Transport News
Thailand transport news, infrastructure updates, public transit, and traffic reports—stay informed on groundbreaking developments and real-time travel updates. Get the latest from The Thaiger, your trusted source for transport news in Thailand.
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Sponsored How one hospital visit in Thailand could cost more than your whole trip
Thailand is a favourite spot for travellers who want to enjoy more while spending less. From cheap street food to low-cost hotels and fun attractions, it’s easy to stretch your budget here. But there’s one thing many people don’t think...
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No, you can’t get a driver’s license via LINE
Despite what you may have read on the Internet, you absolutely cannot get a legal driver’s license by messaging someone via the LINE app and having them take the test for you. The Department of Land Transport Phuket Office issued a warning about a scam involving illegal and online driving licenses. The scam has been circulating on social media, including…
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Bangkok’s electric tuk tuks to triple this year
MuvMi, Bangkok’s electric tuktuk operator, will nearly triple the number of Bangkok’s electric tuk tuks this year, from 350 to 1,000. Krisada Kritayakirana, CEO of Urban Mobility Tech, said Friday that demand for rides in Bangkok’s electric tuktuks is growing. Krisada said… “Our initial goal is to provide environmentally friendly vehicles for city dwellers who struggle to find public transportation…
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Patong-Chalong road construction nears completion
The construction of a new road connecting Chalong to Patong in Phuket is expected to open to the public soon, according to the Phuket Provincial Administration Organisation (PPAO). The announcement came after the PPAO President and Deputy President conducted in-person inspections along the construction site yesterday and the day before. The PPAO Deputy President has closely monitored progress, frequenting the…
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Nok Air to launch flights between Bangkok and Hyderabad
Budget airline Nok Air will launch direct flights between Bangkok in Thailand and Hyderabad in India on February 19, 2023. A state-of-the-art Boeing 737-800 aircraft with 189 Economy Class seats will service the nonstop route from Don Mueang International Airport to Rajiv Gandhi International Airport four times per week. Flight DD959 will take off from Hyderabad at 00.45am on Mondays,…
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85% of restaurants at Suvarnabhumi Airport are ‘Clean Food, Good Taste’ certified
Thailand‘s Department of Health certified 85% of restaurants in the passenger terminal at Suvarnabhumi Airport as having “Clean Food, Good Taste,” according to the department’s director-general Suwanchai Wattana. Suwanchai congratulated the operators of 58 restaurants (85.29% of restaurants in the terminal) who passed the health and safety standard with flying colours at an award ceremony yesterday. Any hungry passengers waiting…
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China’s air travel regulator to allow airlines to fly more routes to US
China’s air travel regulator is gearing up to allow more routes to the United States after the country lifted its strict anti-virus travel restrictions this month. According to The Korea Times, China Central Television reported on its website that the US and Chinese airlines are among around 40 carriers that have submitted applications covering about 700 flights per week involving 34…
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Indian flight departs with 55 passengers left on bus
Every flight passenger hates being packed into a busy terminal transport bus from the gate to the stairs before climbing onto their aeroplane. But on Monday morning 55 passengers crammed onto a bus and sat there for an hour while their flight forgot about them and took off. The incident took place in India on a flight operated by budget…
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Bangkok’s controversial Bang Sue Grand Station name change on hold
Bangkok’s controversial Bang Sue Grand Station name change is on hold after it received heavy backlash for its US$1 million price tag. When His Majesty the King renamed Bang Sue Grand Station, “Krung Thep Abhiwat Central Terminal,” in September, some questioned the need to spend such an amount in taxpayers’ money. Public Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul and Transport Minister Saksayam…
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Daily direct flights between Phuket and Shanghai to takeoff next week
Daily flights between Phuket in southern Thailand and Shanghai in China will takeoff next Wednesday, January 18, operated by Shanghai’s Juneyao Airlines. The inaugural flight will be the first direct service between Phuket and mainland China in almost three years. China reopened its borders yesterday, and given that China was once Thailand’s top tourism market, Thailand braced itself for an…
