Up2u wrote:They've worked for just about every other city transportation system in the world.
a major disruption to traffic flow and a major irritation point for me.
In Just about every other city where it worked, were those cities dealing with swarms of motorbikes used as the predominant mode of transportation?
The baht buses have never been a serious problem for me, even when driving - a minor annoyance maybe, but in my opinion that's not the problem. I believe the problem is far too many cars, motorbikes, and tour buses using streets that were never built to handle so many of them in the first place.
I think even if the baht buses are forced to use designated stops, the difference it will make to easing the traffic problems will be so negligible that it will hardly even be noticed.
Until Pattaya either completely overhauls the city or comes up with a way of getting people around efficiently, with nearly everyone motivated to use that mode of transportation rather than motor vehicles, there will be no noticeable difference in the traffic problems no matter what they try to do and the traffic situation will only continue to get worse. Unfortunately, I believe that's exactly the way it will be for the foreseeable future.
I do believe there are a few things the city can easily do that would have at least a minor effect on the traffic problems:
1. Start realistically enforcing the traffic laws.
2. Require proper driver education before issuing licenses.
3. Modernize and computerize the traffic lights to coordinate them.