Bangkok rapid transit service on way out

The city administration is also seeking the views of Bangkok commuters on future of the loss-ridden and under-used BRT.
Bangkok’s Deputy Governor Amnuay Nimmano said the BRT was carrying only about 25,000 passengers a day, mainly people who were not its original target group of commuters.
They were mostly students and elderly people who were eligible for discount fares and did not use the Skytrain. The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) originally figured that the 15.9km route between Sathorn and Rajaphruek areas would feed commuters to the BTS elevated railway. This did not happen.
The BRT service was running at an annual loss of about Bt200m to the BMA. The loss was based on the two billion baht investment, which was not covered by collected fares. According to the deputy governor, motorists and motorcyclists started using the BRT’s dedicated lanes, which interfered with the service. This slowed down the speed of the buses and, in turn, made the service unpopular.
The BRT caused congestion because it took up many traffic lanes. On Rama-III Road, the BRT system has entire lanes. The number of vehicles using the roads far outnumbered BRT passengers. Concrete dividers demarcating BRT’s dedicated lanes will be removed and the lanes returned for normal traffic use. The BRT stations will be dismantled later.
This should be an eye-opener for Karachi’s mass transit department, which seems to opt for projects blindly. A glaring example of poor planning is the ramps on Sharae Faisal for the Baloch Colony overpass, which are now being dismantled. It is mind-boggling to find the ramps had traffic signals at the top, making cars stop on a ramp. A slight brake failure on the ramp could have lead to a major accident.
FH Mughal
Karachi
(Dawn/ANN)