The Eastern Bus Terminal.

Last weekend I also visited the Eastern Bus Terminal. This bus terminal is located on Sukhumvit road opposite Soi 63. It can be accessed via the BTS station at Ekkamai. Or by Bus Routes 511, 508, 40, 2, 23, 72, 48, 25, 38, 501. This bus terminal is sometimes called Ekkamai Bus Terminal.

A little background on the Eastern Bus Terminal.

This bus terminal is the smallest of Bangkok’s intercity bus terminals. It is also the only bus terminal in Bangkok with direct BTS access. It is located on prime development land in a very congested part of inner city Bangkok.

The layout of the eastern bus terminal is rather simple when compared to other Bangkok bus terminals. Basically it consists of a small ticketing hall at the front and a large island bus platform behind the ticket office with space for about 25 buses. The right hand side of the Island platform is for 1st class buses and the left hand side of the Island platform is for 2nd class buses.

Outside of the bus platform there is a bus refueling point provided by PTT and a bus wash and holding areas for the buses. But it is of limited capacity and many buses are stored off site. They are normally stored at Bangna where some commuter services to Chonburi/Pattaya depart in addition to the normal services from the Eastern bus terminal.

This lack of bus terminal holding space for buses does lead to delays on departing buses at peak times due to extremely heavy traffic on Sukhumvit road. During off peak times buses seem to be able to depart close to the correct time.

The Eastern Bus Terminal services the following intercity destinations:

Pattaya, Rayong, Sattahip, Sriracha, Chonburi, Bangkala, Chachoengsao, Trat, Chanthaburi, Banphe, Kleang and Sakaew. Plus a few other minor locations.

For Pattaya buses depart every 15 mins from 05.00 to 23.00. (3 hours)
For Sriracha buses depart every 25 mins from 05.30 to 21.00. (2 hours)
For Chachoengsao buses depart every 30 mins from 05.00 to 21.00. (1 hour)
For Chonburi bus depart every 20 mins from 05.00 to 21.30. (90 mins)

Other intercity destinations are once every 60 to 120mins.

If you are traveling to any of these listed destinations directly after arriving at Suvarnabhumi Airport. Please travel to the main bus terminal at Suvarnabhumi airport and check if there is a bus travelling to these eastern seaboard destinations before traveling into Bangkok to use the eastern bus terminal. If there is a bus to Pattaya at a suitable time it will save you over 2 hours travelling by boarding the intercity bus at Suvarnabhumi Airport instead of Eastern bus terminal.

For the above destinations additional buses depart regularly from Mochit 2 and New Southern Bus terminal. So if you are traveling via these bus terminals check for a Pattaya service before travelling to Eastern bus terminal.

1. This is a general view of the building at the front of the Eastern bus terminal. The ticket offices are located on the ground floor of this building.



2. This is a shot of the “transport company’s” ticket counter at the front of the Eastern bus terminal. This is the largest and one of the best run bus companies at this terminal.



3. This is a general view of the ticketing hall at the front of the Eastern bus terminal. Each destination and class of service has its own ticket counter.




4. This is a shot of the timetable for the 2nd class bus services that depart from the Eastern bus terminal. It appears some routes now operate at a higher frequency than listed on this timetable board.



5. This is a shot of the timetable for the 1st class bus services that depart from the Eastern bus terminal. It appears some routes now operate at a higher frequency than listed on this timetable board.



6. This is a shot of the electronic bus timetable board inside the ticketing hall at Eastern bus terminal. This seems to list a higher frequency for some bus routes than the other timetables.



7. This is a shot of a large number of 2nd class intercity buses waiting to depart from the Bus platforms inside the Eastern bus terminal. This side of the bus island platform seems to handle second class buses.



8. This is a general view of the bus departure island platform inside the Eastern bus terminal. Like most Thai mass transport terminals food and drinks are sold on the platforms.



9. This is a shot of a number of 1st class intercity buses waiting to depart from the bus platforms inside the eastern bus terminal. This side of the bus island platform seems to handle first class buses.



