[ti:Pandemic Silences Thailand's Tuk Tuks] [by:www.51voa.com] [00:00.00]更多听力请访问51VOA.COM [00:00.04]Hundreds of tour buses, boats and three-wheeled [00:04.64]motorized "tuk tuks" sit unused across Thailand's capital, Bangkok. [00:12.60]The coronavirus pandemic and a lack of foreign tourists [00:16.96]have brought the transport industry to a halt. [00:21.48]Lunar New Year celebrations begin on Friday. [00:26.20]In normal years, the holiday would bring a rise in spending [00:30.92]and travel among Thais. [00:34.44]It also would bring visitors from China and other places in Asia. [00:41.24]Tuk tuks, buses and boats would be in high demand. [00:47.44]But the pandemic has left many drivers [00:50.72]and owners struggling economically. [00:54.96]A recent study predicted Lunar New Year spending [00:58.88]would suffer its sharpest fall in 13 years. [01:04.72]Kraisat Kulkiatprasert rents tuk tuks to drivers. [01:10.08]Recently, he has been renting out no more than 10 vehicles a day. [01:15.92]In the past, he would rent out more than 100 in a day. [01:21.88]"These tuk tuks have been parked for a year... [01:24.84]you can see them all covered with dust," Kraisat said. [01:29.48]"I will monitor the situation for another year," he added. [01:34.08]"If it doesn't get better, I will have to shut down." [01:39.24]Campon Taikae is a 50-year-old tuk tuk driver. [01:43.40]He said he had earned only 50 baht ($1.70) after driving for hours a day earlier. [01:50.68]But he felt he had no chance of finding another job. [01:56.44]In another part of Bangkok, long lines of passenger tour buses sit empty. [02:04.00]"Before the COVID pandemic, I've never been short of work," [02:07.88]said driver Tossaporn Rakratchakarn. [02:11.68]He remembers busy days in the past [02:14.24]when he would drop off one group of passengers [02:17.04]and immediately pick up another. [02:20.88]"It's been a year now and there's been no movement at all," Tossaporn added. [02:27.68]Wasuchet Sophonsathien is president of the Thai Transportation Operators Association. [02:35.24]He said only about 10 percent of Thailand's 40,000 tour buses were still operating. [02:43.76]The story is the same for many tour boats. [02:47.40]Mani Hogkhontod is a 54-year-old boat driver. [02:52.52]In the past, passengers would fill his boat. [02:56.00]But now, things are completely different. [03:01.08]"I have been thinking about finding a new job," he said. [03:05.16]"But I am worried that I have to start from zero, [03:09.16]because of my work experience and age." [03:12.80]I'm Jonathan Evans. 更多听力请访问51VOA.COM