City Commuters Face Fare Hike

[george]

City commuters face fare hike

BANGKOK: -- Bangkok bus fares are likely to be increased by at least one baht this month.

Deputy Transport Minister Chainant Charoensiri said negotiations on fares on buses run by Bangkok Mass Transit Authority (BMTA) and private franchise operators would likely conclude before the end of September.

Fares for ordinary buses were likely to rise by one baht, while those for Euro Two air-conditioned buses would be increased by more than one baht, he said.

Transport Minister Pongsak Raktapong-paisal said rising fuel prices had affected the BMTA's operating costs. To counter this the agency would switch its 1,000 buses over to natural gas for vehicles (NGV) before year's end.

Once all BMTA buses were on NGV, operators would then have to cut bus fares, as the price of NGV was half that of diesel, said the minister.

The Transport Ministry, the Energy Ministry and PTT Plc yesterday signed three memorandums of understanding (MoU) on the use of NGV in the transport sector.

Under the first MoU, the two ministries will encourage use of NGV by asking all public buses, taxis, trucks, trains and fishing vessels to switch to the fuel.

All vehicles under the supervision of the New Bangkok International Airport Co will be required to use NGV.

The number of NGV service stations will be increased across the country.

Under the second MoU, PTT Plc will be responsible for converting public transport vehicles to NGV. The firm will pay for the installation costs and collect the money from the transport agency later without charging interest.

Under the third MoU, state-run Transport Company's 30 inter-provincial buses operating in the East and Central Plains will be converted to gas.The remaining 1,000 buses in other regions will be modified to use NGV once there were more NGV service stations.

About 180,000 vehicles are expected to be using NGV by 2008.

--Bangkok Post 2005-09-01