Now Noise on Bangkok Buses

Sometime ago Quiet Bangkok fought against TV on Skytrain. Now a new noise demon appears.
The background noise due to worn engines and gears can be up to 90db; add loudspeakers......

Letter in Nation newspaper 28th March 2006

Bangkok buses need better lighting, not loudspeakersIs another scam being perpetrated while people are not looking? A few weeks ago, I noticed rows of new plastic discs fitted to the roofs of buses. In my ignorance, I thought smoke detectors had been installed, presumably with some hidden means of combating any fire thus detected.
To my horror, I have discovered I was mistaken. The discs form a noise-distribution system. Who in the Bangkok Mass Transit Authority (BMTA) was conned into agreeing to this expenditure? What was in it for them? There is enough noise on the streets of Bangkok without adding to it for bus passengers.
In the good old days, if a bus driver was trying to drown out the traffic noise for himself, the passengers could take evasive action by moving towards the back of the bus. Now the noise permeates the whole vehicle.
If viable alternatives to the buses existed, I would certainly be changing to those other modes of transport.
If the BMTA really did have money to spare, why did it not upgrade the lighting in the buses? Various levels of government at the local and national levels have launched short-lived campaigns to encourage people to read more.
Travelling time on buses is otherwise dead time, which people could be encouraged to make use of by reading. However, in the evening hours this is difficult, because the level of lighting on most buses, particularly BMTA buses and including the "new" orange air-cons, is not adequate.
Ironically, my experience over the years is that the much-maligned small green "tin can" vehicles score higher on both these criteria than do the red and orange BMTA fleets.
Gareth Clayton

Bangkok