Chop Puttasupa, Chief of Phuket Bus Terminal 2, the main interprovincial bus terminal on the island, today confirmed, “From today, all foreigners are allowed buy tickets and travel on interprovincial buses as long as they comply with the health regulations to prevent the spread of COVID-19.”
Mr Chop explained that all foreigners were banned from boarding interprovincial buses under a nationwide order brought into effect months ago when the nationwide lockdown began.
“At the time there were serious concerns about foreigners travelling between provinces, especially since it included foreign workers from Myanmar, Malaysia and other countries,” he said.
“So the Department of Land Transport issued its own nationwide order to ban all foreigners from travelling on buses between any provinces. But now, foreigners are allowed to enter or leave Phuket for any reason,” he said.
All people travelling by bus must comply with the new health regulations to prevent the spread of COVID-19, Mr Chop noted, including wearing face masks at all times while at the bus terminals and while travelling.
All people arriving or departing Phuket by bus must register their travel with the Phuket Provincial Police via the web platform gophuget.com, Mr Chop pointed out.
They must also register their entry and exit of the bus terminals through the Thai Chana web platform, he said.
“Further all people travelling by bus must complete a Tor 8 [“tor bairt”] form at the bus terminal before boarding their bus,” Mr Chop said.
“This is just basic travel information so if there is an incident health officials will be able to investigate and find out who might be affected,” he said.
Ticket vendors will provide the Tor 8 forms when people buy tickets in person at the bus terminal, Mr Chop explained.
“People who buy bus tickets online will be handed a Tor 8 form when they collect their ticket when they arrive at the bus station,” he added.
More information please contact call 076-373193,” Mr Chop said.
Additional reporting by Khunanya Wanchanwet