Several Bangkok bus routes will be changed or shortened starting on Thursday under a reform plan that has drawn criticism from some commuters.
In order to reduce confusion and inconvenience, the Bangkok Mass Transit Authority (BMTA) said it would keep the old routes with the same bus numbers during the transition period until the end of August.
For example, the 205 line at present runs from Klong Toey to The Mall Tha Phra shopping centre, but the new 205 line will become a loop from Klong Toey to Talat Phlu train station using totally different roads.
Bus No. 21, which starts at Wat Khu Sang in Phra Samut Chedi district in Samut Prakan, will change its destination from Chulalongkorn University to Mahanak. Bus No. 195 will no longer drop off or take passengers at bus stops in Phra Pradaeng district in Samut Prakan as the line is being shortened.
The BMTA will also add 10 completely new routes on Thursday. All of the relevant information is posted (in Thai) on the bmtapromptplus Facebook page.
All of the changes are part of a mass transit reform carried out by the Department of Land Transport “for the convenience of people using the service”.
The new moves have been greeted with frustration and questions about the claim that the change is for better.
“Reform should mean making things better. But this is getting worse,” one commenter said on the BMTA Facebook page.
“Many passengers and students going to school in the morning will have problems with the rerouting of bus No. 79,” another added.
A Facebook administrator of the bus agency pleaded for sympathy, saying the BMTA had to follow the policy of the Department of Land Transport, a central government agency under the Ministry of Transport. The department now regulates all public bus services while the BMTA has become only a service provider, just like other private bus operators.
“The BMTA is determined to continue to improve the service. Please give us support,” the agency wrote.
A conductor on bus No. 195 on Tuesday kept reminding riders about the change starting on Thursday, amid concerns that they might not be aware of the matter.
She admitted students and office workers in Phra Pradaeng district taking her bus would be among the victims. “They have to take a bus from Phra Pradaeng to catch our bus to get to their places. That means they have to pay more,” the conductor said.