Beads of sweat trickle down Pawanrat Mongpet’s pallid face as she works her way through the packed passengers on the BMTA No.47 bus, to finally reach the last free standing space.
Pawanrat Mongpet works the Bangkok Mass Transit Authority’s No.47 route.
Pawanrat is the conductress on the No.47 bus service operated by the Bangkok Mass Transit Authority. Every day it is the same.
It is evening rush hour and the roads are clogged with cars lined bumper-to-bumper along Sanam Luang. An hour has elapsed, and we are no closer to reaching our destination in Klong Toey.
Packed in like sardines in a non-air conditioned bus, Pawanrat squeezes her way pass two burly passengers to reach the steps at the door, into a space barely big enough to accommodate her two legs.
A shortage of ventilation coupled with extreme humidity has taken its toll on the passengers, who by now have become restless and ask the driver to open the doors to let them out in the middle of the traffic. The more their demands fall on deaf ears, the more they begin to ring the bell incessantly.
Pawanrat’s attempts to explain are in vain. Just when emotions begin to heat up, the traffic lights turn green and a possible confrontation seems to have been averted. After being on the road for a whopping three hours, she finally completes the second leg of her six rounds for the day.
Before she embarks on her next round, the 46-year-old mother of two unwinds with a glass of cold coffee.
“This is a typical day at work for BMTA bus conductors across Bangkok. It is a physically demanding occupation, and often emotionally draining, but I consider myself privileged to have a job that has given me a good life,” says Pawanrat.
“It is unfortunate that through the years we have mostly managed to attract a lot of bad press in social media circles. If you ask me, nearly all the bad behaviour that makes the news comes from staff that work for private operators, not the BMTA.”
A recent road-rage case of a man who stole a No.1 bus and rammed it into several cars and injured bystanders late at night only added to the negative image of city buses — quite unfairly since it had nothing to do with any real bus drivers.
Resting before her next round at the bus conductor lounge.
A recent health survey revealed a set of worrying figures that authorities should take seriously: 94.3% of bus conductors and drivers suffer from stress due to heavy traffic; 90.9% suffer from muscle weakness; 80.8% suffer from gastric ulcers; 79.6% suffer from urinary tract illnesses; 72.8% suffer from digestive disease due to irregular bathroom visits. Also, 28.4% of female bus conductors have to wear diapers during their long working hours. The survey was conducted by Ying-Chai Kao Klai Foundation and the BMTA’s Labour Union.
In short, passengers often think they have it bad, but those who work on the buses have it worse, psychologically and physically.
“Our duty is to service passengers, so most of us opt to control our emotions when it comes to confronting their bad moods. However, not all of us can manage to bottle in our feelings when confronted with someone who is bent on wanting to argue with you. Nevertheless, I can honestly say that the majority of us do our best to keep the peace.
“Our job is on the line if we misbehave, so we do our best to control our emotions. Tempers flair from both sides because no one wants to give in to the other. Whatever the situation, our drivers and bus conductors are always made out to be the bad guys. So all we ask is to be treated fairly by both our superiors and the public.’’
Pawanrat, who has worked with BMTA for more than two decades, has found that the number of female bus conductors with deteriorating health concerns have grown over the years.
Commenting on a recent health survey on BMTA staff, which listed a litany of medical and family issues as reasons for their ill health, she said that counting her blessings and exercising daily helped her to keep sickness at bay.
Her husband, who is a BMTA bus driver and is paired up with her on bus No.47, and her two teenage children give her no reason for emotional stress. Pawanrat and her husband Wanchai were also recently voted the best driver and bus conductor for bus No.47 by passengers who used their service last month.
Pawanrat does admit that a number of her colleagues, who suffer from a plethora of medical issues, have been less fortunate. Most common aliments include sore muscles and inflammation from standing long hours, digestive and urinary tract inflammation ailments because of keeping irregular meal hours and holding urine for long periods of time. For some it has been so bad that they have to use adult nappies, she said.
“From my experience, the reason we have digestion-related medical problems is because we usually have very little time to eat between rounds,” said the amiable ticket collector.
“Once the number of our bus is announced, we have no more than 10 minutes to leave. So within this time, we have to also use the rest room. We get to eat when we reach the next bus terminal, which could take a while if the traffic is bad.
“Urinary tract aliments are also rampant largely due to the fact that not all bus routes we go on have petrol stations with rest rooms.
"I am fortunate that there is a public toilet along the route I take, otherwise, I would also be suffering from medical issues like my colleagues. I have my fingers crossed that in the future there will be more public rest rooms.”
When all is said and done, the Surin-born bus conductor said the perks of working for the BMTA outweighed the sacrifices each had to make.
Besides free medical expenses for the entire family and parents, education for their offspring from primary to a bachelor’s degree at designated schools is also waived. If one looks at the broader picture, she said, their profession allows them a day off while their work shift is a bearable 8-12 hours. Salaries for bus conductors with more than two decades of service range from 25,000-30,000 baht, an amount most believe is high for people who have little education.
The best educated, above the age of 40, have studied till the 9th grade, while those still in their 30s are high school graduates.
“My husband and I have two houses on the outskirts of Bangkok. It brings us great pride even though we are still paying the bank for the house loans.
"We also have a second-hand car,” said Pawanrat, when asked what she had managed to accomplish after having worked for BMTA.
“As a 6th Grade drop out, I would not have dreamed to have such assets, so I am very grateful for my job.”
With the Asean Economic Community around the corner, Pawanrat said she is looking forward to servicing nationalities from across the region. She hopes to attend English classes organised by BMTA more frequently to be better prepared.
In the meantime, she is determined to be a good role model for younger bus conductors, saying: “I always tell younger colleagues to caution passengers to not use their mobile phones while getting on and off the bus because their concentration is not on what they are doing so they can easily have an accident and hurt themselves.”
The colour of the stripes on bus conductors' epaulettes signifies the number of years they have worked.
