Public Transport Issues in Small/Medium Sized Cities of Thailand Associate Prof. Dr. Kasem Choocharukul Department of Civil Engineering Chulalongkorn University 1
Presentation Outline Public Transport Regulation in Thailand Case Studies Lampang province Krabi province Rayong province Challenges and opportunities 2
Thailand Area: 513,120 km2 Population: 66M Capital city: Bangkok 3
Ministry of Transport Government Administrations 1. Office of the minister 2. Office of the Permanent Secretary 3. Marine Department 4. Department of Land Transport 5. Department of Civil Aviation 6. Department of 4 Highways State Enterprises 1. State Railway of Thailand 2. Port Authority of Thailand 3. Mass Rapid Transit Authority of Thailand 4. Expressway Authority of Thailand 5. Bangkok Mass Transit Authority 6. Civil Aviation Training Center 7. Thai Airways international Public Co. Ltd. 8. Transport Company Limited 9. Airports of Thailand Public Co. Ltd. 10. Thai Maritime Navigation Co. Ltd. 11. Aeronautical Radio of Thailand Limited 12. Suvarnabhumi Airport Hotel Co. Ltd. 13. THAI-AMADEUS Southeast Asia Co. Ltd.
Public Transport Regulation in Thailand Regulated by Department of Land Transport Safety regulations (vehicle design and standards) Economic regulations (fare, frequency, route, licensing conditions, etc.) There are 4 categories of fixed route serviced for passenger public transport 5
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Number of Vehicle Registered by Vehicle 7
Case Studies of Small/Medi um Sized Cities Lampang Province (Pop = 75 Krabi Province (Pop = 438,039) Rayong Province (Pop = 637,736) 8
1. Lampang Case Study Total area 12,534.0 km 2 (4,839.4 sq mi) Population (2011) 757,534 599 km from Bangkok 9
Issues for Category 1 Service Some public transport do not run on designated routes Some routes are too long (avg = 15 km) and are not used much by passengers Physical constraint of Lampang city and parking control on roadside affect public transport routes Drivers lack of professional skills in running transport business 10
Category 1 Service in Lampang City Three overlapping transit lines operated by one cooperative. 11
Issues for Category 4 Service Vehicles do not stop at designated bus terminal (stops reflect passnger s needs) Old fleet (> 10 years) Unreliable service schedule because of low number of passengers Coverage area issue due to recent housing development Overlapping routes with Category 1 service Increase in competing carpool demand in 12
Why is public transport not so population there? Overpriced transit fare Unreliable services Longer time compared to private vehicles Old and lack-of-maintenance fleet Impolite operators 13
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2. Krabi Case Study Total area 4,708.5 km 2 (1,818.0 sq mi) Population (2011) 438,039 814 km from Bangkok 16
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Issues for Public Transport in Krabi Province Overlapping service routes (only few major highways from city center to other districts) competing in passenger pick-up in some Category 4 services Illegal vehicles in tourist areas (Ao-Nang and Lanta island) Operators arbitrarily increase transit fare due to gas price increase and lack of passengers in certain routes 22
To Phuket Krabi อ.เหน อ คลอง To Trang 23
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3. Rayong Case Study Total area 3,552.0 km2 (1,371.4 sq mi) Population (2011) 637,736 179 km. from Bangkok 31
Public Transport in Rayong Province Non-fixed route buses Van serving tourists, students, and company employees Metered taxis in municipal area Motorcycle taxis in communities 33
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Issues for Public Transport in Rayong Province Drivers lack of professional skills Vehicles do not stop at designated bus terminal Lack of order in picking up/droping off passengers Insufficient parking space for public transport vehicles Illegal vans in Category 2 services between Bangkok-Rayong 36
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Summary: Challenges and Opportunities Supply side Service characteristics of public transit in small/medium sized cities in Thailand change quite rapidly. How do we respond to such changes? Transportation infrastructure and facilities need to be well prepared to better serve public transport Transit operators need to understand more on the market 42
Summary: Challenges and Opportunities Demand side How do we attract more public transport users, given the popularity of private cars/motorcycles in rural/suburban areas? There is an urgent need to understand travel behavior pattern Transit Data availability Needs transit-related database and information system 43
T h a n k Y o u 44