Selfish drivers are even using bus stops to
park, a double whammy as now the busses are unable to use them.
Surasak Huasoon
Another spot-check on the much-touted “crackdown” on illegal Beach
Road parking again showed that, so far at least, the new bus-stop system
is a failure.
Baht buses up and down the shoreline avenue parked anywhere they wanted.
Others outright parked in the red-and-white “no parking” zones. Tour
buses and minibuses also ignored the off-limit zones and double-parked
as they always have Feb. 25.
Shopkeeper Somkiat Kaewviset, 37, said so many people came from
different provinces to work in Pattaya that the city is crowded with
selfish people. “The way how people park is a terrible thing to see in
Pattaya right now,” he said.
In January, a host of regional government and police officers announced
the introduction of 17 well-marked bus stops for tour buses, baht buses
and taxis. The intent, they said, was to eliminate the “nonsense” that
Beach Road traffic had become, due mostly to vehicles that
double-parked, stopped anywhere they wanted and parked in restricted
zones.
Vigilant patrols, frequent ticket-writing and aggressive vehicle-towing
were promised. Supporting businesses paraded to back the initiative.
Then, once the camera lights went off and the bureaucrats went back to
their hovels, life returned to normal on Beach Road.
