PHUKET: Sweeping reforms that will give Phuket its first real public transport system are likely to be signed off officially on Tuesday with the new bus service set to run from Friday.

Airports of Thailand, the organisation that manages Phuket International Airport, remains one of the potential causes of further delays.

The bus service is intended to offer passengers the chance to get on or off vehicles as they choose between Phuket International Airport and the key tourist destinations along Phuket's west and southern coasts.

However, Phuket Land Transport Office Director Terayoot Prasertphol said today: ''The management at the airport has yet to tell us where the new bus service can pick up and drop off passengers.

''We would like to carry departing passengers from Phuket up the ramp to the proper section of the airport and park awaiting passengers on the ground floor, as close to the point where arriving tourists exit the airport as possible. Good signs are also needed.''

The Land Transport Office is also waiting to hear whether Kata-Karon Council approves the request to park outside the council offices in Kata.

On Tuesday, it will be Vice Governor Jamleran Tipayapongtada who signs off on the project, years in the making and awaited for decades by Phuket residents and tourists.

How Phuket's tuk-tuk and taxi drivers will react to the arrival of the new Phuket beaches-airport bus servuce is speculative at this stage.

Khun Terayoot said: ''There is no need to ask the tuk-tuk and taxi drivers for permission. This is for the long-term benefit of everyone on Phuket, and most people realise this.

''Let the media, let the residents, let the tourists make sure this innovation works. It will take a little time to develop, and improvements will come. This is a start.''

The operator of the bus service who won a tender process to run the network will be announced as the documents are signed at the Land Transport Office in Phuket City on Tuesday.

Then the countdown will begin to rolling the buses, providing Phuket visitors and residents with a low-cost and efficient alternative to taxis, tuk-tuks and motorcycles.

The new Superintendent of Karon Police Station, Colonel Werawat Janthurawijid, was interested to hear today when the service would begin.

It's believed senior police were incensed by a blockade of Karon Police Station by tuk-tuk and taxi drivers over Russian businesses in the district on January 3 and are not likely to let such a disturbance be repeated.

The tuk-tuk and taxi drivers of Kata-Karon are regarded as the least progressive of Phuket's transport cartels.

However, individual drivers are among those who have had relatives killed or maimed because they have been forced to ride motorcycles rather than hop aboard convenient, safe buses.

Development of a proper bus service is also seen as a step towards easing Phuket's chronic traffic congestion.

Three services are to begin operation from Phuket airport to Kamala, Kata-Karon and Rawai and back. Frequencies are expected to be announced next week.

Among the stops will be Baan Muang Mai, Thalang, Heroines Monument, Phuket Boat Lagoon, Tesco Junction, Kathu Junction, Patong (Jungceylon), Karon and Kata.

Fares will vary from 50 baht to 150 baht. Buses have been modified to carry extra luggage and are likely to be fitted with security cameras.

Khun Terayoot has also organised the registration of taxi drivers on Phuket, a process likely to conclude not long after the new bus service rolls.