Two new bus routes from Don Mueang airport

[webfact]

Two new bus routes from Don Mueang airport
By The Nation

 

BANGKOK: -- The Bangkok Mass Transit Authority will launch two new air-conditioned bus routes from Don Mueang International Airport to Sanam Luang and Lumpini Park beginning May 1.

 

The new A3 and A4 buses will have a flat fare of Bt30 and each route will be serviced by five Euro II-standard buses.

 

The A3 bus will run on the Don Mueang tollway to Din Daeng, Pratunam, Ratchaprasong, Rajdamri to Lumpini Park.

 

The A4 bus will run on the Don Mueang tollway, past the Sirat Expressway, Yommarach, Larn Luang, Phan FA, Democracy Monument, Wat Bowonniwet, Khao San to Sanam Luang.

 

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/news/breakingnews/30313627

 

-- © Copyright The Nation 2017-04-28

[ricklev]

Meanwhile all signs indicating the existence of the airport bus at Morchit BTS have been removed.  I guess by the taxi drivers that wait outside that very bus stop.

[Bangkok Barry]

It puzzles me that from the airport the A1/A2 bus is always full - crammed - yet on the way back to the airport the most I've seen on the bus is about 10 people. And I've done the trip many times. From the airport mid-afternoon, to the airport mid-morning. It's always the same.

[elgenon]

12 hours ago, Bangkok Barry said:

It puzzles me that from the airport the A1/A2 bus is always full - crammed - yet on the way back to the airport the most I've seen on the bus is about 10 people. And I've done the trip many times. From the airport mid-afternoon, to the airport mid-morning. It's always the same.

It puzzles me that my flight from BKK to CM is always full. On the way back it is half empty.

 

Also my flight from Taipei to Bkk is always full but 1/2 full on the way back.

 

What happens to the people?

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

Nice articles by The Nation and Khaosod...

 

Unfortunately, neither of them have included the actual specific bus routes and where the pickup points are along the way. A map showing the actual bus stop locations would have been nice -- but obviously too much to expect here.

 

Just saying the bus will stop at Khao San or Ratchaprasong, for example, doesn't really help in finding the bus stop locations.

 

[ricklev]

Call me cynical but, based on my occasional bus use here, in all likelihood trying to get on at any stop other than the starting point will be an exercise in frustration as the bus will just drive past the bus stop if it is slightly inconvenient to stop or if the driver is just not in the mood to stop for you.

 

I live close to Lumpini on Rajadamri and figure I'm going to have to reconnoiter the park's borders to find the bus stop.   

.  

[Bangkok Barry]

17 minutes ago, ricklev said:

Call me cynical but, based on my occasional bus use here, in all likelihood trying to get on at any stop other than the starting point will be an exercise in frustration as the bus will just drive past the bus stop if it is slightly inconvenient to stop or if the driver is just not in the mood to stop for you.

 

I live close to Lumpini on Rajadamri and figure I'm going to have to reconnoiter the park's borders to find the bus stop.   

.  

It's an express point-to-point service, not a regular get-on-where-you-like service.If you want to get on or off anywhere then you need to catch a regular bus service(s). 

[ricklev]

6 minutes ago, Bangkok Barry said:

It's an express point-to-point service, not a regular get-on-where-you-like service.If you want to get on or off anywhere then you need to catch a regular bus service(s). 

I could be wrong, but I don't think it is an express point-to-point service.  That's why it goes down Rajadarmri past Central World through Pratunam (and back that way) instead of getting on/off the expressway at Rama 4.  

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

30 minutes ago, ricklev said:

Call me cynical but, based on my occasional bus use here, in all likelihood trying to get on at any stop other than the starting point will be an exercise in frustration as the bus will just drive past the bus stop if it is slightly inconvenient to stop or if the driver is just not in the mood to stop for you.

 

I live close to Lumpini on Rajadamri and figure I'm going to have to reconnoiter the park's borders to find the bus stop.   

.  

I'm sure there are some xxxhole drivers out there. But I ride the BMTA pretty regularly, and when I'm waiting at a designated stop with a bus stop sign, they do usually stop.

 

I've also ridden the A1 between Mochit and DM quite a few times. It does stop a few times on the way back from DM to Mochit, I believe, usually at regular BMTA bus stop locations along the way, typically letting off passengers who got on at DM.

 

Unfortunately, none of that helps anyone here know exactly where the A3 and A4 buses are in fact going to stop to pick up passengers along their respective routes.

 

Hey BMTA, WHERE ARE YOU?  How about a news release with maps and stops of the two new routes??? 

 

 

 

 

[Bangkok Barry]

44 minutes ago, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

I'm sure there are some xxxhole drivers out there. But I ride the BMTA pretty regularly, and when I'm waiting at a designated stop with a bus stop sign, they do usually stop.

 

I've also ridden the A1 between Mochit and DM quite a few times. It does stop a few times on the way back from DM to Mochit, I believe, usually at regular BMTA bus stop locations along the way, typically letting off passengers who got on at DM.

