Public bus maps
At the begin of April 2016, public bus maps have been installed in Bangkok:
Detailed info about the bus lines, with all stops in Thai and English and roads marked by color:
In 2015, similar guides appeared in buses:
Printed bus maps
This is the largest collection of post-2010 Bangkok bus and van maps in private possession (mine!) in our solar system:
Still it's not complete. There is "Roadway Bangkok Bus & Mass Transit" which I have seen but didn't buy. For more information see here: http://groovymap.com/products/roadway-bangkok-bus-map-9789745251540 and http://traveliving.org/wordpress/photo/ajayver/bangkok/buses/ (pictures of the map with all information).
And Thaiways map of Bangkok (free) has bus lines. Online here: http://www.thaiwaysmagazine.com/bangkok_map/bangkok_map_metro.html
Of all these, thinknet Bangkok Bus Guide comes out winner. I praised it here: http://christianpfc.blogspot.de/2014/01/bangkok-bus-guide.html It's the only one that can be used in the field (the others would rip the first time you unfold them at a bus stop). But there is room for improvement: van lines have only start and end marked in the map, not the van line itself. For van lines, I have to use one of the other maps. Same for a list of all bus stops of one line, they are in the other maps.
Bus map applications for mobile phone
แผนที่รถเมล์ Bangkok Bus Map https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.bytecode.bangkokbus
You can view all lines on google map (inbound - outbound different color - some bus lines follow different routes in different directions).
รถโดยสาร - ค้นหาสายรถเมล์
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.bank.busstop
Has a list of all bus stops of a line, but no map.
Both useful for me, but only in Thai language (I'm not aware of any bus map for mobile phone in English). There are many more free and paid Bangkok bus maps for mobile phone, requires more research.
None of these maps (public, printed, application) is up-to-date. E.g. they list bus 173 (Bang Khun Thian - Minburi) which is supposed to pass along Rama 4, but I've never seen it (in estimated 50 hours waiting for bus in two years of living nearby).
Recently, I accompanied a boy to bus stop in the morning and waited with him for bus 141 outbound and used the time to count buses. Bon Gai on Rama 4 road Tue 6sep2016 4:55 to 5:43 in chronological order:
13 i (inbound=westward), 45 i, 45 i, 45 o (outbound=eastward), 4 i, 22 i, 4 o, 45 i, 47 i, 13 o, 109 o, 4 i, 13 i, 46 i, 109 i, 47 i, 45 o, 4 o, 45 i, 141 i, 13 o, 4 o, 4 i, 45 o, 13 i, 45 o, 4 i, 47 i, 141 i, 46 i, 47 o, 46 o, 13 o, 45 i, 109 i, 4 i, 149 o, 47 i, 13 i, 4 o, 13 i, 109 o, 4 i, 13 i, 22 o, 47 i, 141 o, 47 o. Bus 4 all aircon, others mainly free.
Update 14dec2025: https://www.transitbangkok.com/
Copyright 2016 ChristianPFC
