Troubled rapid bus route gets deadline

[Khun Don]

Troubled rapid bus route gets deadline
By Mayuree Sukyingcharoenwong
The Nation
Published on September 2, 2010

The Bt2-billion Bus Rapid Transit (BRT)'s Sathorn-Rajapreuk route - which was trial-launched in late May - is reported to be facing many problems, and public dissatisfaction has prompted another four routes in the pipeline to be suspended and possibly cancelled.

The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) has asked for another four months for the BRT Sathorn-Rajapreuk route to operate before making a decision on whether to cancel it and the other four routes.

After the Sathorn-Rajapreuk route opened on May 29, transporting 20,000 commuters daily, it was reported that 10 per cent of personal car users had shifted to the BRT. However, about 60 per cent of surveyed motorists were not satisfied with the project, said Bangkok Deputy Governor Theerachon Manomaipibul.

The route was to charge a flat fee of Bt10 from September 1 onwards and collect fares ranging from Bt12 to Bt20 after January 2.

The city has now suspended the BRT route, studying procedures on the Mor Chit-Civil Service Complex-Nonthaburi, Sathorn-Suksawat, Don Muang-Min Buri-Suvarnabhumi and Min Buri-Sri Nakarin-Samrong routes.

Theerachon said the problem was that car drivers were not observing traffic laws and some were not familiar with the BRT and the fact that it had its own lane. He said it would take three or four months for people to adjust to this.

More: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/home...-30137076.html

[Curt]

We were driving down Narithiwat, just the other day. It seems that the BRT bus drivers "were not observing traffic laws and some were not familiar with the BRT and the fact that it had its own lane". We saw 4 of them in the regular traffic lanes, two of them in the far left!