After almost four days of rush-hour delays, the BTS Skytrain operator managed to "assure" passengers on Thursday that a solution to the problem had been found.
It identified the cause of the problem as signal interference and the solution is the installation of a new radio transmission system which will be completed by today.
For many ordinary people, the technical issue is beyond their comprehension. What they expect is a reliable service and operators who can foresee, prevent and better handle such problems.
It seems like the BTS operator is not meeting these expectations.
It is questionable whether the operator, BTS Group Holdings (BTS), foresaw this kind of technical problem and had preventive measures and risk management strategies to handle it.
The "solution" has come too late for a service used daily by approximately 730,000 people.
This is not the first major service disruption the BTS has suffered. During the first six months of this year alone, there were at least 28, according to Thai Rath newspaper. And it is not just the BTS that has experienced "technical glitches" resulting in mass congestion and delays. Operators of other city electric train lines, the Airport Link and the MRT, have faced similar problems.
The number of technical problems and rush-hour delays recorded during the past few years prompts a bigger question over the operators' efficiency and reliability of maintenance and crisis management plans.
The Skytrain delays this week caused major problems for Bangkok's commuters who waited for hours at train stations without being properly informed. It demonstrates that there was no efficient crisis management plan in place.
Many passengers said they were told by staff as well as the BTS official Twitter account that the delays would only be 10-15 minutes. But they ended up waiting several hours to board a train.
Had the operator provided them with specific and accurate information on the real situation, stranded commuters could have planned their journeys better.
Worse still, passengers were confused by the real cause of the problem. The BTS claimed on its website that bandwidth from a mobile phone operator interrupted its train-signalling. But both mobile phone operators, Total Access Communication, and state-owned telecommunications company TOT, insisted on Tuesday they were not responsible for the interference.
Even though the BTS operator on Thursday assured the problem would be fixed by today, it said the moment of truth will be known on Monday morning when many more people will take trains and use their phones at the same time.
While the technical glitches were poorly handled, the way it handled passengers was disappointing.
The operator did not offer immediate help. It could have arranged buses as an alternative means for stranded passengers. Transport Minister Arkhom Termpittayapaisith said this arrangement is part of a crisis management strategy previously agreed upon among transport authorities. But there were no designated buses deployed.
Meanwhile, the Airport Link operator has also forced its passengers to bear the brunt of its technical glitches.
In the past five years, there have been many delays due to "electrical problems" leaving its trains at a standstill along the track with passengers trapped inside. Its passengers often have to put up with overcrowded carriages because of an insufficient number of trains.
Similar problems have also been experienced by passengers on the MRT.
These city train services have provided an alternative mode of transport to Bangkok residents.
However, passengers have had to endure many delays and inconveniences. The operators need to improve their act to ensure reliability and efficiency because they need to show they are accountable to their passengers.
