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MOTION B20 ‘BAHT BUS’ IN PHUKET TOWN MOVES AHEAD
The route and the minimum and maximum fares have yet to be settled, but drivers are paying out of their own pockets to get their vehicles ready Tanyaluk Sakoot reporter2@classactmedia.co.th
T
HE move to create a tuk-tuk driven “baht bus” for fares as cheap as B20 in Phuket Town surged ahead this week as Phuket Land Transport officials confirmed that the project had been well received by the Public Transport Cooperative Club (PTCC). “We have not yet received written
confirmation that the drivers agree to all terms, but verbal feedback from the drivers has been very good,” said Somsak Potneungnong, an administration official at the Phuket Land Transportation Office (PLTO). “Also, some of them have already had their tuk-tuks repainted in red and yellow, as required under the project,” he added. The move to create a “baht bus”, similar to the service that has
become famous in Pattaya, follows 87 illegal drivers, all members of the PTCC, being turfed off their patch at the main bus terminal on Thepkrasattri Road. In resolving the ensuing mob action, Phuket Gover nor Nisit Jansomwong called on the PLTO to draw up plans to bring the illegal drivers into the fold and provide a valuable service to commuters in Phuket Town.
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However, the route and the minimum fares have yet to be agreed to, Mr Somsak noted. “But the fares could be as cheap as B20,” he told The Phuket News this week. Mr Somsak added that the original requirement still stands that the tuk-tuk drivers will not be permitted to deliver or pick up passengers to or from areas outside of Phuket Town.
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