10. This is a short movie of a walk though the Eastern bus terminal. Note the different kinds of intercity buses and the layout of the ticketing hall. This was filmed as a walk from the bus platforms into the ticketing hall to give people an idea of the layout of the Eastern bus terminal.



Now its time for some shots of the buses that operate from the eastern bus terminal.

11. This is an image of a 2nd class intercity bus waiting to depart from eastern bus terminal on its trip to Chachoengsao. Bus type Golden Dragon (intercity). Bus number 2nd class intercity 53 – 1.



12. This is a shot of a 1st class intercity bus loading passenger luggage as it waits to depart on its trip to Chanthaburi. Bus type unknown. Bus number unknown.



13. This is a shot of a 2nd class intercity bus being repaired in the bus departure platform. This bus runs on CNG which has been retrofitted into the luggage area. Bus type Merc intercity.



14. This is a general view of a number of 1st class intercity buses waiting in the bus holding area at the back of the Eastern bus terminal.



15. This is a shot of two fairly new 1st class intercity buses waiting in the bus holding area. Both buses are used on the Bangkok – Pattaya bus services. Bus numbers 155 and 156. Bus type Scania (intercity).



16. This is another angle on the bus holding area looking to the north. This time a mixture of 1st and 2nd class intercity buses can be seen.



17. This is a shot of a large number of 2nd class intercity buses waiting to depart from Eastern bus terminal. Bus number 35 – 2 is operated by NCA Thailand’s best bus company.



18. This is a shot of the bus refueling point located at the end of the passenger platforms. The fuel service is provided by PTT a major semi govt oil company. There is no NGV fuel service at this terminal.



19. This is an image of a great line up of mostly 1st class intercity buses waiting to depart from Eastern bus terminal. A Pattaya bus can be seen arriving.



20. This is a shot of a 2nd class Route 916: Bangkok – Laem Mae Phim bus. Bus number 2nd class 916 – 5. Bus type unknown. Taken as it was waiting to depart from the terminal.



21. This is a close up shot of a Bangkok – Pattaya bus as it had just arrived at Eastern bus terminal. Bus number unknown. Bus type Merc intercity.



22. This is a shot of a Bangkok – Sriracha Bus as it was arriving at Eastern bus terminal. Bus type unknown. Bus number unknown.



23. This is an image of a Bangkok – Pattaya bus as it was unloading passengers off an inbound trip at Eastern bus terminal. Bus number 151. Bus type Scania (Intercity).



24. This is another angle on the Pattaya bus. Taken as it was pulling into the departure platforms at Eastern bus terminal. This bus route seems to have 2 separate numbers for its buses 151 and 1st class 48 – 8. The reason for this is not known.



25. This is a general view of a number of 1st class intercity buses waiting at Eastern bus terminal. Taken looking toward the back of the terminal.



26. This is a shot of a 1st class Route 915: Bangkok – Banphe bus. Bus number 915 – 13. Bus type Unknown. Taken as it was powering out of the Eastern bus terminal.



27. This is a shot of a 2nd class Route 53: Bangkok - Chachoengsao bus. Bus number 53 – 1. Bus type Golden Dragon (intercity). Taken as it was leaving Eastern bus terminal.



28. This is an image of a 2nd class Route 48: Bangkok – Laemchabang - Pattaya bus. Bus number 2nd class 48 – 18. Taken as it was arriving at Eastern bus terminal. Bus type Merc intercity.



29. This is an image of a 2nd class Route 46: Bangkok – Rayong bus. Bus number 2nd class 46 – 27. Taken as it was arriving at Eastern bus terminal. Bus type Merc intercity.



30. This is an image of a 1st class Route 48: Bangkok – Pattaya bus. Bus number 1st class 48 – 33. Taken on approach to Eastern bus terminal. Bus type Merc intercity.



31. This is a shot of a 2nd class Route 35: Bangkok – Rayong bus. Bus number 2nd class 35 – 4. Bus type Merc semi double deck intercity. Taken as it was departing Eastern bus terminal. As normal the bus door is still open well after departure.



32. This is a shot of a 1st class Route 37: Bangkok – Sriracha bus. Bus number 1st class 37 – 5. Taken as it was departing Eastern bus terminal. Bus type unknown.



