The much-anticipated Mangmoom Card (aka the Spider Card), which promised to be an all-in-one ticket for most public transports in Bangkok, will launch next week — but it will unfortunately work only with the MRT trains. Yup. No BTS for you, Spider.
Pakapong Sirikantaramat, governor of the Mass Rapid Transit Authority of Thailand, said yesterday that they’re prepared to hand out the first lot of 200,000 Spider Cards to Thais on June 23. But the cards will only work with MRT Blue and Purple lines for now, according to Manager.
In other words, the Spider Card is no different than the metro card you already have in your wallet.
But if you’re a Thai national who’s interested in carrying an extra public transport card, you can present your ID and receive a Spider Card at all stations of the suburb-focused MRT Purple Line.
The Mangmoom Card concept was first revealed in late 2015, and was expected to be a common ticketing systems for BTS, MRT, the Airport Rail Link, and buses — all of which have different ticketing systems. Ultimately, it’s even supposed to act as an e-wallet to you’ll be able to use at everywhere from convenience stores to taxis.
Why Mangmoom (the Thai word for “spider”)? Spiders spin webs in all directions, and the uni-ticket should theoretically able help you get anywhere in Bangkok.
But if you’re like most Bangkokians, who work in inner Bangkok and change between the BTS and MRT trains for your daily commute, the promised convenience is still a ways off.
While there’s no word when the Mangmoom Card will be able to use with BTS, or any other non-MRT transport, they expect it to work with the Airport Rail Link by October. So we’ve got that going for us.
