Lopburi province’s sleek songthaews (aka mini buses) have been in operation since November, but that seems to be news to the rest of the country, which showered the Monkey City with praise this week when photos showing off the country’s first air-conditioned songthaew service went viral.
In case you’re new to Thailand: tuk-tuks are for tourists, but for many locals who live outside of Bangkok, these little songthaews serve as their main public transportation. (You might have seen one of these in Chiang Mai.)
Aside from the AC, Lopburi’s songthaews also have wifi and CCTV cameras inside, while the fare is just THB10 per trip, no more expensive than normal ones.
According to Krisana Puengpan, Lopburi’s transport director, these songthaews belong to a private company.
There are now nine of the air-conditioned songthaews operating in the city, Khaosod reported.
Krisana noted that the songthaews comply with the transport laws, and gave permission to the company to add AC to their mini buses.
What’s not to like? Krisana said that the air-con songthaews set a new standard for public transportation.
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