get worse now that the government has mandated free rides. But it is also because of government interference like this that the system is still running on 4 carriages (and sub-optimum frequency too). As I mentioned in a recent post https://shamelessmacktwo.travel.blog/2025/01/02/bangkok-miscellany-nov-dec-2024/ the government ordered the BTS system operator to build extensions to the suburbs, then mandated free trial runs, but has not paid what they owed to the system operator. The dispute is mired in court suits. BTS is limping along with perennial cash flow problems as a result. How are they to buy additional rolling stock to alleviate the crowding? TMax, vinapu and tm_nyc 3 Quote
Keithambrose Posted Wednesday at 11:27 PM Posted Wednesday at 11:27 PM 21 hours ago, macaroni21 said: I haven't looked closely, but I think the BTS platforms are built for 6 carriages. The BTS and MRT systems were already packed when I visited in December, It can hardly get worse now that the government has mandated free rides. But it is also because of government interference like this that the system is still running on 4 carriages (and sub-optimum frequency too). As I mentioned in a recent post https://shamelessmacktwo.travel.blog/2025/01/02/bangkok-miscellany-nov-dec-2024/ the government ordered the BTS system operator to build extensions to the suburbs, then mandated free trial runs, but has not paid what they owed to the system operator. The dispute is mired in court suits. BTS is limping along with perennial cash flow problems as a result. How are they to buy additional rolling stock to alleviate the crowding? Yes, I'm aware of the dispute. It's just typical. I remember how long it took to build the first line, endless delays, and the mad idea to have only a single line at Saphan Taksin. Not exactly forward thinking. A bit like the UK, and Heathrow! vinapu 1 Quote
reader Posted Saturday at 07:27 AM Author Posted Saturday at 07:27 AM From The Nation Free public transport policy reduces personal vehicle use by 10% The government’s campaign of reducing air pollution by offering free public transport for seven days (January 25-31) lowered personal vehicle usage in Bangkok by nearly 10 per cent and led to a 38% rise in travel by electric train, the Transport Ministry reported on Friday. The ministry’s Office of Transport and Traffic Policy and Planning (OTP) reported that the number of personal vehicles in Bangkok during these seven days decreased by around 500,000, a 10% drop from the normal period. Personal cars make up for half of the city’s overall traffic at around 10 million vehicles, the OTP said. Meanwhile, the ministry’s Rail Transport Department reported the total number of electric train passengers from January 25-30 at 12,085,213 people, increasing from the same period of the previous week by 3,369,746 people – 38.66%. The department added that January 30 saw a new high in electric train passengers since Covid-19, at 2,331,534 million people, increasing 42.93% from the previous week. Suriya added that the public’s positive response to the measure showed that people were willing to adjust their travel behaviour to use public transportation, provided the fares were affordable. “This serves as an indicator that the 20-baht flat free initiative for electric trains on all routes that the ministry is set to implement this year should also be well-received by the public,” he said. https://www.nationthailand.com/news/policy/40045788 Quote
vinapu Posted Saturday at 08:19 AM Posted Saturday at 08:19 AM Not sure that drop in vehicle usage was visible but definitely increase in usage of rail transport could be seen from.far and wide. Quote
reader Posted yesterday at 01:22 AM Author Posted yesterday at 01:22 AM It may well have won over some bus riders on competing routes. Quote
