11 Dead in Minibus Crash Between Pattaya & Bangkok

[thaiworthy]

My boyfriend's father died in 2000 while falling asleep behind the wheel of a bus. His younger sister was also killed, after crashing into a bridge. She sold the bus tickets. The route had just started, so only a few passengers were involved. The next stop would have been where schoolchildren were being boarded. It was a rural community in Suphanburi. My heart really goes out when I hear these similar stories. It's a tough life for many Thais.

[christianpfc]

Language note: misnomer "mini-van". It's either mini-bus or van, there is no such thing as a "mini-van" (that would be a normal car?).

I suppose what Thailand needs is some entrepreneurs to set up branded national bus companies that run efficient reliable bus services from A to B, with clean on board toilets & absolutely NO unnecessary stops.

Nakonchai Air has a Thailand-wide network and gets good critiques.

Van is my third choice of public transport (after train and bus), and I take it often (about 100 times per year). Try to get the front seat (a bit more space and much better view). Back seats are not recommended if you are overweight or have luggage, less space than in airplanes economy class.

I take van from Victory Monument to South Pattaya (for me, locations are more convenient than bus from Ekkamai to North Pattaya), but I always ask when the next van leaves, and if it's in one hour (!), I go to a different company, where I have to wait only 15 minutes. Most of these vans stop for petrol shortly before reaching Pattaya (it's kind of 10 minutes stop and then another 20 minutes drive to final destination), always the same petrol station. I don't think there is any kick-back from vendors there, it's just poor planning.

I think vans are an efficient and cheap way of getting from A to B, albeit uncomfortable. To assess the how dangerous it is, I would need more data. I will continue using vans.

[windwalker]

Language note: misnomer "mini-van". It's either mini-bus or van, there is no such thing as a "mini-van" (that would be a normal car?).

A minivan is a smaller version of a cargo van or passenger van. Quite common in USA but I have not seen any in Thailand.
The German VW Type 2 vehicle was the inspiration for similar types of minivans such as the Dodge Caravan in 1983.

[christianpfc]

Thanks for your reply. I didn't know that minivans really exist: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minivan

I correct my above statement to: there are no minivans used in public transport in Thailand. It's either a van or a bus.