Inter-Provincial Buses Back on Road After Easing of Lockdown

An inter-provincial bus crashes into an 18-wheeler in Prachinburi province on Oct. 2, 2016, injuring one person.

BANGKOK (Xinhua) — Thailand’s Ministry of Transport said on Friday that state-run buses will resume cross-country services between Bangkok and the North and Northeast on May 18, a day after the Phase Two lockdown restrictions are eased.

Inter-provincial buses were suspended in mid-April to curb the COVID-19 outbreak.

Services to the South will start on June 1.

Meanwhile, the Bangkok Mass Transit Authority (BMTA) said the number of its passengers will increase by 100,000 a day when shopping centers reopen on May 17.

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The daily number of Bangkok bus passengers would rise by 100,000 from 517,000 and thus the BMTA would increase its daily bus trips by 3,000 trips from 25,000 trips, said BMTA director-general Surachai Iamwachirakul.

The Thai government had earlier approved the second phase of the easing of lockdown measures from May 17 to help lift the economy,

The second phase include re-opening of large venues including shopping malls that cater to large numbers of people.