How did you come to work at a Pun Pun Station?
I used to be a clothes vendor near the Siam area. But during rainy season, my business wasn’t doing too well. I’d heard from friends that the Pun Pun project was looking for staff, so I decided to apply as I didn’t want to be stuck at home doing nothing. I’ve actually only been on the job two weeks.
What’s the job like?
Well, sitting by a busy street all day isn’t exactly pleasant. I was originally stationed at the Sam Yan Station and it doesn’t have much shade. No matter whether it’s sunny or raining, I have to be there. But, to be honest, the station’s beautiful glass roof doesn’t really protect me from the brutal sun and heavy rain. Thankfully, they do provide us with a big umbrella, too.
What’s your day like?
I wake up about 5:30am every day to go to the station. It’s my first day here at the Silom Road Station. (BK note: this is the first time in two months we’ve seen staff manning the station.) The station opens at 8am and when I arrive I need to clean the place, check the number of bikes and make sure they’re all ready to be used. If not, I have to contact the Pun Pun technicians. They also bring me new bikes if there’s not enough, here. I’m here all day to oversee the station and help customers who need help registering for the service. I have to take any registration money to the bank, and also ride around to other stations in the area without staff to check up on things. I occasionally update the Pun Pun Facebook page, too.
Who are your customers? Is it popular?
At Sam Yam, yes. They were mostly students who rode around there. Some foreigners, too, but not a lot. For Silom, it’s too early for me to say.
How much do you earn?
I get B400 per day but I do get overtime for staying late, so overall it’s about B14,000 a month.
Have you ever encountered any weird incidents at the station?
From customers, nope. But I always get misunderstood by pedestrians who stand there thinking the station is a bus stop. I often have people come to me and ask which bus they should catch. I do occasionally come across annoying people, like this one kid at Hua Lampong Station who kept walking over to ask me whether I could give him money. I just told him, “Bugger off!”
