The Bangkok Mass Transit Authority (BMTA) has acknowledged that its public bus service has been experiencing severe vehicle shortages on nearly 27 routes, with nearly 90% of commuters reporting lengthy wait times.
BMTA Director Kittikan Chomdoung Charuworapolkul said the agency operates over 2,880 buses throughout the capital. However, maintenance issues with a number of vehicles, exacerbated by the pandemic, have resulted in the suspension or disruption of services on certain routes.
Kittikan noted that most BMTA buses have been in service for five to 25 years and that not all of them still work properly. He added that older buses are occasionally taken out of service for repairs, which affects the availability of certain routes.
In years past, the BMTA served between 800,000 and 900,000 passengers per day on a total of 19,000 daily trips. However, the pandemic compelled the BMTA to alter routes and schedules as well as implement social-distance measures, resulting in a decline in passenger numbers to between 200,000 and 400,000 per day and a reduction in total daily trips to approximately 17,000.
Kittikan also said the BMTA is in the process of rescheduling route service schedules, particularly during evening hours, as well as arranging additional buses for specific overcrowded routes. (NNT)
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