Fares Of Public Buses To Be Raised

[Jai Dee]

Fares of public buses will be raised

The Ministry of Transport will raise the fares of public buses, starting October 15th, if the price of diesel is still rising.

Mr. Silpa-chai Jarukasemwattana (ศิลปชัย จารุเกษมวัฒนะ), the Director-General of the Land Transport Department, says the Transport Ministry's meeting has resolved to increase the fares of public buses, following many complaints issued by the public bus operators. According to the complaints, the operators have to deal with the higher cost of diesel.

The ministry plans to increase the fares of Bangkok Mass Transit Authority (BMTA)'s public buses by 50 satang, air-conditioned public buses by one baht per distance, and Transport Company's public buses by three satang per kilometer. The raise will take effect on October 15th, 2007.

Nevertheless, the Transport Ministry is also seeking measures to help public transport users, especially students, in the long run. Commuters would be able to pay only one-third of the fares. In addition, the ministry is urging more public buses to use NGV engine instead of using diesel engine to alleviate the financial burden.

Source: Thai National News Bureau Public Relations Department - 10 October 2007

[Jai Dee]

Bus fares will rise unless diesel price falls quickly

Board backs increases of Bt0.50 to Bt1 in response to hike in fuel costs

All bus fares will rise from next Monday to meet rising fuel costs. The Central Land Transport Control Board yesterday approved the increases.

The hike will not take effect if diesel prices fall between now and Monday to Bt26.84 a litre," board chairman and Transport Ministry deputy permanent secretary Surachai Tharnsit-pong said yesterday. The price today is Bt27.34.

This means all Bangkok Mass Transit Authority buses and buses operated by its concessionaires will see fares rise between Bt0.50 and Bt1.

Minibus fares rise to Bt7, non-air-conditioned buses without fans to Bt7.50 and those with fans to Bt8.50.

For air-conditioned buses, trip prices will rise Bt1 to between Bt12 and Bt20. For Euro air-conditioned buses, fares will climb to between Bt13 and Bt25.

All inter-provincial buses will charge an additional Bt0.03 per kilometre.

Surachai said the increase was in response to rising petrol prices. Fuel accounts for half of bus operating costs.

He said the final decision to increase fares was up to the operators themselves.

Land Transport Department director-general Silapachai Jarukasemrattana said it would distribute the new fare table within two weeks.

"We will study the possibility of selling monthly tickets to everyone, not just students," he said.

He believed monthly tickets should be at least 10 per cent cheaper than full fare.

Silapachai added the department would work with the transit authority, inter-provincial and private companies to develop long-term solutions to the impact of fuel price fluctuations on fares.

Inter-provincial operator Transport Company director Pinet Puapattanakul said it would meet on Friday to consider the fare hike. "We will consult with the transport minister," he said. Transport Com-pany is a state enterprise.

Its acting president Wuthi-chart Kallayanamit said it would consider a request by its concessionaires to increase fares by Bt0.08 per kilometre.

Source: The Nation - 10 October 2007

[lazeeboy]

Bus fares will rise unless diesel price falls quickly

Board backs increases of Bt0.50 to Bt1 in response to hike in fuel costs

All bus fares will rise from next Monday to meet rising fuel costs. The Central Land Transport Control Board yesterday approved the increases.

The hike will not take effect if diesel prices fall between now and Monday to Bt26.84 a litre," board chairman and Transport Ministry deputy permanent secretary Surachai Tharnsit-pong said yesterday. The price today is Bt27.34.

This means all Bangkok Mass Transit Authority buses and buses operated by its concessionaires will see fares rise between Bt0.50 and Bt1.

Minibus fares rise to Bt7, non-air-conditioned buses without fans to Bt7.50 and those with fans to Bt8.50.

For air-conditioned buses, trip prices will rise Bt1 to between Bt12 and Bt20. For Euro air-conditioned buses, fares will climb to between Bt13 and Bt25.

All inter-provincial buses will charge an additional Bt0.03 per kilometre.

Surachai said the increase was in response to rising petrol prices. Fuel accounts for half of bus operating costs.

He said the final decision to increase fares was up to the operators themselves.

Land Transport Department director-general Silapachai Jarukasemrattana said it would distribute the new fare table within two weeks.

"We will study the possibility of selling monthly tickets to everyone, not just students," he said.

He believed monthly tickets should be at least 10 per cent cheaper than full fare.

Silapachai added the department would work with the transit authority, inter-provincial and private companies to develop long-term solutions to the impact of fuel price fluctuations on fares.

Inter-provincial operator Transport Company director Pinet Puapattanakul said it would meet on Friday to consider the fare hike. "We will consult with the transport minister," he said. Transport Com-pany is a state enterprise.

Its acting president Wuthi-chart Kallayanamit said it would consider a request by its concessionaires to increase fares by Bt0.08 per kilometre.

