Transport Ministry roll out measures to facilitate New Year exodus
With more than 17 million personal vehicles expected to be on the road over the holidays, additional precautions to be put in place
The Transport Ministry on Thursday announced measures to facilitate people’s travel during the five-day long New Year holidays (December 28-January 1) as well as to ensure public safety.
The ministry estimated that some 17.37 million personal vehicles will travel in and out of Bangkok metropolitan during the period, while over 17 million trips will be made on public transport including buses, vans, trains, boats, and aeroplanes.
The measures are as follows:
1. Measures for personal vehicles
- Advise motorists to use secondary routes to reduce congestion on primary routes. These secondary routes are, for example, Highway no. 32 (Ang Thong – Sing Buri), Highway no.1 (Wang Noi – Nong Khae), Highway no.3 (Sukhumvit), Bangna-Trat Road, and Highway no.338 (Pinklao Nakhonchaisi).
- Advise motorists not to stop vehicles on the hard shoulder.
- Coordinate with courier service providers to suspend operations during the New Year.
- Prohibit trucks from using certain roads during December 27-29 and January 1-2.
2. Measures for public vehicles
- All related agencies must strictly follow traffic rules and increase their measures to ensure public safety and prevent road accidents.
- Drivers and conductors must pass an alcohol test and be physically fit.
- Public vehicles must pass a check before operation, while speed limit and driving behaviour must be monitored via GPS in real-time.
- Educate passengers about safety procedures and emergency evacuation in case of accidents.
- In case of delayed flights, airlines must immediately notify passengers of their options and compensation.
- State Railway of Thailand to deploy officials at train crossings without barriers to prevent road accidents.
- Related agencies urged to ensure that lighting and CCTV cameras in their areas are fully operational at all times.
3. Measures for countdown events in Bangkok
- Coordinate with the Royal Thai Police and Bangkok Metropolitan Administration to ensure smooth traffic flow and public safety during the countdown events in Bangkok, especially when people are heading home afterwards.
- Bangkok Mass Transit Authority to extend operating hours of public buses running pass countdown events and New Year religious ceremonies to 2am. These areas include CentralWorld, One Bangkok, IconSiam, Sanam Luang, Wat Pho, Wat Saket and Wat Rai Khing.
- All MRT trains, as well as MRT parking lots, will operate until 2am on December 31 and January 1, while the Red Line urban train will operate until 2am on December 31.
