Bangkok Mass Transit Authority

Bangkok Mass Transit Authority (Thai: องค์การขนส่งมวลชนกรุงเทพ), also known as BMTA; (Thai: ขสมก.), is the main operator of public transit buses within Greater Bangkok area.

BMTA started operations on October 1, 1976 as a state enterprise, taking over the operations and assets of private companies. However, a large number of private buses continues to operate under the supervison and control of BMTA. Private buses can be identified by a yellow instead of a green waist band on the cream-red and cream-blue buses (though initially all buses apparently had the same livery without the coloured waist band). Also, the private buses are numbered by using the route number and (mostly) starting with number 1. BMTA buses are numbered in 1000- and 10000-series, except for the first series in the 1970's which had lower numbers. Below is a reconstruction of bus series since 1976, based on observations, information in Buses World Wide, Jane's Urban Transit and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bangkok_Mass_Transit_Authority. Older pictures of the fleet show various Mercedes models. Also, some Csepel chassis were bodied by Cherdchai, presumably beginning of the 1990's.

Fleet according to Jane's Urban Transit:
ca 1980: 4902 (1262 Mercedes, 240 Volvo, 1687 Hino, 1600 Isuzu, 113 Leyland + 500 private buses) (Jane's 1983)
ca 1985: 4902 (1000 Mercedes, 240 Volvo, 1720 Hino, 1180 Isuzu, 1434 "others" + 500 private buses) (Jane's 1987)
ca 1992: 4900 (1200 older Hino+Isuzu, 950 Daewoo, 900 Hino, 600 Isuzu, 600 Mitsubishi, 600 Mercedes aircon, 150 Isuzu micro+ 2000 private buses, mainly Mercedes) (Jane's 1994, 1995, 1997, 1998).
Also: delivery of ca 2000 new aircon buses from 1994 onwards is mentioned, though it appears only a few hundred were really bought.
Around the beginning of the new millennium some 1300 new orange buses were put into service.

THE LIST BELOW IS DEFINTELY INCOMPLETE; ADDITIONS ARE MOST WELCOME!

Bangkok transport website: http://www.transitbangkok.com
Older buses. All are in the off white and blue livery.
? Mercedes-Benz ?       withdrawn
101-300? Volvo B57 Cherdchai Body Builders, Korat   1978   240 buses, around 1978, withd.
? Volvo B57 ?       rebodied??, withdrawn
1-, 1001- Hino BY320 ?       withdrawn
2001-? Isuzu ?       withdrawn
3001-? Mercedes-Benz ?       withdrawn
4001-? Hino ?       withdrawn, blue aircon
5001-? Isuzu ?       withdrawn, blue aircon
10001-10600 Hino BX349 ?       withdrawn
20001-20600 Isuzu ?       withdrawn
New buses 1985-1993, cream-red buses (30300 and some 40000: white-blue/green CNG rebuilt)
4001-4250 Hino AK176 ? 43/ 198? - withdrawn
5001-5250 Isuzu ? 34/26 198? - withdrawn
6001-6100 Mercedes-Benz OF1617 ?   1988 - withdrawn, rebodied?
30300- Mercedes-Benz OH360i Thonburi Bus Body Co.,Ltd 32/ 198? 80 white-blue green
40001-40600 Hino AK176 Hino Motors Co., Ltd 43/ 198? 544 503 cream-red, 41 white-bl/gr
50001-50600 Isuzu Cherdchai Industrial Factory Co.Ltd 24/46 198? 542  
70001-70500 Daewoo ? 49/ 198? - withdrawn
70501-706?? Daewoo ? 34/ 198? - withdrawn
80001-80600 Mitsubishi Cherdchai Industrial Factory Co.Ltd 34/ 198? 513  
New buses 1994-1996 cream-blue buses
3001-3100 Isuzu CQA650 A/T Cherdchai Industrial Factory Co.Ltd 46/ 1994 100  
4001-4080 Hino HU3KKSKL Thonburi Bus Body Co.,Ltd 50/ 1994 81  
6101- Mercedes-Benz OF1617 Thonburi Bus Body Co.,Ltd 50/ 1994 200 ex 6001-?
New buses 1994-1996 white-blue/green (CNG?) buses
1001-1032 Mercedes-Benz O405 Thonburi Bus Body Co.,Ltd 46/ 1994 38  
2001-2050 MAN SL Thonburi Bus Body Co.,Ltd   1994 - withdrawn
8001-8050 Ikarus 283 Cherdchai Industrial Factory Co.Ltd   1994 - withdrawn
9001-9050? Mercedes-Benz O405G Thonburi Bus Body Co.,Ltd 90/ 1994 52 to be withdrawn 2011
New buses ca 2000. orange Euro 2
44001- Hino RU1JSSL Thonburi Bus Body Co.,Ltd 35/ 200x 202  
45001- Hino RU1JSSL Thonburi Bus Body Co.,Ltd 35/ 200x 126  
55001- Isuzu LV223S Cherdchai Industrial Factory Co.Ltd 35/ 200x 201  
56001- Isuzu LV423R Cherdchai Industrial Factory Co.Ltd 35/ 200x 125  
66001- Mercedes-Benz OH1829/63 Thonburi Bus Body Co.,Ltd 35/ 200x 400  
67001- Daewoo BH115 Thonburi Bus Body Co.,Ltd 35/ 200x 251  
Prototypes CNG buses, white and blue/green
- Isuzu LV486R Cherdchai Industrial Factory Co.Ltd ??/ 20?? 1 test vehicle, stored
1012 MAN Bangpong Bus Body Co., Ltd (Ratchaburi) 44/ 20?? 1 test vehicle