Bangkok's skytrain and subway have seen an increase in ridership in the past two months as anti-government protests have carried on, causing a drop in expressway traffic, operators say.
A file photo shows anti-government protesters rallying at Asok intersection, the connection of the skytrain and subway, on Nov 7. The protests have triggered an increase in ridership. KITJA APICHONROJAREK
Anat Arbhabhirama, director of the SET-listed BTS Group Holdings, said 760,000 commuters travelled by skytrain this past Sunday as hundreds of thousands of protesters joined the rallies led by the People's Democratic Reform Committee (PDRC) to oust the current caretaker government.
Normally about 400,000 commuters use BTS services on a Sunday, said Mr Anat, also an adviser to BTS Group's board of directors.
Ridership on working days is averaging 650,000, up 10% year-on-year, driven by demonstrators and others trying to avoid traffic jams during the demonstrations.
BTS traffic has gained steam with the Silom Line extension from Wong Wian Yai to Bang Wa opening earlier this month and condos continuing to mushroom.
Extending a total distance of nearly 35 kilometres, the skytrain generates cash of 16 million baht a day, Mr Anat said.
Maybank Kim Eng Securities quoted BTS executives saying the 5.25 kilometres from Saphan Taksin to Bang Wa is to see ridership increase by 30,000 a day, up 4% from an average of 640,000 in the first 11 months of 2013.
Bangkok Metro Plc (BMCL), which operates the MRT subway, reported an increase of 24% in ridership this past Sunday from a normal Sunday average of 170,000.
"This is quite a substantial increase, although commuters were split among different modes of transport during the rallies," a BMCL source said.
On average, the subway handles 250,000 commuters on working days.
Traffic on the capital's expressways, meanwhile, has dropped slightly.
"The traffic has been affected [by the protests], but not significantly as they didn't block the entrances or exits of the expressway as seen in some previous rallies," said an official at the SET-listed Bangkok Expressway Plc (BECL).
Siam Tiyanont, an analyst at Phillip Securities (Thailand), said BECL traffic is likely to fall further in December after posting growth of 1.7% year-on-year in the first 11 months.
BECL traffic rose 2.1% year-on-year in October but fell 1.8% in November.
A recent hike in first- and second-stage tolls helped BECL reap a 7.9% year-on-year increase in revenue for the first 11 months.
BMCL's year-on-year growth was 8.9% in average ridership to 257,000 from January to November, said Mr Siam.
"A number of schools are closed due to protests this month, hurting potential ridership" he said.
BECL traffic will probably miss Phillip's 2013 estimate of 1.8% growth, he added.