Electric bus system to zap travel time from suburbs to central Bangkok

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 20, 2021

The Land Traffic Management Commission has given the green light for an electric public bus project to link with Bangkok’s newest rail route. The buses will connect with the Red Line’s Rangsit station in Pathum Thani, cutting travel time from the northern suburbs to central Bangkok.

The electric bus system is part of the interprovincial Motorways-Rail Map (MR-Map) project, which the commission approved on Monday.

The electric buses will ply the following three routes in Pathum Thani:

1. Rangsit BTS station-Thanyaburi Klong 7, running for 19.3 kilometres along Rangsit-Nakhon Nayok Road.

2. Rangsit BTS station-Thammasat University (Rangsit Campus), running 19.1km along Khlong Prem Prachanda Road and Khlong Luang Road. The route may be adjusted once the Thammasat University station officially opens.

3. Rangsit BTS Station-Yaek Kor Por Aor, running 10.6km along Phaholyothin Road.

The Department of Land Transport has been commissioned to find operators with EV standards to operate feed systems, as well as buses that are disabled-friendly.

The nationwide MR-Map project features 10 routes with a total distance of 6,530km, comprising 4,470km of intercity highways and rail lines, 1,710km of intercity highways and 350km of rail-only routes.