Ekamai bus station move: Public left out of decision again

People don't even know what is happening, much less asked what they think or prefer. Lack of any public participation in govt decisions that affect public, once again.

COMMENTARY: TRANSPORTATION & PUBLIC PARTICIPATION

Ekamai bus station relocation: Public & poor left out of decision

13/07/2017
Sirinya Wattanasukchai

The Transport Department has confirmed it plans to move the Eastern bus terminal in Ekamai out of the Sukhumvit area.

The pretext?

Combatting gridlocked traffic.

How did I feel at hearing of this?

It was a deja vu moment. Similar mistakes have happened before.

While Ekamai and Sukhumvit are notoriously congested, this is unlikely to make much of a difference.

Moreover, less privileged members of society will suffer once the buses are gone.

WHY THE RELOCATION? TO PROFIT FROM LAND?

As I write, speculation is running rampant about what deeper motivations lie behind this decision to move a terminal that has served millions of commuters over the decades.

Clearly, the land has risen in value over the decades.

Now it seems Transport Co, which owns the land, can no longer resist giving it up for business development (the land plot has reportedly drawn interest from many developers).

CURRENT LOCATION IS CONVENIENT FOR COMMUTERS

It is absurd that Transport Co, which is obliged to offer an excellent standard of service, is prepared to surrender a location that commuters find very convenient because it is adjacent to Ekamai BTS station.

The decision shows a worrying lack of vision in managing public transport by a state-run company.

LAST TIME PUBLIC LEFT OUT, WRONG DECISION MADE

Back in 1998, the same company agreed to relocate one of the city's biggest bus terminals away from Chatuchak market to create more parking space at the nearby BTS station -- only to realise later this was a mistake because the terminal, which covers routes to the North and Northeast, needs to be directly linked to the city rail system.

The transportation needs of the entire Thai lower middle class to lower income class of the North and Northeast of the country were essentially sacrificed so that Bangkok could get a few more parking spaces. 

As such, it was decided early last month the terminal (which retains the name Chatuchak) would be brought back to its original location.

Even though the two sites are very close, this is expected to take six years.

STATE ENTERPRISE DUTY TO THE PUBLIC OR TO PROFIT?

What is particularly distasteful is how Transport Co -- the only state-run company tasked with providing inter-provincial public buses to commuters, especially low-income earners -- is prepared to sacrifice its main duty in exchange for money from land rental or sale.

According to its official website, it envisages becoming a modern transport hub that offers standardised service and efficiently links all regions together. Foreigners may not get this, however, as it is only written in Thai.

Some of its goals (again, only written in Thai) are to improve safety, provide greater convenience, make buses run more punctually, continue to modernise, and generally make the bus terminals better.

But if anyone has visited Chatuchak bus terminal recently, they may be surprised at how poorly maintained the facility is.

LOTS OF STUDIES, BUT PUBLIC KNOWS NOTHING, PUBLIC OPINION DEEMED IRRELEVANT 

Meanwhile, the fate of Ekamai bus terminal remains up in the air.

We know it will be moved, but no one knows where to.

Transport Co president Chirasak Yaowatsakun told the media earlier this week that before a decision is made it must be preceded by a five-month study.

Despite this, news reports dating back to 2015 suggest the company has taken a keen interest in some land at the Bangna intersection, on the outbound corner of the Bangna-Trat Highway.

This was reportedly being offered by a nearby shopping mall because "it could solve traffic problems".

LACK OF TRANSPARENCY COMMON IN GOVERNMENT DECISIONMAKING

It is no secret that in Thailand such decisions are not always made transparently.

For example, we recently learned a 4-rai plot by the Chao Phraya River has been awarded to Iconsiam, a mixed-use property development, to use as the base for the new Bangkok Observation Tower.

There was no bidding for the project.

Transport Co maintains it always planned to move the terminal out of the Sukhumvit area as the current 7.5-rai plot is too small to handle over 1,000 arrivals and departures each day.

Yet the spot it is said to be considering is roughly the same size.

ALLEGED NEW LOCATION HAS GRIDLOCKED TRAFFIC ALSO

And, presumably, its management have not spent much time at the Bang Na Intersection, otherwise they would know how gridlocked the traffic is there.

Forget making a quick U-turn. Forget making it home in time for dinner.

The new location will only work if a bridge is built allowing buses to feed into either direction, and a special exit route constructed so public vans can get downtown due to the lack of rail connection for commuters.

EVIDENCE SHOWS THAT PUBLIC CONVENIENCE NOT CONSIDERED HIGH PRIORITY

The relocation saga suggests Transport Co does not consider customers' convenience a high priority.

If it did, it may have at least sent them a questionnaire seeking feedback.

So don't be surprised if Ekamai bus terminal plays musical chairs for the next decade or so before being brought back to where it is now.

Sirinya Wattanasukchai is an assistant news editor, the Bangkok Post.

http://www.bangkokpost.com/opinion/opinion/1286151/bus-terminal-diversions-no-fun-for-poor

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