Pattaya gets 70-million baht to start tram project

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Pattaya gets 70-million baht to start tram project

Post by Gaybutton »

Pattaya Tram project moving forward, 70 million baht budget approved

By Adam Judd

November 23, 2019

Pattaya – The design and study of a Pattaya Tram project is expected to be completed by the middle of next year.

The Pattaya City Mayor Sonthaya Khunpluem revealed yesterday to The Pattaya News that a 70 million baht budget has been received for hiring experts who are designing, studying and surveying transportation links with the Tram stations.

The study is expected to be completed in the middle of next year.

This is part of the Eastern Economic Corridor work for Pattaya. The exact route, pricing and structure is to be determined. The project has been discussed for quite some time but with the EEC work continuing in the local area the priority of the project has escalated.

The hope is the tram system will encourage less people to drive in the city and cause less air pollution. It is noted that local baht bus drivers have been opposed to the project for some time in the city.

Story and graphics: https://thepattayanews.com/2019/11/23/p ... -approved/
Jun

Re: Pattaya gets 70-million baht to start tram project

Post by Jun »

That's exactly what Pattaya needs, at least in the centre. Put in a few lines. Make sure they connect with the planned high speed rail station, bus stations etc.
Make sure the trams have priority over road vehicles at junctions, or put in overpasses. Make it fast, so it's a superior option to driving.

The baht bus drivers should be ignored. Whilst they mostly provide a reasonable service, improving transport efficiency and reducing pollution is more important than preserving pointless jobs.
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Re: Pattaya gets 70-million baht to start tram project

Post by Gaybutton »

Jun wrote: Sat Nov 23, 2019 8:35 pm The baht bus drivers should be ignored. Whilst they mostly provide a reasonable service, improving transport efficiency and reducing pollution is more important than preserving pointless jobs.
I agree that building this tram is far more important than baht bus drivers worried about it. Tram or no tram I doubt it will have much effect on the baht buses. The main reason for the tram is to reduce car traffic. Most people driving cars don't use the baht buses in the first place. Depending on the tram routes, prices, car owners parking and getting to the trams, speed of the trams, where the stations are, ease of access to the stations, how long the wait for the next tram will be, whether they will operate 24 hours, whether you have to climb a lot of stairs to get to the trams, etc, I wonder how many people who routinely use the baht buses will stop using them in favor of the trams. I think the only two ways the baht buses really would suffer would be if use of the trams is free and/or they ban the baht buses entirely.

I live on "The Dark Side" and because of the traffic and parking problems I don't like driving in the central city and I avoid doing so as much as I can. There's no such thing anymore as driving in the city without getting stuck in traffic. Other than shopping malls, finding a place to park is very difficult and a matter of sheer luck to ever successfully find a place to park anywhere near my destination. I rarely have that luck. I've had many times when I spent a great deal of time searching for a place to park before finally finding a place and I ended up so far from where I wanted to go that I actually had to take a motorbike taxi to and from where I finally found a place to park. I might as well have taken a motorbike taxi from home rather than trying to drive at all. I've even had times when I just gave up searching and went back home.

I would love to use tram service if parking and stations are convenient, the routes are sensible, and you don't have to fight traffic jams just getting to and from wherever cars are supposed to park.

After years of only talking about it, if they finally really are going to do this, I hope they do it right. I, for one, would be perfectly willing to put up with the traffic nightmare during the construction if it will result the way I hope it will.
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Re: Pattaya gets 70-million baht to start tram project

Post by Undaunted »

The first and easiest way to get an immediate impact on the traffic problem would be to bar the tour buses from the bright side of Sukhumvit.
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Re: Pattaya gets 70-million baht to start tram project

Post by Gaybutton »

Undaunted wrote: Sat Nov 23, 2019 9:18 pm bar the tour buses from the bright side of Sukhumvit.
And creating designated parking lots and requiring the tour buses to park in them instead of continuing to allow them to park virtually anywhere they please.
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Re: Pattaya gets 70-million baht to start tram project

Post by Undaunted »

Gaybutton wrote: Sat Nov 23, 2019 9:27 pm
Undaunted wrote: Sat Nov 23, 2019 9:18 pm bar the tour buses from the bright side of Sukhumvit.
And creating designated parking lots and requiring the tour buses to park in them instead of continuing to allow them to park virtually anywhere they please.
Exactly!
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Re: Pattaya gets 70-million baht to start tram project

Post by Captain Kirk »

Sounds like a rather large project. B70 mill sounds like a rather small amount.
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Re: Pattaya gets 70-million baht to start tram project

Post by Gaybutton »

Captain Kirk wrote: Sun Nov 24, 2019 12:07 am B70 mill sounds like a rather small amount.
I think the 70-million is only for the study. The construction will cost far more than that.
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Re: Pattaya gets 70-million baht to start tram project

Post by Dodger »

Gaybutton wrote: Sat Nov 23, 2019 9:27 pm
Undaunted wrote: Sat Nov 23, 2019 9:18 pm bar the tour buses from the bright side of Sukhumvit.
And creating designated parking lots and requiring the tour buses to park in them instead of continuing to allow them to park virtually anywhere they please.
That's exactly what they did in Bang Saray and the residents are still celebrating.

Those bastard buses filled with Chinese started flowing into Bang Saray right after a Chinese owned resort opened earlier this year. The residents of this small town appeared to be in shock as the first monster bus belching black smoke came rolling right into the middle of the morning market which can barely be navigated on a motorbike, creating a major bottleneck. One week later another bus tried driving down one of the tiny sois and ripped out the overhead electric wires, which resulted in the Navy getting involved. One week later the word was out that tour buses are no longer allowed to enter Bang Saray. They now park those bastard buses up on Sukhumvit on the Na Jomtien side, but can't go any further. Just one of the advantages of living in a town monitored by the Navy versus the do-nothing police.
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Re: Pattaya gets 70-million baht to start tram project

Post by Gaybutton »

I hope this doesn't happen, but I can picture it - Pattaya going through everything we're going to have endure while the trams are being constructed. Then we won't be able to use them because they're filled with Chinese tourists . . .
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