Now for something extra.

33. This is an image of a Route 40: Rama 9 – Southern Bus Terminal bus. Bus number 40 – 6. Bus type unknown. Taken as it was passing Eastern bus terminal.



34. This is an action shot of a Route 72: Thewet – Khlong Toei Port bus. Bus number BMTA 4 – 40529. Taken as it was turning on to Sukhumvit road from Soi 63.



35. This is a shot of a Route 508: Paknam – Ratchaworadit Pier bus. Bus number BMTA 3 – 66355. Bus type Merc O405. Taken as it was passing Eastern bus terminal. In the foreground a motorbike with a dog on it was overtaking the bus.



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.

The Mega Victory Monument Metro Bus Terminal.

Last weekend I was passing though Victory Monument as I often do for various reasons and I realized that I had never really taken a proper set of bus transport images at this terminal before. So I decided to spend a couple of hours taking bus photos at Victory Monument and give it a much deserved place on my website.

A Little Background on the Victory Monument bus terminal.

Victory Monument was never designed as a bus terminal when first built but was actually a large traffic circle with a major war memorial in the centre. Today it is only one of a handful of remaining traffic circles in Bangkok. Most of them are traffic light controlled and do not operate like a western style roundabout.

Due to its large open area and close proximity to the inner city it was the perfect place for large numbers of urban bus routes to start at or pass though. Since WW2 Victory Monument has been at the heart of the Bangkok mass transport bus system. There are over 100 different bus routes operating though Victory monument, most on a high frequency basis. In more recent times the BTS provides a north south link though the Victory monument bus terminal making it even more important. At times around 40 – 50 buses a minute pass though this bus terminal.

However it is a rather poorly laid out bus terminal with very little information for passengers as to where the buses depart from within the terminal. Also the buses tend to stop in random locations resulting in traffic delays and making it harder to know where to wait for the bus. There can be rows of buses 4 deep in parts of the terminal forcing passengers to walk around the other buses to find their bus.

Another big problem with Victory Monument bus terminal is that it’s not a bus only area. This means that the terminal also has to deal with large volumes of through mixed traffic on 2 major roads. This often results in long delays entering and exiting the terminals and at peak times total gridlock within the terminal. This is something that will have to be fixed up in future years if the terminal is to cope with ever increasing numbers of passengers. The vast majority of bus passengers transfer to other buses at Victory Monument.

The bus terminal at Victory Monument it broken up into 4 sections these sections are based on the general direction of travel upon leaving the terminal and not the final destination of the buses.

Buses that head north along Phahon Yothin Road depart from the North – West side of the terminal.

Buses that head south along Phaya Thai Road depart from the South – East side of the terminal.

Buses that head west along Ratchawithi Road depart from the South – West side of the terminal.
Buses that head east along Ratchawithi Road depart from the North – East side of the terminal.
Also bus Route 551 to Suvarnabhumi Airport departs from this section of the terminal.

Located under the expressway to the north of Victory Monument is a very small but crowded expressway van terminal with high frequency van services to a wide range of outer suburban locations such as Pak Kret, Rama 2, Rangsit. Unlike the much larger bus terminal the services are well marked albeit in Thai language and each route has a queuing area. Most of these privately operated van service operate on a continuous shuttle basis from around 6am to 11pm 7 days a week. Also lower frequency intercity Van services depart from this terminal but the passengers wait inside the Van instead of queuing up outside.

1. This is an image of the expressway van from Rama 2 just after it had arrived at Victory monument. BMTA Van number 71/1 - 21. These vans hold 15 passengers maximum.

2. This is a general view of the Van terminal looking east towards the passenger waiting area. The empty space on the right is the stop for the Rama 2 expressway Van service.

3. This is another general view of the Van terminal looking south to the left is the loading area for the outer suburban Expressway Van services. In the middle of the image is a newer 15 seat Toyota expressway Van.

4. This is a shot of the signs indicting the various intercity locations that are available from this terminal. The vans for intercity locations normally depart from next to this expressway support.

