The Buses and Trucks of Paknam City

After Visiting Phra Pradaeng I travelled on to Paknam City to photograph and document the Buses and Truck – Buses of Paknam. Paknam City is the heart of the greater city of Paknam also known as the city of Samut Prakan. The history of Paknam dates back 300 years when it was nothing more than a small fishing village. Around 230 years ago when Bangkok was formed it became the deep water port and ship building area for all of central Thailand. Today its role is more of heavy industry such as chemical, general manufacturing, vehicle manufacturing and ship building. The deep water port is now located near Chonburi and a river port is located at Klong Toei 20 km closer to Bangkok. Today the City of Paknam which is really a large suburban centre is becoming a city in it own right with the construction of a large condo tower on the site of the old prison.

The older densely populated inner city of Paknam is a centre of administration and market trade. The river banks in Paknam are home to a large semi open air wet market. Paknam was the site of Thailand 1st railway and its 1st electric railway. But for reasons unknown in the 1960s this railway was closed and ripped up and the route converted to a road. In the 1890s it took around 45 to 60 mins to travel the 30 km from inner Bangkok by train. Today it takes over 2 hours to travel the same 30 km route by bus due to extremely heavy traffic on the main road to Paknam city.

Paknam’s lack of a railway does not mean it is devoid of mass transport its inner city is home to a large number of bus routes serving areas to the east and north of Paknam city. Areas to the west are linked by high frequency boat services. In the next 10 years or so the BTS elevated rail system will reach Paknam city and thus restoring its long lost rail link to Bangkok. Currently the BTS ends at Onnut terminal 20 km to the north on Sukhumvit road.

1. This is a general view of one of many bus and truck stops in inner Paknam. This one is used only by Paknam local services. Most local services depart from here.



2. This is a shot of a Route 1196: Paknam – Samut Niwet Truck – Bus. Taken at the local bus terminal at Paknam city. Truck – bus number 1196 – 24. Truck type Isuzu. Note: this truck operates an alternative route to the full size buses.



3. This is a shot an industrial estate route 5 Truck – Bus. Paknam has a number of private industrial estate routes operated by trucks like this. Truck number 5 – 2. Truck Type Isuzu.



4. This is an image of a route 1140: Paknam – Klong Dan Truck – Bus. Taken just after it has departed from the bus terminal. Truck number 1140 – 525. Note the gathering storm clouds are getting closer.



5. This is a shot of a Paknam – Udom Ake Truck – bus. Waiting to depart Paknam. Note the fruit stands in the background. Truck number unknown. Truck type older Izusu.



6. This is a shot of a Route 508 Paknam – Ratchaworadit Pier bus. Taken as it approached one of the main BMTA bus stops in central Paknam. Bus number BMTA 3 – 66355. Bus type Merc O405.



7. This is a picture of a Route 25: Paknam – Hualamphong via Ratchadamri Road bus. Bus number 33 – 116. Bus type older non aircon merc. This service is 24 hours.



8. This is a shot of a Route 365: Paknam – Bang Pakong bus. Taken as it was arriving at the central bus stop in Paknam. Bus number 365 – 19. Bus type Unknown. Note this service is an interurban commuter service.



9. This is a shot of a Paknam – Bang Phli Truck – bus. Taken at Paknam as it was about to head out to Bang Phli. Truck type Isuzu.



10. This is an image of a Route 1140 bus. Turning out of the local bus area as it departs Paknam. Bus number 1140 – 15. Bus type old Hino high floor.



11. This is a shot of a Route 507: Paknam – Southern Bus Terminal via Rama 4 bus. Bus number 507 – 10. Bus type Merc O305 front engine. This bus service is the Train replacement service for the Paknam railway. It takes over 2 hours to reach Hualamphong SRT station via this bus.



12. This is a shot of a full size Route 1196: Paknam - Srieium bus. Taken as it races out of the Paknam bus terminal. Bus number 1196 – 31. Bus type: rural commuter bus.



13. This is a shot of a Route 25: Paknam – Tha Chang bus. Bus number BMTA 3 – 40268. Bus type Hino. Taken at the bus stop at Talat Paknam. This is a 24 hour service.



14. This is a short movie showing how frequent the buses are in Paknam. Note the wide range of different bus types from Merc O305 to small Truck – Buses. Most of the routes also share a single bus stop and not a separate stop for each route as common in Australia. Some routes run every 2 mins as shown in the video two departures at once of route 1141.



15. This is an image of a Route 1141: Paknam – Ramkhamhaeng University 2. Taken at Paknam bus terminal. Bus number 1141 – 19. Bus type older rural commuter bus. This service is every 2 to 5 mins. Runs on NGV.



16. This is a shot of a Route 142: Paknam – Kheha Thonburi expressway bus. Bus number BMTA 3 – 66237. Bus type merc O405. This bus service is one of the busiest bus services that link Paknam to Thonburi. This bus left Paknam with no spare seats and will be packed a few stops later with standing passengers. Operates every 1 to 5 mins 7 days a week.



17. This is a shot of the off peak loading on a Sunday afternoon on Route 142. Taken just 3 stops north of Paknam. This service is always has a good standing load.



18. This is a short Movie of a ride on a crowded Route 142 bus. Filmed as it approached Kilometer 9 in Thonburi. Also note how short the stop is despite the large load on board. Remember this is a Sunday afternoon. Not peak hour.



19. This is an inside shot of a typical Paknam Truck bus service. The comfort is actually not too bad even though you face sideways like on a train.



20. This is a general view of inner city Paknam as a truck bus and a route 25 pass each other.



21. This is a rear angle shot of a Route 25 bus. Taken as it powers though the middle of Paknam bus area. Bus number 34 – 113. Bus type HINO HO7D.



22. This is a shot of a well loaded Truck – bus as it departs from Paknam. Note: when the seats fill up people stand and sit on the steps at the back as it running.



23. Another angle on a Route 365 bus as it passes KFC in Paknam city. Bus number 365 – 61. Bus type Merc rural commuter bus. Runs on NGV.



24. This is a streetscape view of the centre of Paknam. The streets in this area are quite narrow and operate as a one way loop. This place would be good for a nice landscaped city square instead of just an open concrete square.



25. This is a shot of a Route 102 Paknam – Central Rama 3 Expressway bus. Bus number 3 – 45027. Bus type Merc O405. Taken out the front of Talat Paknam.



26. This is a shot a Route 145 Paknam – Mochit 2 bus. Bus number BMTA 3 – 9036. Bus Type Merc O405 Articulated. Taken from in front of Talat Paknam. Note: This service operates 24 hours. Route 145 and Route 511 are the only routes in Thailand that operate articulated buses. These buses carry up to 180 people and are worked very hard.



27. This is another angle on the same Route 145 articulated bus. Taken as it heads out on another 2 hour plus trip to Mochit 2.



28. This is a stormy sky shot of the Paknam – Samut Chedi Cross river boat service. This boat service operates from 4am to 1am 7 days a week and runs every 3 mins. Despite the frequency of every 3 mins it could not cope with demand on a normal Sunday afternoon.



29. This is a shot of the massive queue for the Samut Chedi boat service. The amount of people waiting was around 200 and growing all the time. So I went home via route 142 and thankfully got a seat. This was about 4pm on a Sunday.



30. This is a shot of a few buses in action as they depart Paknam. Taken from the BMTA stop at the northern end of Paknam city.



31. This is a shot of a Route 1196 bus looking like it’s out of control but its just the angle of the road. In the background are a number of other buses on there way out of Paknam City.



I hope you find the pictures and vehicles shown to be of interest if you view this please post some comments and feelings about the pictures.