Saturday Afternoon Walk 4 - Motorcycles, Song Thaews and Bus Stops

Transportation is an issue in Chiang Mai. I've already posted about the difficulties of walking. The basic form of transportation is the motorcycle as you can see by this video I took while we were eating our sticky rice. The AJWS handbook is very clear: No motorcycles. The Peace Corps has the same rule. When I was a volunteer at least there was no prohibition against riding on the back, you just couldn't have your own. Now, if you are caught on a motorcycle you are sent home.




But one of the AJWS volunteers we met last year had a motorcycle, so I was wondering how strictly it was enforced. One volunteer had heard a staff member say, you really need one in Chiang Mai. But she changed her mind when a young volunteer from another NGO was killed recently in a motorcycle accident. And last night we saw a sign in a shop asking for blood for a young foreigner who'd been in a motorcycle accident. So that is two foreigners we know of in the six weeks we've been here. And when Dorcus - the New York AJWS staff person who oversees Thailand - came by Friday (all four volunteers are meeting with her for dinner tonight) to the office, she reiterated - No Motorcycles.



Transportation is a problem. The easiest form of transportation is the Song Thaew. That literally means two rows and you can see one of the two rows in the picture of the Song Thaew at the bus stop, with the sign broken and hanging.





They are fairly cheap - 15-30 baht per person most places in Chiang Mai (about 32 B to the dollar). More if you book it private or at night. It seems the song thaew drivers who hang around tourist areas expect higher prices also. But there is also the bus. I know there's a bus because there's a website with a map. I've even seen the white buses pass now and again. But I've yet to see an actual bus stop near where we live. I have no idea what their schedule is. (The link above says 'schedule' but there is only a map.)





So as we walked I kept an eye out for bus stops. You can see two typical bus stops. (One with the back of the song thaew above.) Damaged and it seems that way for a long time. Someone gave me the best explanation the other day. The Song Thaew mafia doesn't want a good bus system. Sounds like a plausible explanation to me. But I did find a long range public transit plan that was written by Chiang Mai University faculty that essentially says buses are going to have to be used or traffic will become unbearable. I also found a plan

for a Chiang Mai subway system. Note that this is on a real estate website and all the lines go nicely out into the suburbs where western style subdivisions have been and are being built.

And as I was trying to find the mass transit plan website again, I found this two year long chat room discussion about mass transit in Chiang Mai. (only a few entries per year from 2004 to 2007) I also found the main transit website (the map above is linked from the website, but not back to the main transit website. Struggling through the Thai, I haven't found anything about how often they run, bus stops, or fares.)

So, in the end we use what I all the song thaw (sounds like the tow in towel) transportation system at lot. (Song means two, thaw means feet.) And when I go to work I use my bike. Last night, after some time in the night market we caught a song thaew back. (sounds a lot like foot - thaw - but with the (m)eow sound a cat makes.)