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Thailand informs airlines about removal of Covid-19 vaccine rule
Unvaccinated travellers heading to Thailand can now feel at ease knowing airlines around the world have been informed that Thailand no longer requires arrivals to prove they are vaccinated against Covid-19. Thailand momentarily reintroduced the two-dose Covid vaccine entry requirement with barely any notice as a measure to mitigate the risk of importing a caseload of coronavirus from China, which…
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Thailand’s second-hand car sales industry predicted to rise modestly
The Association of Used Car (AUC) predicts the second-hand car market in Thailand will increase by 15% this year despite the ongoing shortage of semiconductors needed for the production of new vehicles. The worldwide shortage of semiconductors is exacerbated by a political game of cat and mouse between China and Taiwan. Taiwan is largely known as the semiconductor capital of…
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Volvo solar charging stations, charging free of charge
Volvo solar charging stations have been installed at four Volvo Car Thailand dealerships, where customers can charge their cars for free. As the number of electric vehicles (EVs) in Thailand is rising, however slowly, the demand for electricity from charging stations is growing along with it. More EVs means more power generation, which usually involves other fossil fuels that create…
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2 men found frozen in the belly of Colombian plane
An aircraft maintenance technician in Colombia made a shocking discovery. Under the belly of an Avianca plane at the airport in Bogota, the bodies of two young men were frozen to death. The airline technician was inspecting and performing regular maintenance on the aircraft of Colombia’s flagship airline when he was horrified by the corpses. The bodies were found today,…
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Sign of corruption? Bangkok station’s US$1-million name change
When His Majesty the King renamed Bang Sue Grand Station, “Krung Thep Abhiwat Central Terminal,” in September, some quiet questions were asked if the Bangkok station’s US$1-million name change was really necessary. Yesterday, Transport Minister Saksayam Chidchob has been obliged to assure a puzzled public that an investigation into the 33 million baht (US$1 million) cost of the new nameplate…
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Thailand’s long-distance trains to relocate to new Bangkok rail hub from January 19
The State Railway of Thailand is relocating 52 train services from Hua Lampong Station to Bangkok‘s new central rail hub – Krung Thep Aphiwat Central Terminal (formerly Bang Sue Junction) – from January 19. Passengers catching long-distance, rapid and express train services will depart from Krung Thep Aphiwat Central Terminal in Bangkok’s Chatuchak district from this date onward. Inbound trains…
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33 million baht budget for Bangkok train station sign smells like corruption
Transport Minister Saksayam Chidchob smells corruption coming from a 33 million baht budget for a new sign at Bangkok‘s central train station, whose name is changing from “Bang Sue Junction” to “Bangkok Apiwat Central Station.” The State Railway of Thailand (SRT) allegedly signed a contract approving a budget of 33,169,726.39 baht for a new sign to reflect the train station’s…
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Thailand’s new fighter jets still on horizon
It will be the middle of this year before Thailand’s Royal Thai Air Force (RTAF) knows whether or not Washington has approved the sale of F-35A Lightning II fighter jets. RTAF Commander-in-Chief, ACM Alongkorn Wannarot said the air force was still negotiating preparations for the purchase of the jets, but the sale has yet to be approved by Washington. The…
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Indian passengers to be charged over air rage incident on Bangkok-Kolkata flight
Police in India reported that two of the men involved in the air rage incident on a flight from Bangkok to Kolkata will be charged. Bidhannagar City Police, in Kolkata, drew up a First Information Report and slapped an Indian Penal Code charge on the men of assault, wrongful restraint, and criminal intimidation, after a complaint by the Bureau of…
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Free electric buses to Bangkok attractions from today
In a bid to boost visits to tourist attractions in Bangkok, the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration created a program to run free electric buses to the floating markets on weekends, starting today. The plan was created to connect the main public transportation lines across Bangkok with nearby tourist attractions. The BMA announced yesterday the new, eco-friendly service that will feed from…
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Thai Airways rehab plan soars ahead of schedule
