3. Water Transport in Bangkok: Long-Tailed Boat
Service
Despite the experience of three
different types of water transport services in
Bangkok, this study focuses on the more specific
type of service that is the service along the canal.
This is due to the reason that it is now struggling
for its existence with burgeoning land transportation
modes although it could have been a
part of sustainable transportation system and
reduce the load on existing land transportation
system of Bangkok. The name ‘long-tailed boat’
mainly came from its design which incorporates
a motor mounted onboard at the end part which
also serves as a steering for the boat (Figure 5).
The spear-shaped body has a flat
bottom which is suitable to be used in narrow
canals with water depth as low as one meter.
The boat is open-sided which can be easily
accessed by passengers on both sides of the
boat. Long-tailed boat comes in various sizes
with the length of hull ranging between 10
to 20 m. The boat is normally fitted with the
detachable wooden seats and backrests of
about 10 to 20 rows depending on the size which
can serve up to 100 passengers as demonstrated
in Figure 6. Long-tailed boat can be considered
as a low cost transport mode because the
investment in this boat service cost only about