EV buses replace old banger No.8s

EV buses replace old banger No.8s
A No.8 bus hits a roadside in Bangkok in February in 2018. (Photo: Ruamkatanyu Foundation)
A No . 8 bus hits a roadside in Bangkok in February in 2018. (Photo: Ruamkatanyu Foundation)

City commuters will soon bid goodbye to Number 8 public busses — dubbed “Fast and Furious” for your way they are often driven — which will be changed by a fleet associated with electric air-conditioned vehicles later this year.

The  hot (non-air-conditioned) buses are now being phased out as they usually do not meet standards arranged under the Bangkok Bulk Transit Authority’s (BMTA) bus service change plan.

According to Bangkokbusclub. possuindo, they will be redesignated because No . 2-38.

Bidding was held to find an owner for the 20-kilometre route which runs from Memorial Bridge (Saphan Phut) in the heart of Bangkok to Happyland Market within Bang Kapi region.

Thai Smile Bus had been selected to provide the service for 7 years and the corporation will introduce a fleet of air-conditioned electric vehicles on the way.

Thiraporn Methisariyapong, bus functions manager of Thailänder Bus Transport, among three firms contracted to operate the old No . 8 service, said there was not much the operator could perform.

The girl said the firm ran up deficits of up to 30 mil baht during the lockdown and is now forced to shut down. The automobiles will be disassembled as well as the parts sold after the service ends.

Sawitree Siharat, 41, a boss at the No . 8 bus depot, stated all “hot” buses will be withdrawn, not only those on the Number 8 route, under the BMTA’s bus procedure plan.

She said she was upset when she heard this news. Many staff, which includes bus drivers, are very old to start a new job, she said.

Coach operators plan to distribute a petition with the Administrative Court on the BMTA’s bus change plan.

But the plan is likely to be welcomed by people after many lamented of speeding and collisions on various routes run simply by private operators given concessions from the company, including the notorious Number 8 route.