Mass transit fares must be kept down: academic

By Wichit Chaitrong 
The Nation

 

Photo by: BTS

 

Sumet Ongkittikul, research director at the Thailand Development Research Institute(TDRI) , said that he generally supported the plan to reduce and limit fares to allow everyone to access the rapid mass transit services . 

 

He stressed however that the government needed to think about sustainability in the long run. “The proposal of Bt15 per trip from the Transport Minister seems ambitious given that government has low tax revenue. The cost of subsidies would be high if infrastructure and train operations are taken into account,” he said.

 

Sumet added that the rapid train fare in Bangkok is quite high in comparison to the income of local people 

 

By comparison using purchasing power parity method , Thais pay Bt28.30 per one-way trip on average, or 50- per-cent more than their counterparts in Singapore where the average fare is Bt13.3 per trip, according to a study conducted by TDRI and led by Sumet.

 

An average ride in Hong Kong is Bt16.78per trip.

 

He said low-income and middle income groups have the ability to pay Bt11.69 and Bt20.33 per trip, much lower than actual fee charges today.

 

He also anticipated that fares would rise to Bt100 per one-way trip once more more mass transit lines in Bangkok open for service.

 

Source: https://www.nationthailand.com/news/30373438

 

-- © Copyright The Nation Thailand 2019-07-23

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100 Baht per one way trip??!!!???!!!!?????!?!?!?!??! REALLY???!!!?!?!?!? so a 2 way trip will cost per person Baht 200, if 3 people are going then wouldn't it be better to just get as taxi!!!!!!??????

At least MRT still give a 50% discount if over 50, farang or Thai.. Show your DL.. A long trip on purple then blue lines cost my GF 70bht but I'm only paying 35bht which is excellent value..

 

If three full fare passengers were paying 70bht each, would be better to get a taxi.. Considering that average low wage of 300bht per day, MRT and BTS are both expensive and more affordable for middle and upper class citizens and tourists..