New Rabbit Card: BTS and MRT
 

Finally a single, stored-value/ride card will be available for the BTS (Skytrain) and MRT (Subway). General availability as of May 1, 2012.

http://www.bts.co.th/CollectFair_BTS.html

Oh that's what this rabbit talk is all about!

I thought they change the old BTS tickets to rabbit because of the new pricing for BTS extension. Didn't realize this will merge BTS and MRT.

This is good stuff! Now it also makes sense why they are phasing out the "per trip" concept BTS cards.

Thanks for the link, transpac!

Edit: Apparently you will be able to use it at Starbucks, McDonalds and some other retailer, too. kind of like Octopus in Hong Kong !!

It's usable at a variety of stores as was pointed out directly above. One thing that is irksome is, if I read the advertisement correctly a few days ago, MRT won't be part of the system for the time being.

One would think that the advertisement push would be after the ability for use was consolidated.

More details can be found here

www.rabbitcard.com

Seems to be only valid on the BTS at the moment. For me as a visitor not sure it is any advantage over the existing smartcard.

The logo looks dumb but I like the name, being a rabbit myself. Of course, I assume the rabbit moniker refers to the King's sign of the zodiac.

(Rabbits were also seen on the king's flag last year, as it was the year of the rabbit and thus the completion of the king's seventh cycle.)

works at Mister Donut too! How can anyone resist?

I thought you were not supposed to eat on the BTS !

Very easy ;)

Now good Tom yam kung, that is hard to resist :D

EmailKid

I was about to post "Finally!" since they've been announcing the imminent availability of a combined ticket ever since the MRT opened in 2004... but I guess they still haven't had enough time to work out the kinks. TIT :td:

There are dozens of dishes I'd prefer to tom yam kung. Even a good one is only mildly satisfying compared with the bounty out there.

Now, if I could use the Rabbit card for my favorite laap stand this would be a different ball game. :D

Yes, it does seem like integration with the MRT (subway) and even BRT (bus) will come at a later date. For the MRT they do mention "before the end of the year".

The per trip feature remains with that variant of the Rabbit card, but only between On Nut and Wong Wian Yai/Mor Chit. Everyone will have to pay a flat 15 baht extra for any/all stops after On Nut to Bearing. So people with a per trip card pay with one trip + 15 baht if going/originating beyond On-Nut so the card is a combination of trips + stored value.

I am pretty certain anyone with an existing stored value card will be required to replace it with a Rabbit card as soon as you try to add value, or the value gets below say 20 baht. At least I had to on one card which was at 18 baht.

The deposit is 50 baht, the issuance fee another 50 baht (150 baht as of 1/1/13). The deposit on your existing stored value card is 30 baht.

Not sure about the references to the King, being born in a year of the Rabbit? Some people seem to think this makes sense as it is a form of Royally-endorsed e-Money, but others think that is a reference to speed, and a play on the word "rapid", and that the design, if referencing the King in anyway, is a bit disrespectful. (The word Rabbit on the card is highlighted in Yellow so I suspect it is a reference to the King?) YMMV. (For those born in a year of the Rabbit you should make the pilgrimage to your Zodiac temple here in Thailand, in this case Wat Phra That Chae Haeng, in Nan. I went last October and it is situated on a hill, and is very beautiful. There is a dragon boat race festival in Nan as well in end Sep or early Oct.)

You can accumulate points for rewards http://www.carrotrewards.co.th/ , and use the card as payment in several retail food outlets. I think you can have up to 4,000 baht on it.

They don't say "this year" though. :-) So who knows which year it will be.

Thanks for the tip. Will have to check it out on my next visit.

Nan in general, the province, is beautiful. Muang Nan is a cool place well off the tourist trail with a great street food scene on certain weekends.

There are a handful of temples worth visiting including Wat Phra That Chae Haeng. I'd need to check my photos to give you some more temples that are interesting.

Having a bit of Thai language ability will go a long way up there.

Rabbit Card's still not available to MRT yet.... the staff says: 2 months. But I thing by June it should be up and Running