After 12 years of continuous service, Bangkok's Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) -- a 15-km feeder bus route linking Sathon and Ratchaphruek roads -- should have been more popular, the way similar systems in Bogota and Guangzhou have been embraced by those cities' residents.
Unfortunately, this isn't the case with the BRT. Locals believe the area deserves a more modern mass-transit system, for example, a monorail. Meanwhile, motorists blame the route's design for compounding the area's traffic woes, as traffic often grinds to a halt whenever an accident takes place along the route, or whenever traffic police stop cars from entering BRT lanes.
In fact, even the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) has expressed its reluctance to keep the service running before, citing continued financial losses and below-target ridership.
As City Hall mulled ending the BRT service in 2017, then-governor Aswin Kwanmuang -- who was appointed by the junta to run the capital after the coup -- commissioned a survey to gauge public opinion on whether or not to keep it.
Surprisingly, a significant number of people believed the BMA should continue running the service and improve passenger experience. Even Deputy Prime Minister Prawit Wongsuwon voiced his support for the BRT. Consequently, Pol Gen Aswin was forced to promise to keep the BRT running, until the BMA came up with a better transport alternative for the area.
True to his word, Pol Gen Aswin only kept the BRT running, without making any effort to make it any better. As a result, the route saw no improvements and traffic problems along the route persisted.
Considering the BMA's past reluctance to keep the service running, it was surprising to hear that City Hall will once again review the BRT. Last week, governor Chadchart Sittipunt ordered Krungthep Thanakhom, the BMA's investment arm, to review the project, before the concession to run BRT services -- currently held by a private company -- expires on Aug 31 next year.
Under Mr Chadchart, the BRT has a greater chance of seeing better days, as the governor praised the benefits of modernising the city's public bus services during his election campaign.
"A developed country is not a place where the poor have cars. It is where the rich use public transportation," he was once quoted, echoing Gustavo Petro -- former mayor of Bogota and current president of Colombia. During his election campaign, he also pledged to improve passenger experience on the BRT, in addition to solving the traffic problems it causes.
In light of his pledges, Bangkok residents are now expecting the governor to apply his eagerness and idealism to improving the city's entire transport network, instead of using pragmatic business calculations.
What motorists really want is to see BMA officials and traffic police working together to prevent traffic violators from entering BRT lanes, clogging up these restricted lanes which are meant to allow buses to move freely.
The BRT's existing infrastructure and fleet are also mediocre at best. Apart from only having 25 buses, the majority of BRT stops lack safety features.
Many lack adequate lighting, while surveillance systems are absent from others. The BMA needs to urgently upgrade them to ensure they are safe and convenient to use.
There is still plenty of room to improve the BRT. The question is, can governor Chadchart turn his pledges into reality?
