Bus No. 8

Bus No. 8 is a bus line in Bangkok, Thailand, notorious for reckless driving and atrocious customer service.[1] Riders filed 345 complaints about the poor services of No. 8 buses in 2015, the highest number of BMTA complaints.[2] On average, Bus Line 8 receives about 20 complaints per month.[3] In informal polling, it has been ranked as the worst bus service in Bangkok.[4]:11

Route

No.8 buses follow a 30 kilometre route from Happy Land Market in Bang Kapi District to the Memorial Bridge via Lat Phrao Road, Phahonyothin Road, Victory Monument, Rajavithi Hospital, Lan Luang Road, and the Worachak Road area.[2]

Operation

The No. 8 bus line is not operated by the Bangkok Mass Transit Authority (BMTA) directly. The line is operated by several private companies under concessions from the BMTA. No. 8 line bus drivers are not paid a salary, but rather are paid a percentage of each day's receipts. This motivates them to make as many runs during their shifts as possible to earn more money.[2]

Incidents

  • The BMTA punished two drivers of the No. 8 bus service for fist fighting on 14 May 2018. A dispute arose over whose bus would get more passengers. The two drivers confessed to having engaged in a fist fight, which was caught on camera and posted online by a Thai social media user. The BMTA fact-finding committee fined the driver who started the fight 5,000 baht and suspended him from work for seven days. His employer, Sap 88, was held accountable for the driver fighting in public and fined 5,000 baht. The second driver was fined 2,000 baht. Both men also received formal warnings.[5]
  • On 25 March 2016, a No. 8 bus crashed with a motorbike taxi, running over the head of the taxi's female passenger, killing her instantly. This prompted the BMTA to warn operators of No. 8 buses to improve services and ensure passenger safety or lose their concessions. BMTA officials briefed drivers and attendants of No. 8 buses at their terminals before the start of their shifts. They were told to stop at bus stops, not to race against one another, to follow traffic rules, and not to leave the slow, left lanes.[2]
  • On 23 June 2015, a No. 8 bus crashed headlong into a pickup truck, two cars, and a BTS Skytrain pillar. Two passengers and the driver sustained injuries. The driver was charged with reckless driving.[6][7][8]
  • In March 2014, a No. 8 Bus hit and crushed a motorcycle, instantly killing a 13-year-old boy.[3]
  • In 2011, a person was killed and another injured while waiting at a bus stop when a No. 8 Bus was vying with another bus for space at a bus stop.[3]

Inclusion in Grand Theft Auto

The No. 8 bus has been created as a game mod for the popular game Grand Theft Auto (GTA). On 30 June 2015, a user uploaded an episode on YouTube which showed the bus running amok on Bangkok streets, speeding and hitting buildings, until a final collision sends the bloodied driver flying from the bus.[9]

References

  1. ↑ Parpart, Erich (20 August 2018). "Dark enough for you?" (Opinion). Bangkok Post. Retrieved 20 August 2018.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Mahitthirook, Amornrat; Fredrickson, Terry (2016-04-01). "Bangkok's fearsome No.8 bus line ordered to improve". Bangkok Post. Retrieved 20 August 2018.
  3. 1 2 3 Jitsamruay, Patranit (2015-08-04). "Fast & Furious Bus Line 8: An investigation into poor service". Pratchatai English. Retrieved 22 August 2018.
  4. ↑ Phooriphokhai, Krit (December 2016). Bangkok Bus Service Improvment; A Case Study of Bus Line 8 (Thesis). Bangkok: Thammasat University. Retrieved 22 August 2018.
  5. ↑ "BMTA punishes rival Route 8 bus drivers after fist-fight". The Nation. 2018-05-15. Retrieved 20 August 2018.
  6. ↑ "Fast & Furious: Bus No. 8 slams into skytrain pillar, 3 injured". Coconuts Bangkok. 2015-06-24. Retrieved 20 August 2018.
  7. ↑ "เมล์สาย8พุ่งอัด"ตอม่อ" เก๋ง3คันยับ-เจ็บระนาว". เดลินิวส์. 2015-06-23. Retrieved 20 August 2018.
  8. ↑ "Anything but lucky, Bangkok's No 8 buses given a "last chance"". The Nation. 2016-04-04. Retrieved 22 August 2018.
  9. ↑ "Bus No. 8 finds game fame". Bangkok Post. 2015-07-02. Retrieved 20 August 2018 – via PressReader.
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