The National Council for
Peace and Order dispatched Col. Popanan Luengpanuwat from the 14th
Military Circle in Chonburi to preside over the latest meeting about
Pattaya’s traffic and parking problems.
Urasin Khantaraphan
Meeting for the tenth time about Pattaya’s traffic and parking
problems, area officials and business leaders made numerous complaints
but offered no suggestions how to solve the long-running issues.
The latest meeting aimed at trying to resolve congestion and enforce
initiatives, such as designated stopping zones for taxis and buses, drew
the attention of the National Council for Peace and Order, which
dispatched Col. Popanan Luengpanuwat from the 14th Military Circle in
Chonburi to find out why so little progress has been made, despite the
many meetings.
Popanan quizzed Banglamung District Chief Sakchai Taengho and Pattaya
Deputy Mayor Ronakit Ekasingh why the previously announced plan to
change Jomtien Beach Road was canceled before it even began.
Ronakit said that, despite the change being planned and announced more
than a month in advance, the idea was dropped because the one-way system
could cause more traffic jams and confusion during the just-begun high
season. The one-way plan will be revived once high season has ended, he
said.
Members of the Pattaya Transport Cooperative, which runs the city’s
network of baht buses, then took the floor to vent their grievances
about competing taxis from outside Bangkok, illegally modified baht
buses and unlicensed taxis.
They said some private operators were modifying pickup trucks to work as
“songthaews” while “black license plate” taxis were parking illegally at
shopping centers and hotels, scooping up passengers that otherwise might
go to the cooperative.
They also complained about non-Pattaya taxis setting up booths to sell
services locally.
Police officials and the NCPO’s Popanan suggested that co-op members
report incidents when they see them so police can enforce the law and
pass information onto the NCPO to draft reforms.
