so not even as useful as the current MRT stored value card then ...Originally Posted by frequent
bkkguy
so not even as useful as the current MRT stored value card then ...
bkkguy
More accurately the promotional material was after exiting Sukhumvit MRT but before ascending to Asoke/Terminal 21
Integrated travel across different transport systems is sometimes more complex to implement than many people assume - just ask Sydney folks how long it took to get Opal up and running. That and the Thai propensity to make a complete clusterfuck of almost everything and we are where we are
Yes it probably is complicated. I guess the problem is that even the new bts tickets require a tap for entry, but when you exit you need to insert the ticket, and it does not come back. And I am guessing (but I do not know for sure) that those gates don't support returning the ticket, because then a person having a bts only ticket would not get the ticket back, but someone purchasing a combined ticket would actually get it back, so it can be used again at the MRT.
But for sure, those new vending machines do show the whole map, not only BTS, but MRT, ARL and the purple line.
To be honest, if they can make it so that the "combined" ticket is returned at Asoke, I fail to see how you couldn't use it again at Sukumvit MRT to enter for your journey to Silom, providing one does it within a certain time limit.and there is still not a problem now, at least for Rabbit cards - at Silom and Siam stations Rabbit cards can be tapped at all entry/exit points, but now only some of the entry and exit points have inserts slots and some are tap only.
I originally thought this was for traffic management but yes it makes sense if there is a new style of single use BTS ticket - but nowhere have I seen any reference to new integrated single BTS/MRT integrated ticket
you may be confusing this with subway systems in other countries - eg London, Paris, Singapore, etc - where line interchanges are behind the ticket barrier and/or where different lines are run by the same public authority or company or common ticketing had already been established
but here in Thailand, for example on your preferred combined BTS/MRT trip from Thong Lor to Silom:
1) at Thong Lor BTS you buy a ticket from Thong Lor BTS to MRT Silom
2) you enter the BTS ticket gate at Thong Lor and travel to BTS Asoke where you then exit the BTS ticket gate
3) you cross the road and walk to the MRT station
4) you enter the MRT ticket gate at Asoke and travel to MRT Silom where you exit the MRT ticket gate
your ticket purchase at 1) is based on a single onward journey, but if you decide to then have a coffee or even see a movie at Terminal 21 how do you re-price your ticket as two separate journeys?
or if you are a 65 yo falung and qualify for a discount on the MRT but not on BTS etc
the originally proposed Spider Card solution was a stored value card that could be used to tap on/off on all BKK busess, ferries, MRT, BTS and ARL - each operator could manage its own fare structure and discounts and operators could make their own agreements as to what time period still qualified as a single onward journey
in the last few years, apart from repeated stories or continuing delays with the introduction of the Spider Card, I have still never seen any announcement of a single combined BTS/MRT or MRT/BTS ticket - or for that matter the availability of the Spider Card itself
but given justaguy's reports of developments on the Sukhumvit BTS line I live in hope - and will probably die in despair
bkkguy
This is partially how RER tickets work in Paris. You purchase that RER ticket at your departure station, travel into Paris center, and providing you enter the subway within a certain time limit (one hour I believe) you can use the vary same ticket on the subway. Granted, in this case, you can travel the full extend of the subway, as Paris subway tickets aren't distance based such as the BTS/MRT.
Again, I am afraid you might die in despair, but I put hope in the fact that they now show the complete map, this is why I assumed the combined ticket was now a reality.
The system is fun anyway, remember how I stated that getting a ticket at Asoke during rush hour is a nightmare ? Certainly if you also need change ? What I have been doing from quite some time now is simply buy two BTS tickets at Thong Lor, go to Asoke, do my business and return to Thong Lor with the second ticket I bought at Thong Lor. I believe that as long as you do it on the same day this will work fine.
absolutely - and there are still ongoing problems and "fine tuning" with Opal in Sydney as there are also with the multi-modal ticket systems in Melbourne and in Perth and these are mostly just dealing with different government departments responsible for different modes of transport and with just a limited number of private companies on some services - not like MRT and BTS and government and private buses and ferries here!
I don't know that any city in the world has ever implemented a multi-modal integrated ticking system to budget and within a reasonable time frame and kept all their citizens and tourists happy with the ticketing options, but I think part of the problem here - apart from the usual "Thai way" of doing things - is that they are a little bit late to the party and most of us are already used to usable systems in our home countries and the other international cities we travel to regularly even while we understand that none of these systems are perfect!
and don't the MRT still use the coin-shaped tokens for single journeys? should the BTS accept these too?
the hardware is not really the problem - the entry/exit hardware can be re-engineered for all systems as required, it just takes money and more importantly commitment
the various operator software systems are not really the problem - they can be re-written as required, it just takes money and more importantly commitment
what it takes is agreement by multiple companies and government departments and I am sure in a few years there may well be a workable system here in Bangkok, I am just not holding my breath
bkkguy
Yes the MRT stil uses coin shaped tokens. Tap to enter, insert to exit.
Commitment, cooperation, and agreement. Further complicated because the BTS is not a state agency but a commercial entity, the ARL is run by SRT and the MRT by the MRTA, only two of those are state owned.
The BTS is in operation for almost 20 years now, the MRT for 14 years, we keep waiting I guess. To me, the current system is doable. But far from ideal.
As I said, I am relying on single journey tickets. The BTS biggest problem is waiting for chance. As the majority of their vending machines do not accept 20 baht notes (or any other notes for that matter). At least the MRT does accept those, but the problem there is they don't really have enough vending machines. In Sukhumvit, they have three on the Asoke Side and only two on the end nearer to Phetburi. As a matter of course, I already walk to the Phetburi end, because at the Asoke end the queues can be horrendous. But I suppose in recent times more and more people do the same, meaning that even on the Phetburi side, you sometimes have to wait for 10 minutes just to get a token.
I wished they fixed those issues. They have plenty of space to provide more vending machines at the MRT, and I am still confused as to why only a handfull of vending machines offer notes payment at the BTS. Even those new vending machines I talked about, do not accept notes, but finally they do accept the 2 baht coin !
christianpfc (December 13th, 2018)
without wishing to drag the discussion back to my earlier post on this thread ...
and not just in Bangkok - in most cities when I travel to the first thing I get is some sort of multi-day/multi-trip/stored value card to make public transport as convenient - and often as cheap - as possible
and I would of thought in Bangkok if you can afford to pay BTS/MRT single journey fares fairly regularly then it should be possible to "invest" the cost of 3 or 4 journeys on a stored value card - what, 100-150 Baht? - and significantly reduce your wasted time and frustration, and "invest" a bit more and you can have a month or more of relatively stress-free travel
and with a Rabbit/LINEPay card it tops up automatically solving most of your problems for the BTS at least
and if the Rabbit card ever becomes usable on the MRT or the new Spider card is accepted on both the MRT and BTS and has an auto topup option then I am happy and the plebs can continue to suffer in the change and ticket machine queues
bkkguy
BenCH (December 10th, 2018)
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