BANGKOK, 17 May 2014 – The Bangkok Mass Transit Authority’s (BMTA) new regulation calling for all buses to keep to the left lane and for them to stop at all bus stops came into effect on Friday, and many instances of violation were observed.
The BMTA was enforcing the new regulation in hopes of reducing bus accidents and improving safety and quality of service. It had aimed to cut the number of accidents and the number of complaints about bus service in Bangkok by half, within a period of 5 months.
Numerous bus drivers were seen ignoring the new regulation on Friday, also the first day of classes for many schools in Bangkok. Such offense by BMTA drivers was subject to penalties that range from disciplinary action, salary cuts, to reduction of pay grade; the severity depended on whether the offense was intentional, and the number of times the offender violated the regulation.
For privately-operated buses, violations would entail fines.
