The BMA is launching app-based electric boat taxis in Bangkok this July

The city’s rivers and khlongs will welcome new electric boat taxis when the BMA launches them in Bangkok this July. 

Bangkok’s khlongs were the city’s main thoroughfares at one point in its history and boats were the common form of transportation to get around. Though roads have made buses, motorsais, and cars the way to get around now along with the ever-expanding web of train lines, the city’s canals are still used by commuters every day riding the many boats that go dock from dock. Come July though, these khlongs will be welcoming a new kind of boat as the Bangkok Metropolitan Authority, or the BMA, officially launch electric boat taxis you can hail on an app.

[Hero image: Sebastian Pichler/Unsplash]

App-based electric boat taxis are coming to Bangkok in July

The Bangkok Post reported yesterday that the BMA will be launching these electric boat taxis in a handful of khlongs in its pilot phase come July. Passengers will use an app to hail the boats and the fare will be determined by distance, similar to the ride-hailing apps many people use. This also coincides with the expansion of the BMA’s app-based motorcycle taxi-hailing service, which is now operating in a few districts in the city.

According to Tharatporn Techakitkachorn, the managing director of Krung Thep Thanakom Co which is the business arm of the BMA, the electric boat taxis will be launched in Khlong Phadung Krung Kasem and some of the other canals connected to it like Khlong Bang Lamphu for the pilot phase in July. Once the service is fully launched, it will be available in many other khlongs in the city. For now, two boats will be used in the service’s pilot phase with a plan to expand the fleet once it’s fully launched. 

This is the first time Bangkok will see a boat ride-hailing app but it certainly isn’t a stranger to ride-hailing apps. Services like Grab and Bolt are used by Bangkokians constantly to get around the city, and they also provide different types of rides. Grab even has a VIP option so you can travel around in a London taxi cab in the congested streets of Bangkok. There are also other ride-sharing apps like Muvmi, which use electric tuktuks to ferry commuters in different parts of the city. 

FAQ

What are the electric boat taxis?

The electric boat taxis are a mode of transportation on Bangkok khlongs, or canals, that the Bangkok Metropolitan Authority, or the BMA, will be launching in July. 

How are you able to ride one?

Passengers will have to download an app to hail a ride on one of the electric boat taxis.

When will it be launched?

On July.

Where is it going to be launched?

For its pilot phase, it will be launched in Khlong Phadung Krung Kasem and its branching canals like Khlong Bang Lamphu. There are plans to expand it when it’s fully launched across the city.