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The Mass Transport of Kheha Thonburi + Vans of Rama 2.

 
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thaitransit



Age: 42
Joined: 07 Dec 2008
Posts: 40
Location: Mahachai City

PostPosted: Tue Dec 09, 2008 8:36 am    Post subject: The Mass Transport of Kheha Thonburi + Vans of Rama 2. Reply with quote

Last weekend I documented the various types of mass transport at Kheha Thonburi not far from where I live. I was quite surprised to find such an active range of modes of mass transport all working together. Some modern, some a blast from the past.

Kheha Thonburi is the last major centre in the south west of Bangkok before you enter Mahachai city. The area does not have a long history or anything special. It is just a recent outer suburban development about 30 km from inner Bangkok. The area is made up of just 3 main roads and a lot of narrow sois heading out to various housing estates. The area is mostly middle class Thai but it has its share of lower class and the rich.

The available modes of mass transport in and around Kheha Thonburi are SRT rail (Mahachai line), Buses, Vans, Truck – buses, Motorbike taxi and Samlor (pedal cabs). Most of this Mass transport is common to other parts of Bangkok but Samlors are now very rare in most of Bangkok and even in nearby cities. But in Kheha Thonburi they are alive and doing well despite the traffic and faster motorbike taxis.

This topic consists of two parts the first is the mass transport of Kheha Thonburi and the second is the Vans of Rama 2.

Part 1: Kheha Thonburi.

1. This is a shot of a brand new Chinese import air conditioned bus. These buses are now used on Route 558: Kheha Thonburi – Suvarnabhumi Airport. Bus number 558 – 12. This bus is operated by Premium management a company that took over the operation from BMTA about 3 months ago.



2. This is another angle on Bus number 558 – 12. This bus is one of the smallest aircon buses in Bangkok. It is quite different from most other modern Chinese imports to Thailand in that its engine is at the front next to the driver.



3. This is a shot of a Route 171: Kheha Thonburi – Nakkila Village bus. Bus number 171 – 9. Bus type unknown. Seen as it passed by the Kheha Thonburi terminus.



4. This is an inside image of the Route 558 bus. Note the 2 + 1 layout of the seating and directly below the camera is the engine under the plastic cover. This bus is air conditioned but it also has open able windows which are rather different to most Thai buses.



5. This is a shot of a route 142: Paknam – Kheha Thonburi bus. Bus number BMTA 3 – 66350. Bus type Merc O405. Taken as it approached the U-turn point at Kheha Thonburi.



12. This is a short movie showing how frequent the bus services are at Kheha Thonburi. Note: the amount of buses that come in the couple of minutes. Also they stop in a number of separate places along the bottom 2 lanes of the road. Also the stop length is very short on some of the buses just a few seconds. Some of the buses run with the doors open.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5k4SaTgr4Mk

Part 2: The Vans of Rama 2.

This section relates to the expressway van services that operate out of 4 terminals on Rama 2 road. These expressway van services are aimed at offering a more direct and faster trip across town. In some cases they also offer an air conditioned mass transport option to an area that only has non aircon buses.

The four Van terminals are Central Rama 2, Big C Rama 2, Kheha Thonburi Tesco (southside) and Kheha Thonburi Carrfour (northside). The destinations that are serviced by the Rama 2 Van services are broken down into 2 types commuter and interurban.

Commuter van destinations: Taling Chan, Southern Bus Terminal, Mahachai City, Central Lat Prow, Kasetsart University, KMUTT, Bang Pa Kok, Rangsit, Victory Monument and Bangna

Interurban van destinations: Bang San, Chonburi, Pattaya, Hua Hin, Amata Industrial Park and Maeklong.

The cost for using the Commuter Vans ranges from 20 baht to 50 baht a trip. Payable in cash to the driver when underway. No tickets are issued for these services. Almost all van services only display simple signs in Thai language. This can make locating the correct van rather fun. If you speak Thai you can ask the van drivers directly for the correct van. Unless you sit in the front next to the driver these vans offer very little leg room and are only comfortable for short trips under 60 mins.

The Interurban vans cost from 100 baht upward per trip. But the comfort is the same as commuter vans and no luggage storage is provided. Also most these destinations are over 1 hour with some up to 4 hours away! These vans are not recommended for people with luggage or who are very tall as legroom is very limited. Normal buses also operate to these interurban locations from the eastern bus terminal in Bangkok.

The van services do not operate to a timetable or at a set frequency. They wait until a full load of 15 passengers has been reached then leave. During peak travel times waiting for the van to fill will not be a problem as demand often exceeds supply. During off peak times waiting for the 15 passengers can add 10 to 15 mins to the total trip time. If you’re thinking of using these vans in the off peak allow an extra 15 mins for your journey.

Central Rama 2 Van Terminal.

1. This is a shot of a commuter van waiting for passengers heading for Taling Chan and Southern Bus Terminal. Note: There are no route numbers or vehicle numbers for most van services.



2. This is a shot of two interurban vans waiting for passengers at Central Rama 2. The closer van with the open door is heading to Bang San/Chonburi and the van behind is heading to Amata Industrial Park.



3. This is another angle on the Bang San interurban van service. Taken looking toward the shopping centre.



5. This is an overview shot of the Central Rama 2 Van terminal. Taken from the footbridge. Commuter vans tend to be on the side closest to the street and interurban vans closer to the shopping centre.



Kheha Thonburi Carrfour van terminal.

11. This is a shot of the Kheha Thonburi Carrfour van terminal. The van on the left is heading to Rangsit and the van on the right is heading to Bangna. This terminal is the smallest van terminal in the Rama 2 area.



These van services as you can tell from the images are an informal type of mass transport that came into being with the opening of the expressway system in the early 1990s. Bangkok has lots of hidden forms of mass transportation such as these vans. You don’t have to travel far from your home to find some mode of mass transport in Thailand. In some ways the amount of mass transport choice in Thailand is something that western nations could learn from.

If you would like to see more images and information at the mass transport of Kheha Thonburi and the vans of Rama 2 please visit:

http://thaitransit.blogspot.com/2008/07/mass-transport-of-kheha-thonburi-vans.html

I hope you find the pictures and vehicles shown to be of interest if you view this please post some comments and feelings about the pictures.
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