Social activist submits objection to bus fare hike

supawadee wangsri

 

 

BANGKOK, 20 April 2019 (NNT) - The Association for the Protection of the Thai Constitution appealed to the Central Administrative Court to oppose the resolution to raise the fares on the whole bus system, saying that it is a burden for the public to shoulder.

 

Mr. Srisuwan Chanya, in his capacity of secretary-general of the Association for the Protection of the Thai Constitution, filed a lawsuit against the Land Transport Control Board with the Central Administrative Court to revoke the board’s resolution of December 14, 2018 to raise the fares effective on Monday, April 22.

 

He also asked the court to investigate the case in order to issue an order to stop the enforcement of such resolution temporarily before a final judgment because the diesel price, which is the main cost, has not been raised so it should not be the reason for increasing bus fares and the decision should for the new government to consider.

 

The private joint bus operators argued that, if the bus fare is not increased, they would not be able to bring new buses into service because of the high cost. Mr. Srisuwan said the Bangkok Mass Transit Authority has brought new buses, including diesel and NGV, to run in the system on a periodic basis, so raising the bus fares for the entire system is not reasonable.

 

Mr. Banyong Amphorntrakul, Chairman of the Federation of Buses in Bangkok and its vicinity and the Chairman of the Private Joint BMTA Bus Operator Club, visited the Administrative Court to oppose the complaint of Mr. Srisuwan and asked for justice. He stated that the bus fares have to be raised because the bus operating cost is higher than earnings. At present, there are 6,000 private joint NGV buses in service but only 1,600 of them can operate because there is not enough income for maintenance of the remaining buses.

 

Mr. Banyong added that he has a future plan to use 70 percent of NGV buses or 4,000 NGV buses. He said if the bus fares are not raised, it will not be possible to put the new buses into service. The new buses will use the E-Ticket system instead of ticket collectors to reduce the cost of the operation.

 

-- © Copyright nnt 2019-04-21

But they need the money to fix emission problems, buy new tires, and fix the brakes

I often wonder if some of the activists have ever had a real job and even if they have any idea how any system runs.

 

They seem to want all those nice shiny ergonomic and green buses but have no real idea where they come from, how much they cost to buy and run.

32 minutes ago, billd766 said:

I often wonder if some of the activists have ever had a real job and even if they have any idea how any system runs.

 

They seem to want all those nice shiny ergonomic and green buses but have no real idea where they come from, how much they cost to buy and run.

Agree with you 100% Activists want greener buses, less pollution, but dont want to help pay for it.

What a bunch of numpties.

Edited April 21, 20197 yr by colinneil