Fares:Increase Freeze

[hamokhamok]

Hi. I'm wondering if anyone knows what fares will apply on the Subway when it opens in April.
I would also like to know what service will be provided.
Start time, frequency and end time each day.
Thanks.

[Wisarut]

12-32 Baht/trip for 1st year and 14-36 Baht for the later years
Children and old men pay haflf of the price while the student pay 2/3. The opening time is from 5 AM until midnight .

4-5 Min for normal hour and 2-3 min for rush hours

Park and ride is a sure thing at Ratchada and Brew Pavillion

[hamokhamok]

Thanks for that information. Is it expected to have that frequency from the opening day next month or is this the projected frequency. I will be in bangkok in June and was hoping to use it to get to HuaLampong Station.
Regards.

[Wisarut]

Khun hamokhamok, the frequnecy of the subway will be the way I ha ve written ... However, it can be readjusted according to the demands .... and they look at the Schedule of BTSC Skytrain as the benchmark for that.

[Ganyc]

Khun Bangkok,

Bangkok subway fares from 14 Baht to 36 Baht after 12 August 2005 is roughly the same as the subway fares or still lower than the subway fares in Singapore. The highest subway fare in Singapore is more than 36 Baht, around 1.80 Singapore Dollars as far as i can remember !!!

A wisdom of appropriate subway fares should apply everywhere: When there is economy difficulty, subway fares must not increase, provided sufficient reasons are emphasized to account for the fare hike. For example, in Singapore, the subway fares remain very high to me during economy hardship and recovery because there is still a very high demand for fast subway travel to work to survive and because the employees of SMRT want higher pay in order to continute to work for SMRT.

In case in Bangkok, if demand for subway travel falls, continuous fare hike is not justified. The fares should be similar to the Skytrain fares in order to remain service-competitive and attractive to commuters.

I suggest alternatively that there should be a common authority in Bangkok overseeing the fare structures of both Bangkok Subway and Skytrain and their transport intergration with the public buses of Bangkok, so that there is fair competition among these transport companies. In Singapore, there is the TransitLink authority overseeing the transport service integration and fares of SLRT (Singapore's version of Skytrain), SMRT (Singapore's subway system), SMRT Buses, and SBS Transit Subway and SBS Transit Buses.

Ganyc
SINGAPORE

[The Enforcer!]

There is a move to do this in Bangkok, unfortunately (in my view) it is being looked at only from a commercial point or view in that the Government want ownership before integration of the systems.

I would have hoped tht they would go for an Umbrella organisation (like Transport for London) to co-ordinate all but manage part of the system.

A single Travelcard (for Subway, Skytrain and buses) would increase patronage enormously but i think we are years away from that.

The Enforcer!

[jpatokal]

In case in Bangkok, if demand for subway travel falls, continuous fare hike is not justified. The fares should be similar to the Skytrain fares in order to remain service-competitive and attractive to commuters.

Actually, the Skytrain's current fares have been criticized for being too expensive -- with prices going up to 40 baht, this is ten times more than the cheapest buses and above the starting price of a taxi even for a single person. If there are more than two people traveling together, economically it makes no sense to use the Skytrain.

Then again, Bangkok's taxi fares are ridiculously low and an increase has been brewing for a long time, which would also alleviate this problem.

[Ganyc]

I think the bus fares of Bangkok are incredibly lower than the taxi fares and the buses' service standards are not as good as the taxis. I believe with the Skytrain and Subway in presence, the buses and bus facilities have to have a better image first before discussing about any increase in bus fares, so that even the tourists can be attracted to board the buses.

The taxi fares of Bangkok are ok to me. There should not be fare hikes. I do not wish the taxi fares to be like that in Singapore.

Ganyc
SINGAPORE

[mrtfreak]

ganyc, correction, MRT's highest fares are now around S$2.10. with the intrduction of NEL and SK LRT. with PG LRT, i think it will be a bit higher.

[Wisarut]

Khun Ganyc,

After the introduction of 30-day passes as well aas 1-day travel pass and 3-day travel pass, the number of passengers of SKytrain
is climbing to break 400,000 passengers a day barrier. Now, BTSC is going to aks creditor to delay 100 Million Baht debt payment so as to install Smart card System in 3 interchange stations as well as Major stations like Victory Monument, Siam, Saphan Taksin, National Stadium, Onnut, Phrompong, Nana ... so as to attract the Subway passengers to ride Skytrain to the station NOT covered by Subway.

However, BTSC should make a permanet installation of exchaning machiens to turn banknotes into coins for TVMs ... in addtion to the integrated Smart Card System.

Now, BMC/MRTA have fixed some glitches at Hua Lamphong ....
Now, they should considere issuing the 30-day passes as well as
1-day pas and 3-day pass

[Ganyc]

In Singapore, the SMRT fares will increase because of future added security costs, oil price hikes which the commuters must pay. It's hell of living for Singaporeans already. I would rather the security be part of SMRT staff, like the security of Skytrain. Travelling Skytrain is cheaper than travelling by SMRT and SLRT, and you get a sense of security and assurance that you are in protection once you arrive at Skytrain.

With Skytrain, Bangkok is wonderful to tourists and locals !

