More people opted for private vehicles over public transport when travelling over the four-day Constitution Day long weekend, according to Transport Ministry figures.
Chayatham Phromsorn, permanent secretary for transport, said 2.5 million people travelled on public transport on Wednesday and early yesterday, which marked the start of the long weekend -- about 5% less than the ministry had estimated. He added that a total of 3.1 million vehicles, 2.8 million of which were privately-owned, travelled in and out of Bangkok during the period -- which is 47% above the ministry's estimations.
Seven motorists were killed and 15 people were injured in 48 accidents on roads managed by the ministry from Wednesday -- most of which happened on straight sections of roads. None of the accidents involved public transport, Mr Chayatham said.
For the long weekend, many visitors have chosen to go to Doi Inthanon -- the country's highest peak in Chiang Mai -- to catch a glimpse of frost, as temperatures there have dropped to near freezing.
On Wednesday, temperatures in Omkoi and Mae Chaem districts dropped to 0 degrees Celsius, according to the weather bureau. Frost has been seen for the past five days in the early morning in the upper reaches of Doi Inthanon. Yesterday, the temperature at the peak rose to 3°C, park officials said.
On the ground in downtown Chiang Mai, the mercury dropped to 17°C yesterday. The cold weather has pulled in hordes of visitors, with some setting up their own or rented tents in Doi Inthanon national park, unperturbed by the resurgence of Covid-19 infections in Chiang Mai and neighbouring Chiang Rai.
Kriangkrai Chaipiset, Doi Inthanon National Park chief, said many people reserved camping space at Dong Sano, where they put up tents on Wednesday evening with the intention of rising early to enjoy the cool weather. Cool conditions are forecast to linger in the upper North as a result of a prevailing cold, westerly wind from Myanmar.
