A huge number of travellers are expected to take to the roads and the air during the New Year holidays, and today is expected to be the busiest, the Transport Ministry says.
Mounted police patrol the Mor Chit bus terminal yesterday after Metropolitan Police launched a New Year holiday crime blitz. PATTANAPONG HIRUNARD
Deputy Transport Minister Prasert Chanruangthong said the peak of the holiday traffic will be today, the last working day of the year.
Tuesday is also expected to be extremely busy on the roads and on other forms of transit, he said.
Up to 8,800 volunteers attached to the Department of Rural Roads will be deployed to help motorists in 98 rest spots along the most accident-prone routes, he said.
Seventy-six rapid response teams will be sent to patrol roads most likely to have traffic jams, he said.
Travellers can contact Hotline 1146 around the clock for route information and accident alerts, he said.
Travellers can obtain traffic information via radio as well as on the "Highway Police Thai"application which can be installed on their smartphones.
Six particular outbound routes from Bangkok should be avoided as they are expected to have intense traffic jams, the Highway Police Division said.
The six roads are: Special Highway 9 (the eastern outer ring road between Bang Phli and Bang Pa-in); the western outer ring road in Nonthaburi's Bang Bua Thong district; Special Highway 7 Bangkok-Chonburi along the 0-12km section; Bang Na-Trat Road; Rama II Road at the 59-62km section; and Boromratchonnanee Road at the 27km section where traffic lanes bottle-neck.
Meanwhile, the Airports of Thailand Plc's acting president Somchai Sawasdipol said Suvarnabhumi airport had set up a centre to make air travel more orderly during the holiday period.
The centre's operations began on Tuesday and will end on Jan 5. The service is operating around the clock.
The centre will integrate the operations of airlines, the airport police, the immigration office and the customs authority.
More than 156,000 passengers are expected to pass through the airport each day between tomorrow and Tuesday, Mr Somchai said. In the 10 days to Jan 5, up to 1.88 million people are likely to pass through the airport.
Officers will be on standby to assist passengers filling out their arrival and departure forms, and immigration will have all of its check-in counters open, Mr Somchai said. Airlines will also be asked to open their check-in counters earlier than usual to cope with the crowds.
Flight schedule information and other inquiries can be made via Hotline 1722.