Songtaew Bus in Samut Sakhon Introduces Social Distancing

Anan Imjit checks the temperature of a passenger in Samut Sakhon city on Jan. 7, 2021.

SAMUT SAKHON — An innovative songtaew bus in the epicenter of the second wave of outbreak is taking steps to transport its passengers in a safer way. 

Anan Imjitt, 26, runs the hop-on, hop-off bus for a factory in Samut Sakhon province. He puts plastic barriers between seats to encourage social distancing, checks passengers for their temperature, and provides them with hand sanitizing gel. 

Anan said his bus usually fits 40 people, but his policy for social distancing cuts the capacity by half. He also regularly sanitizes the bus and air-dries it in the sun.

Advertisement

His bus is exclusively hired by the Unicord Company factory in Samut Sakhon for its employees.

The province is among the hardest hit in the second wave of the coronavirus outbreak, which was first identified in Samut Sakhon’s central shrimp market in late December. 

Advertisement

At least 3,000 people in Samut Sakhon have tested positive for the virus so far, most of them migrant workers.