HEADLINES [click on headline to view story]:

Free bus service will be chaos

Pattaya should be in its own time zone

English translation of Thai Highway Code is available

Three more staying away

Another in favor of early closing

Wishing a victorious fight to Mr Leslie Wright

New regulations

Free bus service will be chaos

Dear Mr Mayor;
I applaud the idea of free transport in Pattaya and anything to get away from the Baht Bus Cooperative stranglehold on buses must be a good idea if it works. But do you really think they will let the free bus survive? I think you will need armed guards for sure on each bus even if the tyres are left alone.

However, I have just driven the route planned at night and feel the idea is full of potholes, like the road and faults from what I can see.

Take the route with me from Dolphin Roundabout. First, will the roundabout be opened up again instead of closed off causing traffic from Naklua Road to go up North Road to do a U-turn and return to the Island? Buses doing U-turns here is not a good idea.

Then it is planned to open Second Road one way, the wrong way, to a bus lane going south on the left I assume. This is to placate businesses on the roadway but how many deaths will it take to see the folly of this move? Better to keep one way, one way and use Beach Road for the service. This will open up the bus lane and road to other traffic; for sure once one goes that way others follow, bus lane or not, just see the mess in Bangkok where this is running abused by taxis and everything else. It is bad enough now to see bikes, police and cars using the road the wrong way day and especially at night.

The Pattaya Bazaar is the first problem with stall holders parking all along that first section. Then we come to the Palladium and the baht buses parked outside Big C ... where are they to go? The other side of the road is full already. Family Store food market has loads parked outside day and night, then it is Alcazar and the shops down to the tourist police office, always a vehicle or two outside there, ready for a quick response maybe?

Now we come to a major hurdle: Tops traffic lights. The bus lane is on the wrong side of the road so a completely new set of bus lane only timed lights will be needed as the bus moves over to the right side ready to turn right. How do you stop the boy racers from driving up the bus lane the wrong way and how will anyone know how to expect traffic coming from the opposite direction on a one way system to cross them from these traffic lights?

Once on Beach Road we already have too many buses with too few passengers so all I can hope for is that bus stops are clearly marked for baht bus and free bus alike, and enforced, because without that it will not work!

Walking Street Corner is the next stop as all the traffic does now, this is the biggest mess in Thailand for sure, time to re-think things here and buy up the properties on left side before the corner and make it a wide road with pedestrian bridges over. Oh! Please do enforce all the bus stops here for 24 hrs. every day and move them well before and after the corner as most of the problem now is baht buses dropping off and picking up passengers in this crowded no stopping place.

A police box is there, use it instead of the officers watching TV. Once you turn left into Second Road will the bus lane continue or not and how do you propose to have free bus stops where cars are not parked causing the bus to stop in the middle of the road, more bus stop attendants or guards?

Time for the tow away trucks to appear maybe, where they do it sure stops illegal parking as the trouble and cost of returning vehicles is huge in most countries. If you do can I have the ‘contract to make money’?

From here back up to Dolphin Roundabout is a bumpy ride but once again how do you find bus stops amongst all the extra vehicles parked now that the South side is cleared?

Lots of food for thought there Mr Mayor, it would be interesting to hear your reply before we get our ticket to ride, but without enforcement 24 hrs a day the free bus service will not survive for sure and unfortunately chaos will continue.

Signed,
BBW Resident

Pattaya should be in its own time zone

Dear Editor;
I can understand the concerns of the Pattaya nightlife operators regarding the government’s proposals to close entertainment venues at midnight as reported recently in your newspaper.

But is there not a simple solution at hand?

The mayor of Pattaya should declare Pattaya to be in a different time-zone from the rest of the Kingdom of Thailand. This is not a declaration of independence, just a different time zone. The Europeans have been doing it for the past 100 years. For instance, Portugal is in a different time zone from Spain, and the UK in a different zone from France and Germany. In the USA there are many different time zones. If the honourable mayor can solve Pattaya’s traffic problems by making it go round in circles, then this should be child’s play.

Pattaya time should be two hours less than the rest of the Kingdom. Then the beer bars, the go-go places, the night clubs and the rest can all continue their operations until 02:00 Pattaya time without infringing the Kingdom’s laws.

There would be secondary advantages. For instance, European visitors would no longer have to contend with a 6 or 7 hour time difference. This would be reduced to a more manageable 4 or 5. Happy hour would start in daylight, which would perhaps reduce crime and street accidents. Business people with an early meeting in Bangkok (say 08:00 Bangkok time) would only need to leave Pattaya at 08:00 Pattaya time, a much more civilised schedule.

In short: start everything two hours early!

Problem solved. No cost. Everyone happy.

Many good wishes to your charming country and your vibrant city.
Richard Haythornthwaite,
at present in Wong Amat

English translation of Thai Highway Code is available

Dear Editor,
In response to the recent correspondence relating to the Land Traffic Act of Thailand and the Thai Highway Code, the following might be of interest to your readers.

A translation of the Land Traffic Act can be obtained from Asia Books in Bangkok and costs 150 baht. It is possible that DK Books or Bookazine here in Pattaya stock it also. Normally, the translation can be found alongside English translations of business laws and economic laws. The book contains a lot of other Acts and Regulations but only the Land Traffic Act is translated into English. Because of this, it is difficult to comprehend fully the legal structure of the traffic laws in Thailand. There is no English translation of the Motor Vehicle Act yet, although the Thai version is readily available. The copyright law of Thailand states that law texts are not copyright protected. On the other hand, translations of law texts ARE copyright protected.

A translation of the Thai Highway Code, called “Driver’s Handbook”, published in English and consisting of 17 pages, is available in these same outlets.

Yours truly,
Len Agar

Three more staying away

Editor;
We are3 travelers who are trying to cancel our trip right now because we just heard about the new bar club law. I usually go to Koh Samui. What fun is a vacation when everything closes down at midnight or earlier? The person who came up with this idea obviously doesn’t want us to come to Thailand!

Hugs not bombs.
Peace,
Thomas

Another in favor of early closing

Dear Editor,
I have lived in Pattaya for almost 2 years, and I think that closing the bars at midnight will be a good thing for Thailand and the people who live here. Most tourists do not come to get drunk and meet “ladies”. I see more and more families here on vacation. These are the people Thailand should try and attract, as they spend more on food, hotels, souvenirs. The people complaining about the early closing time only see the bars and foreign restaurants. They miss all the culture and sights Thailand has to offer in the daytime. These people, a vocal minority, should stay home.
Sincerely,
Fred B.

Wishing a victorious fight to Mr Leslie Wright

Dear Editor,
I would like to express my wishes of prompt recovery to Mr Leslie Wright. I have appreciated reading his weekly column “Family Money” for several years and found it extremely informative and useful and have never yet expressed publicly my thankfulness for this.

Moreover I had the opportunity to meet him once and found him very amicable and helpful in non-business related issues whereas he had no obligation to do so.

Let us tell him that we miss him, miss his weekly contribution and wish him to gather all his strength and be victorious in his courageous fight.
Best wishes,
Pierrik Jaoen

New regulations

Greetings,
Just a thought, but could these new regulations and fees be meant to force the smaller bars out of business so the area can be taken over cheaply by developers?

Signed,

A concerned tourist

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