Poor conduct on part of bus management

‘C’mon, come back up here and let’s go,” a female bus conductor told a group of students stranded at a city bus stop in a loud voice, offering help to the youngsters who were lost en route.

The help was timely. There was no bus map at the bus stop for the girls to consult, while other commuters probably didn’t know the route to their destination.

The girls were alerted when the bus reached a spot where they could connect with another bus to reach their destination. She also reminded them to ask for help from her colleagues to tell them where to get off.

To many, the bus conductor didn’t seem so friendly. But she was kind enough to do this extra chore that is not included in her job description.

That is what a grapao rotmae — the nickname of bus conductors which literally means the pocket of a bus — does, apart from doing their job of collecting fares from commuters as quickly as possible before some of them alight from the bus without paying.

Bus conductors are probably not the friendliest specimens in the city transportation service. But given our inefficient public bus system, these officers have almost become the “concierges of the buses”, substituting for the non-existent bus route map, checking on irregularities, helping people with heavy items get on and off the vehicle, and assisting physically challenged commuters.

Some act also like “bus police”. Ask schoolgirls or women passengers who take public buses in Bangkok and many will say they’ve had bad experiences with some perverts on buses, and not just during rush hour.

Help comes quickest help from the bus conductors who often get embroiled in these tawdry scenes.

But these conductors are about to lose their jobs. From Oct 1, the Bangkok Mass Transit Authority (BMTA) began installing automated fare-collection systems (for e-prepaid cards) and cash boxes (for coins) on public buses. Some 200 buses will use the system in the initial stage. Under the plan, all 2,600 buses will be fitted with the 1.6-billion-baht system in June.

The switch to the automated system is part of the debt-ridden BMTA’s rehabilitation plan which aims at cutting its workforce. The agency plans to offer early retirement packages to bus conductors. The amount hasn’t yet been finalised but some earlier reports said each would get one million baht in remuneration which would cost the BMTA two billion baht. Between 2019 and 2021, we will see 2,000 bus conductors replaced with machines.

During the transition stage, bus conductors on the upgraded buses will provide change for those want to use the automatic machines, and show passengers how to use the equipment that will kick them out of their jobs in two years.

The automated fare-collection system may help the BMTA improve its service, which hopefully will help reduce costs in the long run. But the agency seems to forget that the cause of the immense loss is from its management inefficiency, not its workforce.

In addition, if it is to improve the service, here are some suggestions.

Provide cleaner and newer vehicles, as well as practical bus maps at bus stops. This may help the agency make its service more attractive to commuters who otherwise will rely on other options.

The agency should focus on management reform as a way to cut losses. That is the root cause of the problem that has led to its enormous debt. Downsizing its workforce to ease the losses with the use of machines means unemployment for some staff members, most of whom are in their 40 and 50s and may find it hard to find other work.

More importantly, if the BMTA does not provide a proper bus route map (like in Singapore), signs showing arriving buses (like in Kyoto), or a website with a timetable and route connections so commuters can plan their trips (like in Berlin), bus conductors can still be helpful and should be kept.

Besides, I hope the BMTA gets its priorities right when investing our tax money in any projects aimed at improving its service.

For example, before replacing conductors too quickly, it might consider a GPS system that allows commuters to use their smart phones to locate buses they want to take.

As we talk about efficiency, I do hope the 1.6 billion baht on the automated fare system will not end up as a flop, just like the badly planned bus revamp.

Otherwise, the plan will be just another waste of money that costs a few thousand people their jobs, while the service will remain just as poor.