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Several passengers were left stranded yesterday morning as more than 10,000 privately owned buses stopped services to demand a fare hike. Bangkok Mass Transit Authority's (BMTA) buses were dispatched to pick up passengers who had been waiting desperately for the privately owned buses to complete their daily commutes.

The private bus strike comes on the heels of the Central Administrative Court's suspension on Tuesday of a Bt1.5 fare hike that had earlier been approved by government. The court said that the hike would burden the public and ordered it be suspended until the legal case surrounding it is concluded.

Private Bus Operators' Association president Chatchai Chaiwiset said on Wednesday that private buses would strike in response to the court's injunction on the fare hike. He said that private buses haven't raised fares since diesel was Bt27.34 a litre; diesel is now at Bt38 a litre. He said that private bus companies are unable to absorb the losses due to the soaring cost of diesel.

We feel sympathy with the private bus operators who are faced with the burden of higher costs, just as people from all walks of life must now deal with a higher cost of living due to soaring oil prices. But the way private buses chose to react shows that operators failed to take into account the plight of passengers who have been their loyal customers all along.

In fact, even when oil prices were not as high and previous fare hikes had been put in place, private bus operators have hardly improved their services. There have been reports of dangerous driving, passenger injury or deaths caused by driver carelessness and pollution from buses with engines that have not undergone a sufficient check. But passengers have barely complained or protested about the service. They have no choice.

Private bus operators seem to realise that they hold this advantage, hence their decision to flex their muscles and show their power by suspending operations yesterday. The strike was effective: a number of passengers suffered as a result of it.

The action challenged the agreement that private bus operators have with the BMTA because they suspended services without first informing the transit authority that they would do so. More importantly, the private bus operators' decision to strike showed that they have chosen to ignore the court's order. Despite the court's order for them not to raise their fares, some private bus operators decided to ignore the ruling, which has resulted in piles of complaints from consumers who have had to deal with the unfair increase in bus fares.

Instead, private bus operators should have sought a better solution than going on strike which affects the masses. For instance, they should have asked for the government's assistance in helping them install engines compatible with natural gas, which should help them save on fuel costs.

Private bus companies chose instead to ignore the plight of their passengers, some of whom have lost their sympathy for operators. Yesterday morning, some commuters took BMTA buses since no private buses were available.  For instance, since private bus No 207 was out of service, passengers took BMTA bus No 2 from Ramkhamhaeng to Pak Nam. Although the bus provided by the BMTA was fully packed, passengers didn't complain much about the service. Most of them, nonetheless, complained about the private bus operators' failure to be sympathetic with their customers.