Source: The Nation - 10 October 2007

now you know where to spend those 25/50 baht satangs you get from 7/11.........

[gregb]

This just sickens me.

Passing on these increases to the people who can least afford it so that the rich Thai concessionaires can continue making their profit margins is just disgusting.

The proper solution would be to nationalize these concessions, raise the fuel taxes on motorists, and use the income to subsidize public transport. Of course, no Thai politician will do this until enough of the working poor quit because they can no longer afford the cost of the commute.

It's really sad to see this lack of concern for the future in Thailand.

[Mid]

hummmmmmm , haven't we just seen this before ?

[Jai Dee]

BMTA Director to consult board before approving fare raise

Director of the Bangkok Mass Transit Authority (BMTA), Phinet Puaphattanakul (พิเณศวร์ พัวพัฒนกุล), discloses that the Central Land Transport Committee has approved a fare raise for private bus operators which will take effect on October 15th. However, he says BMTA will consult minister of transport and member of BMTA’s board, Adm.Thira Haocharoen (ธีระ ห้าวเจริญ), to review a fare increase for BMTA’s busses.

The director adds that the present bus fares are not in line with the real cost of production which is 15 baht per passenger on average for buses without air-conditioners and 29 baht for air-conditioned busses.

Meanwhile, Adm.Thira says before attending a meeting with the Central Land Transport Committee that the ministry is waiting for oil prices in the next 1-2 weeks before deciding to increase the fare of BMTA’s busses.

The Central Land Transport Committee has approved the private buses jointly operating with the Transport Co.,Ltd. to increase the fare by three Satang per kilometer.

Source: Thai National News Bureau Public Relations Department - 10 October 2007

[cclub75]

Passing on these increases to the people who can least afford it so that the rich Thai concessionaires can continue making their profit margins is just disgusting.

The proper solution would be to nationalize these concessions, raise the fuel taxes on motorists, and use the income to subsidize public transport. Of course, no Thai politician will do this until enough of the working poor quit because they can no longer afford the cost of the commute.

I think this issue is going way beyond a matter of profits, and private versus public operators, and rich versus poor people... But it highlights the very weak point of the thai economy : oil.

We should remember that the whole system is already subsidized ... simply, with very small taxes on gasoline and other oil products !

Increasing the taxes, would quickly hit the whole economy : less sales of cars, decrease of consumption, increase of all the transportation costs for businesses... that would lead to inflation etc.

I mean, we already have a national drama when Mama Soup wants to increase from 5 to 6 THB its packets of noodles...

Furthermore, do you know how many new cars (passenger and pick up) are sold, per month, on the domestic market ? 50 000.

Can we say that those buyers are... rich ?

And the car industry is a key part of the export engine for Thailand...

They have made an industrial bet in the past. A good one, that has paid off. But they forgot... oil.

Now to try to reduce the oil dependence by increasing mass transportation systems would make sense. I agree. But :

-it will take time and huge capital

-I'm not sure that it could prevent a shock on the economy

To understand the issue, we can make a comparison with western economies, especially in Europe. Taxes are already very high.

Now compare the price of 1 liter of gasoline with... minimum wages for instance. Do the same with Thailand...

Today, we have 30 THB per liter, with a barel of crude oil at 80 USD.

Thailand, and other asian economies, have no cushion that could reduce the impact of a future oil shock...

You'll find some charts here (Prices of gasoline as percentage of daily GDP, Price structure comparison etc.)

So, I'm afraid that we will continue to see this kind of story in the future : operators increasing their prices, other business doing the same etc.

[TAWP]

This just sickens me.

Passing on these increases to the people who can least afford it so that the rich Thai concessionaires can continue making their profit margins is just disgusting.

The proper solution would be to nationalize these concessions, raise the fuel taxes on motorists, and use the income to subsidize public transport. Of course, no Thai politician will do this until enough of the working poor quit because they can no longer afford the cost of the commute.

It's really sad to see this lack of concern for the future in Thailand.

Yes, since communism works so great in any part of the world...

[samran]

There isn't a proper pricing mechanism which passes through prices and allows for a reasonable profit to be made by the bus operators.

Essentially, they are at the whim of government, who for political reasons, are scared to increase fares. As a result, the private concessionaires cut corners on things like maintanence, so you end up with the decrepid, pollution spewing vehicles which ply BKK roads.

Each price rise that the politicians make is just enough to cover the latest inflationary pressure, but no more to create an incentive for the private concessionaires to create and keep a modern and safe fleet.

They key issue isn't nationalisation, or the lack of public ownership. Rather, it is the lack of an independent aribitor or regulator to monitor and adjucidicate the necessary levels for public transport fares.

The problem with that system for the politicians is that bus fares would rise dramatically under such system, and they'll loose their political discretion. So they'll never go for it.