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
