Bangkok commuters left out of the loop

Because, whether you call it a “missing link” or “missing tooth”, the gap has left commuters inconvenienced and the national economy and taxpayers out of pocket.
Prayut’s move to fill it is unsurprising considering that the elevated MRT Purple Line has recorded an average 20,000 riders per day – far short of the 70,000 targeted – since it opened in August. Cutting ticket fares for the 16-station line by 30 per cent to Bt14-Bt29 per trip hasn’t helped much. Most people still prefer to take a bus or a car to travel between the Bang Yai area in Nonthaburi and Bangkok.
The missing station that would have linked the two lines reveals bureaucratic shortcomings stemming from failures to find an operator, resulting in delayed opening of the service. Other problems plaguing the project derive from political intervention, discontinued policy and the government’s failure in implementing an integrated plan.
Originally, the Blue Line was designed to loop around Bangkok’s inner area. Its first phase was opened in 2004 and comprises 18 stations from Hua Lamphong to Bang Sue on the eastern side of Chao Phraya River. 
The other half of the loop – the Blue Line extension – will run from Bang Sue Station through 14 stations to close the circle at Hua Lamphong Station.
Tao Poon Station is just one kilometre from Bang Sue Station and the track construction is now laid as part of MRT Blue extension that is 70-80 per cent complete and set to open for services in 2019 and 2020.
Prayut decided to invoke Article 44 powers in July to speed the search for an operator for the one-kilometre link, under the public-private partnership law. The committee tasked with the job was just one month from its August deadline when Prayut scrapped it so as to get things moving faster.
But it seems that his power is not yet absolute. The authorities planned to have an operator in place for the “missing tooth” before the completion of the MRT Purple Line. But that plan has foundered.
The NCPO on Tuesday announced it has invoked Article 44 again in a bid to get the two lines connected. The Mass Rapid Transit Authority (MRTA) has been assigned to negotiate with Bangkok Expressway and Metro Plc, operator of the MRT Blue Line, over operating services on the linking track.
Ideally, MRT Blue Line and its extension should be run by the same the operator so that travellers don’t have to pay again when they cross from the old section to new section. 
Commuters are now growing weary of the authorities’ repeated excuses during this saga. It seems that the interests of the travelling public have taken a back seat to politicking all along. 
There is light at the end of this tunnel, however, With a new Rail Transport Department in the pipeline, we have reason to hope that smoother journeys in the capital could be on their way.