Bangkok’s $1.4 billion skytrain system
Traffic congestion has long been a problem for Thailand’s capital, Bangkok.
In early December 1999, the Bangkok Public Transport System (BTS), also known as Skytrain, was opened by Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn.
The system is operated by the Bangkok Public Transport Company (BTSC) under concession from the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration.
The skytrain system helps Bangkok reduce congestion
Bangkok’s Skytrain system in 2019. Video: YouTube/Travel & Talk.
These two elevated train lines run through the commercial, business and tourist centers of Bangkok, connecting shopping centers and nightlife areas of the Thai capital.
The Skytrain system has 52 trains, serving an average of nearly 750,000 passengers per day.
Skytrain is considered an important part of Bangkok’s public transportation system, a convenient and quick alternative to other means of transportation, especially during rush hours and traffic jams.
Skytrain ticket prices depend on the length of the passenger’s travel distance, ranging from 16 to 59 baht (nearly 0.5-1.8 USD).
One of the features on Skytrain trains is that there are many advertisements.
Passengers wait for the Skytrain at a station in central Bangkok, Thailand in August 2003.
Countless advertisements, marketing images or brands appear on train carriages, while many large screens and advertising panels are also arranged at stations.
However, traveling by Skytrain also has certain inconveniences.
They also have to be especially wary of the train’s automatic door system, which closes just a few seconds after a passenger swipes their card at the ticket gate.
Because more and more Bangkokians choose Skytrain as a means of transportation during rush hours, the trains are often very crowded at 7-9 a.m. and 5-7 p.m., causing many passengers to have to jostle in the crowd and even have to wait.
It is quite strange that all BTS and MRT stations and trains do not have toilets, forcing passengers to use shopping mall toilets at some stations.
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