Buses win funding boost

PHUKET TOWN: Heartened by figures that show as many as 1,200 paying passengers a day using its public bus service, the Phuket Provincial Administration Organization (OrBorJor) has set aside 25 million baht to buy a fleet of smaller buses. Free travel is another option being considered by the OrBorJor under expansion plans for the fledgling Green Bus service. OrBorJor Vice-President Samroeng Chaisorn says many students and parents are using buses on the two existing routes each morning and adjustments would be made so that buses ran more frequently to meet peak requirements. “There are also lots of users on Saturday and Sunday afternoons,” he said. “Even though there are not as many passengers as in Bangkok, we hope that more local residents will use the buses in future.” Services to the Airport and to Rawai are also being contemplated. The OrBorJor has already announced a review that may see more sois in Phuket Town become one-way, with smaller buses criss-crossing the main traffic arteries. No date has been set for the changes.