Beating Bangkok traffic

Pornthip Kongchun, 30, Thailand's marketing manager for Google Southeast Asia, hopes that millions of commuters and motorists in Bangkok and towns in its periphery will turn to Google Maps so they can avoid traffic and get to their destinations quickly.

Last month, Google launched its first integrated transit and traffic information website for the City of Angels in cooperation with several city agencies, including Bangkok Mass Transit Authority (BMTA), Bangkok Mass Transit System (BTS) and Bangkok Metro Public (MRT).

The real-time database can be accessed on smart phones, PCs and other gadgets and helps commuters choose the best possible way to get from A to B.

This free service is especially useful during Bangkok's infamous rush hour.

"In fact, you can plan your trip before you leave home. Just type your destination into Google Maps and the system will give you the best options.

"If you drive, it will let you know if you should take the expressway to get from A to B. If you use public transport, it will show you the best-possible routes using public buses, the BTS or the subway.

"The information about all these public transit systems is up to date and available in real-time. For instance, the BMTA provides information covering all its 3,000 bus stops in Bangkok and its periphery.

"These stations are plotted on the GPS tracking system so their locations are very precise when you use your smart phones to track them.

"We also have BMTA, BTS and MRT timetables showing departure and arrival schedules at various stations.

"For motorists, they can check the traffic in real time or study the previous week's statistics during certain times of the day or on certain days of the week. For example, you can check last Monday or Tuesday's statistics as the traffic pattern might be the same during certain times of those days," she says.

At present, about 1.7 million people use public transport and 5 million drive their own vehicles daily in Bangkok and its periphery.

Apart from helping residents, Google Map can also be used by 10 million or so foreign tourists, who can access the site in their native tongue.

Pornthip says the express ferry services across the Chao Phya River, which currently has three routes, is also being added to Google Maps.

US-based Google's business model is to gather useful information from around the world and make it accessible to users across the world free of charge.

Bangkok is the eighth capital in the world where Google provides real-time traffic information, and it covers public transport information in more than 100 cities.

Besides traffic and public transport data, Google Maps also includes places of interest such as shopping centres, hotels, schools and hospitals as well as business listings such as restaurants and real-estate agencies.

"In addition, there is the user-generated content that you can post on My Map. For instance, you've visited a fabulous spa in Pai in the North, and were very impressed and would like to share the information with other travellers.

"In My Map, you can post pictures, video and other media, and that could be searched from anywhere in the world using keywords such as spa, Thailand or Pai," she says.

Given that all this information is available for free, how does Google Maps get to make any money?

According to Pornthip, 99 per cent of Google's income comes from advertisements based on the Adwords search-engine marketing platform in which the number of bids on keywords is used to set the price for sponsored links. In other words, as advertisers you can set your daily budget based on a cost-per-click system which starts from as little as Bt0.35 to Bt5 or Bt10 or even higher per click.

The search-engine marketing platform is currently popular among hotels, travel agents, exporters, technology firms, real estate or financial service firms, among others.