In Pattaya changed routes of public transport (songthaew)

At the end of December 2016 the city authorities of Pattaya approved a new public transport routes of the city – tuk-tuk (or, more correctly, songthaew). The new scheme of motion in some way provides a more convenient transport accessibility of several urban areas, however, has several disadvantages. And the locals and tourists who are on holiday in Pattaya regular, long accustomed to the old traffic pattern used for many years in the resort. Moreover, many drivers of tuk-tuks are also not wanted to abandon the usual routes, and continued to carry passengers solely on them, ignoring the new traffic scheme. All this has led to some chaos and confusion, which did not add convenience during your holiday in Pattaya.

However, in February 2017, the local authorities took up the issue seriously and have already taken this series of active actions to restore order in the matter of public transport in Pattaya. Already since February 1, 2017 came into effect the procedure for authorizing the movement of passenger pickups only on approved routes. At the same time employees of the State Inspectorate carried out a number of preventive raids and has revealed many violations: drivers of songthaew continued to move on the streets, which is not included in the new movement pattern. As a result, the violators were applied severe measures of influence: fines of several thousand baht and a three-day arrest of vehicles.

All this has led to the fact that tuk-tuk drivers have become more conscious of the new order and more or less follow the rules. One of the unpleasant aspects of the new traffic patterns become complete prohibition of passenger tuk-tuks in popularity among budget travelers street – Soi Buakhao. This practice has been perceived by many foreigners as an attempt to rid the resort from independent travelers and motivate their to stay in more expensive hotels with better transport accessibility. However, so far no one has no plans to abandon from the cheap hotels on Soi Lengkee and Soi Buakhao, but the inconvenience of the new ban is already felt by many tourists.

Soi Buakhao in Pattaya – even in the daytime you can see traffic jam

On the other hand, Soi Buakhao – is a very narrow street, and two-way traffic on it has often led to huge traffic jams, especially in the evening during high season in Thailand. And at times it was a right decision to leave the tuk-tuk and take a walk than to lose time in traffic jams. However, more correct in my opinion would be to make this a one-way street, and leave at least one circular route connecting the urban area such as the Bali Hai pier. And, of course, it’s time for city authorities to take care of road resurfacing on this street and make the normal conditions for pedestrian.

In the near future on the site will be added new article “Transport in Pattaya – public transport routes on the map”, where you will find the scheme of new routes on the city map, information on the cost of movement between different areas of the city with the new seven routes. Stay tuned and enjoy your holiday!