Actually, i feel that Singapore's oil source need not be the Middle East. There is Indonesia where Singaporeans derive their natural gas from for our homes and then there is Central Asia with the next biggest oil deposits. Why the hell do we hear oil price hike and because of oil price hike, SMRT fares and MRTA fares, as well as our utilities must definitely increase, though oil may not be the main reason ? Do Thailand and Singapore import direct oil from the Middle East only ? Do they check whether the energy source comes from oil only ? There are so many countries in the world today. Do all countries import oil only from the Middle East ? Oil would have been exhausted fast. Aren't there oil alternatives ? Somehow, there must be a better reason for a hike in subway fares in any country.

Ganyc

[mrtfreak]

khun wisarut,
what was the glitch at Hua Lampong about?

[admin]

I was going to post this tomorrow, but since there are already questions:

Wisarut writes: Now, BMCL-MRTA have fixed the broken signal so as to open Hua lamphong and Sam Yan at 6 AM of Saturday. I coiuld see many passengers storming SDubwya stations as usual.
For the several glitches including the loosened screw for
the steel handle for Train No 1015 whcih cause the wobbled handling ... Fortunately, they have fixed the problem quickly ....
This is ude to either hte rush of production as well as the sardine-canned pasenger have pushed andpulled the steel handing so often due to the shortage of handings avaiable. ....

The Opinion abotu Subway temporary glitches are here:
http://www.manager.co.th/Home/ViewNe...=9470000023563
http://www.manager.co.th/Crime/ViewN...=9470000023611
http://www.mthai.com/webboard/5/4425.html

*****
from Bangkok Post:
Subway suffers breakdown Electrical fault, passengers safe

Bangkok's new subway system suffered its first breakdown on Friday when services between Hua Lamphong and Sam Yan stations were halted because of electrical failure.

Prapas Jongsanguan, director of the Mass Rapid Transit Authority of Thailand, said a minor electrical failure and not the train's control mechanism caused service between the two stations to be halted from 8:30pm until the midnight closing time on Friday. Service along the remainder of the line continued as usual. Full service resumed at 6am yesterday.

``Three pieces of electric energy control equipment short-circuited, stopping the rail switching system from functioning,'' said Mr Prapas. ``The train made an emergency stop at the nearest station as it was programmed to do so for the safety of the passengers.''

The search for the electrical fault took around three hours, proving that the train's control mechanism was not to blame. At no time was public safety compromised because of the electrical failure, he said.

To prevent similar incidents from occurring, he has asked Siemens, which provided the bogeys and is responsible for looking after the backup electrical system, to deal with the problem and ensure it does not happen again.
(http://www.bangkokpost.com/News/18Ju...476808276a7afb)

[jpatokal]

Originally posted by Ganyc
I would rather the security be part of SMRT staff, like the security of Skytrain. Travelling Skytrain is cheaper than travelling by SMRT and SLRT, and you get a sense of security and assurance that you are in protection once you arrive at Skytrain.

According to raw GDP per capita figures, Thailand is 10x poorer ($2100 vs $21000) than Singapore. A Skytrain ticket that costs 40 baht (~S$1.5) is thus in fact the equivalent of S$15 for the average person in Thailand...! Even PPP figures usually rank Thailand at about $7000 (3x poorer), meaning the 40 baht ticket is still equivalent to around S$4.5.

And "security" for any elevated train system is bullshit. Absolutely nothing, certainly not that guy in a dark uniform making sure people don't step over the yellow line, is stopping terrorists from planting bombs under the supports of the elevated track in either Bangkok or Singapore.

Actually, i feel that Singapore's oil source need not be the Middle East. There is Indonesia where Singaporeans derive their natural gas from for our homes and then there is Central Asia with the next biggest oil deposits. Why the hell do we hear oil price hike and because of oil price hike, SMRT fares and MRTA fares, as well as our utilities must definitely increase, though oil may not be the main reason ? Do Thailand and Singapore import direct oil from the Middle East only ?

Oil is oil, no matter where it comes from. If production in one place stops, there is less oil for everybody, and producers in other places will raise their prices to match.

And as for alternatives, I'm all for nuclear power, but I don't see Singapore or Thailand opting for this in the near future...

[Ganyc]

Hi, jpatokal,

Do check http://www.xe.com for the exchange rate between Thai Baht and Singapore Dollars. 36 Baht is roughly S$1.50 and so 40 Baht is definitely not S$4 plus.

I believe the farang companies should pay Thais a higher salary to travel by speedier transport. Standard of living in terms of Thai transport has increased.

As for glitches, SMRT does suffer glitches at times. I believe MRTA and SMRT are working hard to ensure glitches do not occur.

SLRT (Singapore's Skytrain) is the disastrous transport network of Singapore, giving Singapore a very bad name. Glitches were often in the past.

I have not heard of any Skytrain glitch but I have heard of ticket fraud from KL Monorail (Kuala Lumpur's colourful Skytrain).

I am sure Thailand must have improved security at Subway and Skytrain services. Otherwise, it will bring Bangkok a bad name and nobody will dare to visit Bangkok again. Again, the Chinese newspapers of Singapore are saying Bangkok has serious bird flu. The bird flu news of Bangkok was on yesterday's front cover of Singapore's Chinese newspapers. Not sure whether Bangkok tourism has once again been hit or not.