Editor;
Re: No big tour busses allowed (PM Mailbag Friday, 19 June 2015) – Don, I fail to see the logic of your comment. Ours is a “user pays society”. There is no such thing as a free lunch. Who are these hundreds who will share the cost? And how does it soften the impact of gridlock and buses around venues?
A family of 4 arrives back at Bali Hi and sees a shuttle about to depart for the Hilton. As it is near where they wish to go they climb aboard. How does one tell a bona fide rider from a freeloader? Songthaew driver down B80, swearing to get even.
Along 3rd Road there is an allotment with many yellow buses parked and I wonder if they are the ones purchased by city hall several years ago to provide free transport.
One would have to be naive not to know of Pattaya’s “Black Economy”. A restaurateur already pads your bill with service charges & GST. A large percentage is never declared but entered in the ledger he keeps under the floorboards. This man will gladly pay toward a shuttle bus bringing patrons to his diner. He’ll put up his prices to cover the cost.
It’s the man who pays the piper that calls the tune. I see no merit in your comment at all. Those 60 people who arrived back at Bali Hai are still waiting. Should we send 7 shuttles, 7 songthaew – or will 2 buses do the job?
Bill Neal
