The Buses of Pathum Thani.

[thaitransit]

After visiting Rangsit I paid a visit to the semi rural city of Pathum Thani to document their local mass transport and bus system. Before I headed back to Rama 2 via Kanchanaphisek Road. Pathum Thani is approximately 50 km from Bangkok

A little background on Pathum Thani.

Pathum Thani is the administration centre for the city of Pathum Thani that includes the much larger Rangsit area. The offices and the seat of local government are located in this some what more rural town of Pathum Thani..

In the past Pathum Thani was an important river trade town with a large network of transport grade khlongs covering the entire surrounding area. These khlongs used to transport people and cargo to the Chao Phraya River and Pathum Thani. However today the river trade in Pathum Thani has mostly died out and been replaced with trucks and buses. Over the last 30 years the amount of farming activities in the Pathum Thani area has been slowly reducing as the land is turned over to residential condo complexes and industrial estates.

Pathum Thani today still is a trading centre for the local region with a large riverside wet market but it is mostly retail and local trade. A major wholesale wet market is located north of Rangsit. Over the last 30 years as Rangsit’s size and importance has grown, Pathum Thani has been in decline. However this is a blessing as it gives Pathum Thani a rural feel despite how close it is to the urban area of Bangkok.

Like Rangsit the bus system in Pathum Thani is broken up into 3 sections with no central terminal. However as Pathum Thani is much smaller it is much easier to find your bus. Behind the shop houses on the main road is a small bus terminal and food market. A few bus routes depart from this terminal. Just like in Rangsit there is zero passenger information at the bus stops and terminal as to which bus to take.

1. This is a video of the departure of a Route 1138 aircon bus from Rangsit metro bus terminal on a trip to Pathum Thani town. Note: how the bus departs with the doors open as the bus exits the terminal and then picks up a few people on the exit road before heading onto the main road.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=auXgJiizWJY

2. This is a shot of a Route 960: Bangkok – Sena – Phak Hai bus. Bus number 960 – 21. Bus type unknown. Appears to be a refurbished metro bus. Taken as it was doing a U turn at Pathum Thani.

http://i93.photobucket.com/albums/l7.../P1030502a.jpg

6. This is a shot of a Route 646: Nonthaburi – Pathum Thani - Ban Pan bus. Bus number 646 – 44. Bus type unknown. Taken as it was doing a U Turn in front of Pathum Thani market.

http://i93.photobucket.com/albums/l7.../P1030508a.jpg

7. This is a shot of a Route 1005: Pathum Thani – Sam Khok truck – bus. Truck number 1005 – 28. Truck type unknown. Taken as it was heading for the food market bus terminal.

http://i93.photobucket.com/albums/l7.../P1030509a.jpg

9. This is an image of the Samlor stand outside Pathum Thani market. These provide a slower but greener way for getting form the bus stop to your door. They cost between 10 and 50 baht a trip depending on the distance. These more popular with older Thais.

http://i93.photobucket.com/albums/l7.../P1030515a.jpg

10. This is a shot of a Route 367: Nonthaburi – Pathum Thani - Rangsit bus. Bus number 367 – 3. Bus type Higer KLQ 6608C. Taken as it was passing through the Pathum Thani bus terminal.

http://i93.photobucket.com/albums/l7.../P1030516a.jpg

11. This is an image of a Route 188: Pathum Thani – Bang Len bus. Bus number 188 – 29. Bus type unknown. Taken after it had U turned and was passing the row of banks in Pathum Thani town. Note how the doors are always open even when operating.
http://i93.photobucket.com/albums/l7.../P1030518a.jpg

12. This is an image of a Route 1138: Rangsit – Pathum Thani bus. Bus number 1138 – 38. Bus type unknown. Note this service operates every 5 mins off peak. This is an all aircon bus route.

http://i93.photobucket.com/albums/l7.../P1030520a.jpg

16. This is a general view of the Route 359 bus terminal outside Wat Chang just south of Pathum Thani Market. This route does not operate via the main road in front of the market.

http://i93.photobucket.com/albums/l7.../P1030528a.jpg

19. This is an inside shot of the same Route 359 bus. Note how the rear door is missing. On these buses never sit in the back row if you want a comfortable ride. As you tend to get bounced of the seat at every khlong bridge.

http://i93.photobucket.com/albums/l7.../P1030533a.jpg

24. This is a shot of a Route 33 bus waiting at the rear Pathum Thani bus terminal. Bus number 33 – 46. Bus type Unknown. Note this bus was in rather poor condition as it was about to start its 2 hour plus long trip to Sanam Luang in the inner city of Bangkok.

http://i93.photobucket.com/albums/l7.../P1030546a.jpg

29. This is a short movie of a ride on the semi rural Bus route 337. Note the short stop to let down passengers and the low numbers of passengers on this bus. Also a mixture of farms and factories can be seen along the route. Not long after this was filmed a group of 15 people got on the bus at a factory.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NTuuVDboN9g

30. This is a short movie of a ride on Route 337 as it enters Kanchanaphisek road in Pathum Thani. The bus had just let off a number of the factory workers on the onramp. Note how the doors are always left open on this bus. The doors have to be manually closed and thus are left open. Kanchanaphisek road in this section is only 4 lanes wide but in Thonburi its 14 lanes wide.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4t38Wvs3pE8

If you would like to see more images and find out more about the buses of Pathum Thani then please visit:

http://thaitransit.blogspot.com/2008...hum-thani.html

I hope you find the pictures and vehicles shown to be of interest if you view this please post some comments and feelings about the pictures.