5. This is a general view of the passenger waiting are looking north. Like most thai mass transport terminals there are endless street food stalls and drinks stands. The white boards are used to control which van will run what trip.

6. This is a shot of the Rama 2 van stop at Victory monument. This service costs 30 baht per trip and takes about 45 mins to complete the route. This service is about 30 mins faster than the expressway bus service operated by BMTA.

Victory Monument Bus Terminal North West Section.

The buses that depart from this section are the following:

8, 26, 27, 28, 29, 34, 38, 39, 54, 59, 63, 74, 77, 97, 108, 159, 204, 157, 177, 502, 503, 509, 510, 522, 166.

All of these routes exit the bus terminal to the north either via expressway or Phahon Yothin Road.

7. This is a general view of the North Western section of Victory Monument looking to the south west. This section is the best laid out of all the terminal sections with 3 separate roads for buses.

8. This is a shot of a Route 8: Happy Land Market – Memorial Bridge bus. Bus number 35 – 102. Bus type unknown.

9. This is a shot of a Route 97: Victory Monument – Nonthaburi bus. Bus number BMTA 7 – 55086. Bus type Isuzu. Note: the door was closing at the time I took the shot. This service is a 24 hour route.

10. This is a shot of a Route 69: Tha It – Victory Monument bus. Taken as it approached the North East section of the terminal. Bus number 69 – 3. Bus type unknown.

11. This is a general view of the North West section taken from the footbridge at Victory monument.

12. This is a shot of a Route 8 bus as it was departing the bus terminal with a new Chinese made Route 29 bus following. Bus number 39 – 121. Bus type old merc. This route seems to have borrowed buses from other routes hence the non matching bus numbers.

13. This is a shot of a Route 29: Hualamphong – Thammasat Rangsit bus. Bus number 29 – 22. Bus type Golden Dragon. Taken from footbridge at Victory monument. Note: this bus is very new as its still on red temporary number plates.

14. This is an image of a Route 26: Victory Monument – Minburi bus. Bus number BMTA 2 – 4073. Bus type Hino. This service is a 24 hour service. An expressway version of this route operates between 4pm and 6pm weekdays.

15. This is a general view of the North West section of the Victory Monument bus terminal. This time with a typical line up of buses waiting to unload and load passengers. Also in this image there are two route 26 buses.

16. This is a general view of Phahon Yothin road. This is main northern approach road to Victory Monument. It is common to see jams of traffic here mostly made up of hundreds of buses. This also shows the problem of Mixed traffic at this bus terminal. At peak there can be traffic jams stretching back for over 10 km just to enter the Victory Monument area.

17. This is another general view of the North West section of Victory Monument. Taken from the footbridge looking west. This again shows a great line up of buses waiting in the terminal. Note this image was taken only a few minutes after the earlier line up of buses.

18. This is a shot of a Route 515: Victory Monument – Ban Aue Arthon (Salaya) bus. Taken from the footbridge looking south. Bus number BMTA 6 – 56121. Bus type Isuzu.

19. This is an image of a Route 18: Victory Monument – Tha It Bus. Taken as it passed though Victory Monument. Bus number BMTA 7 – 50534. Bus type Hino.

20. This is a shot of a Route 12: Huai Khwang – Setthakan bus. Taken as it was entering the north east section of the terminal. Bus number unknown. Bus type old Merc mini bus.

21. This is a shot of a Route 539: Victory Monument – Om Yai bus. Taken on its final approached into Victory Monument. Bus number 539 – 19. Bus type Golden Dragon.

22. This is a picture of a Route 536: Mochit 2 – Paknam expressway bus. Taken as it approached the south east section of Victory Monument. Bus number BMTA 3 – 6717. Bus type Merc O305.

23. This is a shot of a Route 14: Sri Yan – Chong Nonsi bus. Taken as it approached the south east section of Victory Monument. Bus number unknown. Bus type unknown.

24. This is a short movie of various buses arriving at Victory Monument. Note how a Route 92 bus is blocking off access to the terminal forcing the other buses to push past. Also some of the buses operate with there doors wide open with passengers onboard. Also count how many buses went past in under 2 mins on a Saturday afternoon.