Bangkok bus stops get ‘smart’ with video screens, free WiFi

The 350 new stops will be installed over the next 12 months and also help protect commuters from city pollution, said the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) at today’s launch ceremony.

BMA spokesman Pongsakorn Kwanmuang unveiled the pilot bus stop opening tomorrow at Fortune Town shopping mall, complete with CCTV, a screen showing bus times and routes, and free charging and WiFi.

One hundred full-function bus stops will feature a 55-inch screen for BMA news, bus times, routes and transport connections; CCTV camera, electric light, mobile phone charger, and WiFi.

Another 250 “lite” bus stops will have the same equipment minus the 55-inch display and WiFi.

Billboard operator Plan B Media is responsible for upgrading, construction and maintenance of the smart stops at a cost of Bt400 million in return for rights to advertise there for 10 years. It will deliver 350 units by April 2021.

The BMA then plans to upgrade the remaining 2,650 bus stops in the city.
The first 10 full-function smart bus stops will be installed over the next 90 days along Ratchadapisek Road.