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[Thailand] The Buses of Nonthaburi.

 
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thaitransit



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

PostPosted: Wed Jan 28, 2009 11:23 am    Post subject: [Thailand] The Buses of Nonthaburi. Reply with quote

Last week while on my way to ride the new Pak Kret Chao Phraya Boat service. I stopped at Nonthaburi and photographed the buses of the area and the busy Nonthaburi cross river ferry service. Nonthaburi is the main northern terminus of the Chao Phraya express boat service. However there is a recently introduced extension to Pak Kret.

A little Background on Nonthaburi.

Nonthaburi is located about 20 km north west of inner Bangkok. The area is home to over 1.1 million people. It is administered under a separate city council to the main Bangkok area. This means that issues like mass transport and urban planning are managed differently in Nonthaburi than in Bangkok.

Nonthaburi is made up of two sections of unequal size. The larger (70%) section is the lower density area on the western side of the Chao Phraya River and the smaller (30%) highly built up eastern section that directly merges into Bangkok’s middle suburban area. However the density on the western side is rapidly increasing.

The transport system of Nonthaburi in the past was almost totally water borne transport. In fact many of the large main roads in Nonthaburi were once klongs as was also the case in most of Bangkok. These klongs were filled in to allow roads to be built after World War 2.

Before World War 2 there was a minor 750mm gauge interurban commuter railway operating from the Bang Phlat District of Bangkok to Bang Bua Thong and Pathum Thani. Nothing remains of this rail corridor today. It is understood that some of the minor roads of western Nonthaburi were built directly on top of the old railway in the 1950s. I do wonder if any of the rails are still laying in place under the roads of Nonthaburi today.

Today the mass transport system in Nonthaburi is made up of a number of lower frequency local “Nonthaburi metro routes” plus a large number of high frequency BMTA and private bus routes coming in from Bangkok and Pathum Thani.

In addition to the bus system in Nonthaburi there is a direct connection to Inner Bangkok via the Chao Phraya express boat service. Also at Pak Kret a Klong boat service operates to Bang Bua Thong in western Nonthaburi. No rail based mass transport is available in the Nonthaburi area.

In the future a new elevated heavy rail metro line will be built from Bang Bua Thong to Bang Sue on the edge of inner Bangkok. This line will greatly help to ease the traffic problems of Nonthaburi as is passes though some of Nonthaburi’s most chronically congested areas.

The main bus terminal in Nonthaburi is located on a dead end road at Nonthaburi pier. This area is the transfer point for passengers from boat to bus. Tens of thousands of passengers transfer boat to bus and bus to bus at Nonthaburi pier. This area is considered the old city centre of Nonthaburi as a lot of more recent development has occurred north and west of the old city centre.

Like a lot of bus terminals in Bangkok this one has zero information for passengers but unlike other bus terminals the Nonthaburi bus terminal is simple as there is one major stop in front of the pier for both directions. Plus a few sub stops along the road from Talat Nonthaburi. So at Nonthaburi it’s just a matter of waiting for your bus to approach as they pass the one stop.

3. This is a shot of a Route 30: Nonthaburi – Southern Bus Terminal bus. Taken looking east along Krungthep – Nonthaburi road. Bus number 30 – 14. Bus type unknown.



7. This is a shot of a Route 97: Victory Monument – Ministry of Public Health bus. Taken looking east along Krungthep – Nonthaburi road. Bus number BMTA 7 – 55054. Bus type Isuzu aircon. Note this is a 24 hour service.



8. This is an image of a Route 1053: Nonthaburi – Muang Tong Thani bus. Taken as it was about to turn into Nonthaburi Sai 1 road. Bus number 1053 – 9. Bus type UD non aircon. This route is part of the Nonthaburi metro bus system.



9. This is an image of a Route 1: Nonthaburi – Sanambin Nam bus. Taken as it was turning into Nonthaburi Sai 1 road. Bus number 1 – 18. Bus type Merc Non aircon.



11. This is a shot of a Route 175: Nonthaburi – Talat Phlu bus. Taken looking east along Krungthep – Nonthaburi road. Bus number 175 – 26. Bus type unknown.



15. This is a shot of a Route 1024 Nonthaburi – Bang Bua Thong bus. Taken as it was about to turn into Nonthaburi Sai 1 road. Bus number 1024 – 28. Bus type unknown. This bus is the only route that crosses the Rama 5 Bridge.



20. This is an image of a Route 117: Nonthaburi – BMA office centre 2 bus. Taken as it was approaching Nonthaburi pier terminus. Bus number BMTA 8 – 80317. Bus type Mitsubishi non aircon.



25. This is a shot of a Route 545 bus. Taken as it was approaching the terminus at Nonthaburi pier. Bus number unknown. Bus type Higer KLQ6120G. This is recently imported CNG powered bus.



26. This is a short movie showing the amount of buses that pass through Nonthaburi pier bus terminus in less than a minute. There is a bus every 5 seconds on average passing. This was filmed just before the start of peak hour. Note the open doors on some of the buses as the pass by.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tyltWwwlT9M

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tyltWwwlT9M[/youtube]

30. This is a movie of a ride on the Nonthaburi cross river ferry. Filmed from inside the busy boat as it travelled from Nonthaburi to the western side of the river. Note the large number of people and the river side view. Also a number of different types of passengers and cargo boats can be seen crossing the ferries path.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-CUPBMOkvqA

On the western side of the river to Nonthaburi is a smaller bus terminal that has a number of truck – bus routes and semi rural bus routes. The buses operate less frequently in this area some only every 15 – 20 mins. This side of the river at Nonthaburi has a rural feel about it.

35. This is a shot of two Route 1003 buses waiting to depart from the terminus in Thanam Nonthaburi road. Route 1003 appears to operate every 7 to 10 minutes.



42. This is another angle on the Route 1002 bus. Taken just after it had turned around at the boat pier in Thanam Nonthaburi road. This bus does not have any doors that can be closed. This means do not sit near the door when it’s raining or you will be soaked.



If you would like to see more images from the Nonthaburi area please visit:

http://thaitransit.blogspot.com/2009/01/buses-of-nonthaburi.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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