I believe the 10 baht introductory fare is good until the Queen's Birthday (which is also Mother's Day) in August (forgot the exact date). According to the newspapers, all subway proceeds up to that date will go to the charities chosen by the King. After that date, a higher rate will apply.

I bought a stored value card for Baht300 (however Baht 50 is a deposit according to the man at the ticket window--not sure what that means). This saves me from lining up with confused people at the ticket window for a token (and long explanations on how to use them).

Now I have two stored value cards in my wallet (one for the skytrain and one for the subway). The stored value card for the subway need only be tapped at the designated spot at the entry gate. The stored value card for the skytrain needs to be inserted in a slot and then retrieved at another slot at the entry gate.

It really would have been convenient if both systems were owned by the same entity (and worked the same way) and you could use one stored value card for both. Also it would have been nice if the transfer points between the two systems were more conveniently connected by bridges or escalators. But this is a good start anyway to addressing the traffic problems in Bangkok

The government is trying to take control of both systems from the private companies. I am not sure if this is good or bad. It would be good if the government coordinated the entire transport system and immediately starting expanding it (in a transparent and non-corrupt way) and also connecting it to the new International Airport to the east of the city.