Yesterday, Bangkok passengers were perplexed when they boarded the MRT and found out there were no seats for them to fight over anymore.

In an initiative introduced on Monday, the MRT removed the seats from the middle of each train to fit more passengers during rush hours.

“Bangkok Expressway and Metro has increased the space on blue line trains by removing the seats in the middle car to fit more passengers. The trial started on Nov. 20. We’d like to ask for cooperation from the passengers to step inside the car and make room for the fellow passengers,” a statement on Twitter said yesterday.

From the pictures, more handrails have been installed on top of where the seats used to be, and seats are still available in the cars on either side of the middle car.

Those who catch the trains at major stations such as Sukhumvit and Silom know that sometimes they have to wait for three trains to pass, just to board one, but most responses from netizens were still against removal of the seats.

“Your service is now even worse. You put the children, elderly, pregnant women, and sick people in trouble,” Twitter user Surapong Raknailuang replied.

“If you remove the seats, then reduce the price,” Bee Somthavin said.

Some people opted for sarcastic responses.

“Now I wish AirAsia and NokAir would do the same,” Pithai Saiyawong said.

But not only the public is pissed, State Railway of Thailand (SRT) was also blindsided by the MRT’s approach. Acting chief of the SRT, Rittika Suparat, told Morning News that the subway operator did not inform the SRT of their plan beforehand.

Rittika said that although train operators in other countries also removed seats in order to solve the problem of overcrowding, the operators in Thailand should have publicized and evaluated the idea before implementing it.

The SRT will call representatives from Bangkok Expressway and Metro to discuss the removal of the seats.

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