The Transport Co has suspended the contract of a private bus operator after the driver of a Bangkok-Chiang Mai bus abandoned it in mid-journey and walked off in Kamphaeng Phet, complaining he was too tired after working non-stop for several days.
The 48 passengers, Thais and foreigners, were left stranded on the roadside with the driverless parked bus on Thursday morning.
As news of the incident spread, the state-run Transport Co temporarily suspended its contract with the bus operator, Inthra Tour Co, and ordered an inquiry.
Sanit Promwong, director-general of the Land Transport Department, said the investigation found that the tour bus, licence plate number 15-9952, had not undergone the annual vehicle examination for the renewal of vehicle tax and registration, which expired on Sept 30, 2016.
There was also no GPS tracking device installed in the bus, as required.
He said the department had decided to remove this licence plate from the vehicle registration list and would fine the bus company 50,000 baht. The bus driver was also fined 5,000 baht and his driving licence suspended for 30 days.
About 7am on Thursday, highway police and rescue volunteers were called to Phahon Yothin Road in tambon Songtham of Muang district, Kamphaeng Phet. There they found a long-distance bus with a Bangkok licence plate stopped on the side of the road, along with 48 stranded and bewildered passengers.
Pol Lt Dokrak Khetman, deputy crime suppression chief at Muang police station, said the driver, identified later as Sakwarit Pawanthao, 40, had parked the vehicle and walked away, leaving the passengers in the dark as to where he had gone, or why.
Passengers told investigators the bus had left Mor Chit bus terminal in Bangkok at 8.30pm on Wednesday. When the bus arrived in Kamphaeng Phet, the driver stopped so they passengers could eat.
Normally, the stop would have been about 30 minutes, but this time it lasted an hour and a half.
When the driver finally reappeared he drove for another 20km, then stopped the bus on the side of the road in tambon Salokbat for another hour.
He drove the bus for another 40km and parked in front of the Kamphaeng Phet provincial administration organisation office, where he dozed for another 30 minutes before continuing the journey.
The problem culminated when he made a third stop on Phahon Yothin Road in Muang district, and just walked off. When he did not return, passengers asked an attendant to go and look for him, but the attendant also disappeared. So a passenger called the police.
Authorities then contacted the bus operator to send another bus to take all the stranded passengers to their destination, the Chiang Mai bus terminal. (continues below)
Passengers take their bags from the abandoned bus in Kamphaeng Phet before eventually boarding a replacement bus to Chiang Mai, after their driver walked off, complaning he was tired and over worked.. (Photo by Voraphot Chupinit Facebook page)
When the bus attendant finally returned with the the driver, Mr Sakwarit told police he was upset with his boss for requiring him to work for several days without a break. He was tired and overworked.
Police did not press any charges against him. Mr Sakwarit later drove the empty bus back to Bangkok.
The Transport Co asked Inthra Tour Co to explain the matter, and suspended its operating contract pending an investigation.
Nopparat Karunyawanich, deputy president of Transport Co, said the bus operator explained that the driver was tired from working such long hours, so he stopped the bus at several spots to take a rest.
The findings of the inquiry would be known in one week, he said.