Bangkok’s new Rapid Transport Bus System debuts.
Saturday May 29th saw the opening of the first BRT (Bus Rapid Transport) route in Bangkok, running from Sathorn Station (BTS Chong Nonsri) to Rajapruek Station.
The 15.9 km route has 12 stops and the estimated time from one end of the line to the other is 30 minutes. The air-conditioned buses are 15 meters long and can carry up to 80 passengers with seats for 20 people. The buses run from 6 am to midnight every day with a bus running every 5 minutes during rush hour and every 10 minutes at non peak times.
Ticketing will function like the BTS Skytrain and the MRT subway, where tickets are purchased at a machine in the station, and you proceed to the platform after passing through turnstiles. As the ticketing system is not complete yet, riding the BRT will be free from now until August 31 2010, after which it will be 10 baht through December 2010, then between 12 and 20 baht from 2011.
Below is a Google Map of the route created by @RichardBarrow, who made also made the immensely popular map of trouble spots during the Bangkok protests in May 2010.
View Bangkok’s Bus Rapid Transport (BRT) in a larger map
A summary of features
- Dedicated lanes separated by concrete dividers are meant to guarantee fluid traffic.
- Comfortable skytrain-like transportation at a fraction of the cost.
- Weather-proof stations
- At-level boarding: you get onto the bus as you would onto a BTS car, no climbing up steep steps.
- You pay at the station, which is much more convenient than on-board fare collection.
- Park and ride facilities, one at intersection of Ratchaphruek and Ratchadapisek (80 cars) and one at BTS Wong Wian Yai (120 cars).
You can also download a PDF map of the BRT route, showing it’s course along Rama 3 Road, as it runs along the Chao Phraya River, then up past Thanon Chan, Yen Akart, and on to Sathorn.
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