200 red minibus drivers, in Chiang Mai Thailand, protest that air conditioned buses will take their customers, paralyze public transportation and causing traffic chaos for a day.
Red minibus drivers from the Lanna Transport Cooperative protested against the launching of the air-conditioned bus service in Chiangmai, saying the new service will take away their customers.
The protestors displayed banners and placards, stopped traffic at Thapae Gate, and then moved to city hall demanding cessation of the air-conditioned bus route. The protestors blocked roads and paralyzed public transportation from noon until late afternoon on Friday, July 4, causing traffic chaos in Chiang Mai.
The air-conditioned bus route is operated by ACC Real Estate, which first launched its public service on June 28. The minibus drivers' concern was that the bus service was competing for the same passengers and had caused their income to drop.
One of the protestors' banners read: "Now the local northern people who earn their living from the mini-bus service in the local areas and raise their family are going to die."
The protestors demanded the air-conditioned bus service must stop running and then castigated the Thai Rak Thai Party including Yaowapha Wongsawas, MP for Chiang Mai and PM Thaksin Shinawatra's younger sister, Chiang Mai Municipality and city hall for granting the concession to run the service.
Cooperative representatives went to city hall and met with high-ranking provincial officials looking for ways to settle the dispute. Autsathai Rattanadilok na Phuket, chief of Chiang Mai Provincial Lands Transportation Office, said after the meeting that the cooperative representatives also demanded there be no increase in the numbers of air-conditioned buses, which at this stage number only five.
Pakorn Buranupakorn, Chiang Mai MP, said that the protesters were bottling up Chiang Mai traffic and this could be construed as breaking the law, because blocking the streets and causing traffic jams in the city is illegal.
Autsathai also added that in the future, the mass transportation project should be systemized. However, this protest would hopefully not happen again, if there is a guaranteed income for red minibus drivers.