 

Unfortunately, none of that helps anyone here know exactly where the A3 and A4 buses are in fact going to stop to pick up passengers along their respective routes.

 

Hey BMTA, WHERE ARE YOU?  How about a news release with maps and stops of the two new routes??? 

 

 

 

 

The A1/A2 takes the expressway but then stops at Central Lad Prao if it has been requested. I've personally never seen it stop anywhere else.

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

Here's the official route for the A1, including its stops:

 

The A2 has more in-town stops, before heading out to the airport:

 

[ricklev]

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

Thanks Rick!

 

Those maps are an improvement over the prior postings, even though they still don't clearly show all the stop locations.

 

But the other weird thing is, the OP news report cites a fare of 30 baht, whereas the Bangkok Bus Club graphic you've posted says 50 baht....

[ricklev]

I was on the A1 yesterday from Don Muang and there was a copied A4 announcement of the new routes.  The 30 was crossed out in pen and 50 was written above it so it was a last minute decision, I guess.

 

This morning I checked out the bus stop on Wittayu at Lumpini where it appears the bus originates or at least has a defined stop from but there were no signs.   

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

 

2 hours ago, ricklev said:

I was on the A1 yesterday from Don Muang and there was a copied A4 announcement of the new routes.  The 30 was crossed out in pen and 50 was written above it so it was a last minute decision, I guess.

 

 

Geez.... amateur hour again in full bloom here in Thailand.

 

Perhaps the import fees and duties on Mercedes have gone up recently, so the powers that be decided they needed to up their cut a bit. 

[Bangkok Barry]

3 hours ago, ricklev said:

This morning I checked out the bus stop on Wittayu at Lumpini where it appears the bus originates or at least has a defined stop from but there were no signs.   

Because it hasn't started yet. Not that there is any certainty there'll be any signs on the 1st.......

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

There's barely any sign for the A1's pickup point near the Mochit BTS station, and that route's been running for years. And the stop there isn't with all the other BMTA but stops where the bus shelters are, but separate and up the street a ways.

 

But either in this thread or somewhere else lately, I think someone posted that the A1's sign had lately disappeared -- but I can't vouch for that one way or another, as I haven't been to the A1 pickup point at Mochit lately.

 

[ricklev]

I took the A3 from its starting point at the bus stop at Lumpini Park opposite the police station on Wittayu today.  There were no signs for the service.  The driver said he would stop at any bus stop to drop people off or pick them up.  I was the only passenger.  

 

The route down Rajadamri, through Pratunam and getting on the tollway at Din Deng is not horrible until about 3:30 at which point the traffic on that route means getting to the tollway will take, I'm guessing, about 1-1.5 hours.

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

Thanks for the report, Rick. Good info to know.

 

As usual, it would appear, they're doing things with a tin can and string...

 

BTW, was your one-way fare 30 or 50 baht?

[ricklev]

11 minutes ago, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

Thanks for the report, Rick. Good info to know.

 

As usual, it would appear, they're doing things with a tin can and string...

 

BTW, was your one-way fare 30 or 50 baht?

50 baht.

[mjochim]

It's been a while without any updates to this service (and a search turned up no results for Route A4), so I thought I would add my 2 cents:

 

Both A3 and A4 leave from Don Muang Terminal 2 just outside of exit 12. There are signs both inside the terminal and curbside. On Friday morning, the first A4 bus arrived a few minutes after 7 and dropped me off at the National Theatre (northwest of Sunam Luang) just before 8 am. So, about 50-55 minutes travel time.  En route, the bus stopped several times to let passengers off but I don't recall anybody getting on.

 

I have noticed A4 listed at a couple of stops along Phra Atit Road. Supposedly, the last bus leaves the National Theatre at 11pm so I am going to try to get on that bus back to Don Muang tonight. I'll report back if it stops for me. 

[rak sa_ngop]

Any idea if the buses will try and stick to a timetable i.e. will the first buses start out at a set time?

 

Of course this would depend on where the buses park up for the night and how much traffic etc.

 

And if there are 5 buses on each route and the trip takes 1 to 1.30 hours it implies that the frequency will be 1 every 30 mins at best and maybe every 60 mins with turnaround time, traffic and normal driver faffing around.

 

So the best spot to catch the A3 bus would probably be Ratchadamri BTS , just in case of a bus no show? Better than being stuck outside Lumphini police station miles from a BTS stop. I assume the bus will stop on being hailed and not just shoot past at 80 km an hour.

 

 

 

 

[rak sa_ngop]

Another advantage of waiting at the Ratchadamri BTS station is that there is the additional option of catching the (yellow) 504 bus which goes onto Rangsit. It does not use the expressway so takes at least 1.00 to 1.15 hours to DM in light traffic and runs every 30 mins (unless they pull a bus from the schedule and you have to wait one hour).

[ricklev]

For me, even 

livingon Rajadamri,  there is no good reason ever to take the A3 to the airport.  It's much easier and quicker to take the  bts to Morchit and them get the A1 which leaves very often.