Phuket long-distance buses get clean bill of health
PHUKET: Phuket Land Transportation Office (PLTO) officials have been checking as many as 170 long-distance buses a day at the Phang Nga Rd bus terminal in Phuket Town, starting on Friday (December 30), in a bid to ensure passengers have a safe journey.
Monday 2 January 2012, 05:18PM
So far, all the buses and drivers checked between 4:30 am and 10 pm each day have been found to be in a fit condition to be on the roads. Checks will continue until Wednesday (January 4).
The officials first checked bus drivers with a breath analyser, then checked their vehicles for working headlights, brakes and brake lights, tyres, windscreen wipers, fire extinguishers and emergency exits.
One of the officials told The Phuket News, “We have not found a single bus that failed the checks and had to be replaced.”
The number of buses soared to 170 on Saturday as people hurried to get home for the New Year celebrations, then tailed off over the next couple of days. The numbers are expected to rise again tomorrow and on Wednesday as people return from the holiday, with twice as many people as normal using buses.
In addition to the tests at the bus terminal, a mobile team from the PLTO has been looking over buses at police check points on main highways since the beginning of December.
