UPDATE
The Bangkok Mass Transit Authority (BMTA) today apologised to the city’s passengers after a story of mushrooms growing out of a public bus seat went viral on Thai social media.
The picture of the mushroom-growing seat, posted by political activist Jatuporn “New” Saenueng, drew complaints from Thai netizens.
The BMTA responded to the criticism on its official Facebook page yesterday. The BMTA said…
“The BMTA investigated the subject that was shared online and found that the seat belongs to a non-air-conditioned No. 82 bus. The bus was sent to the BMTA maintenance garage at 4pm yesterday to get the seat changed. The BMTA would like to apologise for the inconvenience and urge bus staff and relevant officers to check the buses before operating to make passengers confident in the service.”
Some Thai netizens appreciated the quick response and work while others added it was time to renew the old buses. One woman urged the BMTA to check every public bus because the mushrooms were not the only thing bothering passengers. They had to put up with broken windows and wet seats when it rained.
ORIGINAL STORY: Room to shroom on Bangkok public buses
A fungi picture of mushrooms growing out of the seat of a public bus in Bangkok has gone viral on Thai social media. Some netizens made fun of pictures saying shitake happens while others were more serious saying enough is enough, time to refurbish Thai public buses.
Political activist Jatuporn “New” Saeoueng posted the picture of the mushrooms growing out of the bus seat on Facebook today with a caption that said…
“It’s perfect to live in Thailand. You can eat mushrooms while taking a bus.”
The picture shows white mushrooms growing on a single, ragged, dusty seat on a non-air-conditioned bus.
Jatuporn did not include the bus number or location of the bus but Khaosod identified it as a Bangkok bus.
The post went viral on Thai social media, getting over 3,900 reactions, 954 comments, and 3,700 shares.
Thai netizens made known the mushrooms are growing because the seats get wet and most of Thailand’s non-air-conditioned buses are broken and let the rain in.
Most of the comments agreed that the government should improve the buses because most of them are more than ten years old.
Some netizens said the government should invest in more public buses instead of military vehicles such as tanks or submarines.
Netizens said…
“I’m proud of living in Thailand. Plenty of fish in the water, plenty of rice in the field, and plenty of mushrooms in the bus seat.”
“How old are you, bus?”
“Is it a part-time job for the bus staff? Selling mushrooms!”
“The public bus grows mushrooms to cover their loss, maybe.”
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