The embattled Thai flag carrier has sold at least eight aircraft and other non-core assets since October, as part of Thai Airways‘ rehab plan. Thai Airways International updated its ongoing bankruptcy rehabilitation to the Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET). THAI, whose subsidiary – Thai Smile, made global headlines yesterday after a mid-air brawl captured on video went viral– said in…
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Holiday bus tickets escaping Bangkok close to selling out
More than 90% of bus tickets heading out of Bangkok for the holidays on December 28 and 29 had been sold by yesterday evening. Most advance bookings are for travel to Chiang Mai, Nakhon Phanom in the Northeast and Hat Yai in the South. Sanlak Panwatanalikit, managing director of the state transport company, said Thursday that about 55,000 passengers will…
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AoT app expanding: flight info, taxis, shopping and more
Airports in Thailand are hard at work souping up their travel app in hopes of making it an essential super-app for the incoming flood of tourists. Their “Sawasdee by AoT” app currently provides flight and airport information for people landing at six AoT-run airports. But they plan to add a host of tourism services, to aid the predicted 90 million…
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Thai AirAsia predicts 90% post-pandemic recovery
Thai AirAsia is predicting a great year next year, forecasting passenger load to reach 90% of the levels it was at before the Covid-19 pandemic. The rosy outlook was stated as foreign arrivals have been pouring into Thailand. The popular budget airline also has faith that the mega-demographic of Chinese tourists will be able to rejoin the tourism world next…
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Thai taxi drivers receive record amount of complaints
The Department of Land Transport received 93,474 complaints about public transport in Thailand this year. Taxi drivers were complained about the most, receiving an impressive 14,158 complaints. Most of the complaints were about bad manners, dangerous driving, refusing passengers, illegal licenses, and illicit taxi metres. Between October 1, 2022, and September 30, 2022, the department’s Passenger Protection and Complaint Centre…
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Thailand to open all land border crossings next year
Thailand is planning to open all land border crossings with neighbouring countries next year. The move is reportedly part of an effort to facilitate the transportation of goods to help restart one aspect of the economy. The Department of Foreign Trade says it will negotiate with Laos, Myanmar, Cambodia and Malaysia to reopen all 97 land borders and hold trade…
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Free tune-up offered for all vehicles before New Year’s Eve
Thailand is trying a new angle to increase road safety during the upcoming busy New Year’s holiday. Before people climb into their cars and make long-distance journeys they might not normally make in their day-to-day life, the government is helping to provide free comprehensive tune-ups for all vehicles. By partnering with public and private businesses, the Land Transport Department is…
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Heavy rains close Gulf ferries, Surin Islands for 2 days
Heavy rains, high winds and thunderstorms have ferries cancelled and areas closing down for the next few days in the south of Thailand. In the Gulf of Thailand, all ferry services between the mainland and Koh Samui, Koh Phangan, and Koh Tao have been suspended for two days. On the Andaman Sea, the national park on the Surin Islands has…
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Koh Samui welcomes second cruise ship, 2,500 tourists
For only the second time in the last 3 years, a large cruise ship has arrived today at Koh Samui, four times larger than the first. After cruising came to a halt worldwide as cruise ships became the perfect petri dish for the spread a Covid-19, only one other cruise ship has arrived on the holiday island previously just three…
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GrabTukTuk to be launched in Phuket next year
GrabTukTuk revealed it will be launching a new app in Phuket at the beginning of next year to provide about 100 tuk tuk cars for the beach resort’s locals and tourists. Phuket tuk tuk driver Suchart Nitiwaranuluck was hailed by tourists and criticised by his peers in April after he offered a very affordable 50 baht for a round trip…
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Dead passenger on Bangkok-bound flight had Covid
Passengers on a flight to Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi Airport discovered that the only thing more unpleasant than an unruly passenger is a dead one. A 71 year old Thai man died mid-flight as an aircraft travelled from Saudi Arabia to Bangkok’s main airport. Testing showed the man was infected with Covid-19 at the time of his death. Little information has been released…
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