Bus Fares Might Be Raised On Valentine's Day

[george]

Operators of private city buses insist to raise fares on Valentine's Day

BANGKOK: -- Operators of private city buses have announced that they will go ahead with a new fare hike on St. Valentine's Day--February 14--as approved by the Ministry of Transport's Central Land Transport Committee.

The Bangkok Mass Transit Authority (BMTA) has confirmed, on the other hand, that the state-run city bus operator will remain its fares unchanged until the diesel price on the domestic market rises to Bt26 per litre.

BMTA's Acting Director O-phas Petchmunee told journalists on Sunday the he had ordered that placards of "No Fare Rise" be put in front of all BMTA-run buses and garages to acknowledge the public.

Last week, the Ministry of Transport gave a final nod for its earlier approval of the new bus fare hike for both city bus and inter-provincial bus operators taking effect on February 14.

The move followed a meeting between transport authorities and representatives of private bus operators who insisted that the ministry keep its promise on the new bus fare rise, claiming that their operational costs are now higher than revenues.

On January 30, the Ministry of Transport gave the green light for the private operators to raise their fares--by Bt1.0 baht for city buses and passenger vans and by Bt0.03 per kilometre for inter-provincial buses--due to continued rising fuel costs.

The approval followed the ministry's promise to the private bus operators that they would be allowed a new fare rise once the domestic diesel price surges to Bt24.50 per litre.

However, the domestic diesel price has dropped to Bt24.29 per litre following the latest price cut by Bt0.40 per litre of local oil traders effective from February 3--from Bt24.69 per litre earlier.

The BMTA later announced that the commitee's approval would be valid only after a final endorsement by the BMTA board.

"The 1976 Royal Decree on the Establishment of the BMTA states clearly that the BMTA board has the final say in any new fare rise of city buses run by the BMTA itself or by private operators granted concessions on certain routes. The BMTA board has yet endorsed the new fare rise; so any private bus operators are found unilaterally raising their fare prior to the BMTA board's final approval must be arrested by Department of Land Transport inspectors for violating the law," the BMTA chief said last Thursday.

The BMTA board is likely to meet in late February to consider the new fare rise, with discussions expected to include related issues--namely the downward fuel cost trend, according to Mr. O-phas.

He also asked the general public to report the violation to the BMTA via its helpline "184".

Mr. O-phas said he had also ordered that more BMTA-buses be released on city roads to serve rising public demand, as BMTA-bus fares would be Bt2 cheaper than those of private city buses.

Meanwhile, many passengers have criticized the private bus operators of pressing for the increased fares with minimal efforts to improve their services.

--TNA 2006-02-12