Bangkok's bus fares remain unchanged in short term

BANGKOK, May 23 (TNA) - Public bus fares in Bangkok and peripheral areas, both driven by natural gas for vehicles (NGV) and diesel, will remain unchanged in the short run, thanks to declining world oil prices. Thai Deputy Transport Minister Chatchart Sithipan told reporters of the decision on Tuesday, after meeting with representatives of private operators of public buses in the capital and adjacent areas to discuss the issue. Chatchart explained that the decision was based on a Central Land Transport Committee earlier resolution that any official approval of a new bus fare rise is to be taken the operators' NGV benchmark cost on the domestic market, at 9.50 baht per kilogram, into the focal consideration, acknowledging that the Thai government has continued to cap the retail NGV prices for another three months; so, there will be no approval of a new bus fare hike during the short-term period. As diesel prices on the domestic market have kept falling lately in line with the global trend, Chatchart said that he has asked the Central Land Transport Committee to look into updated operating costs of diesel-engined buses, before announcing whether diesel-driven bus fares are to be cut, to remain intact or to be raised. Deputy Permanent Secretary for Transport Sornsak Saensombat, in his capacity as the chair of the Central Land Transport Committee, then told journalists that he is scheduled to call a new meeting of the committee on May 23, at which invited representatives from the Energy Policy and Planning Office are to report on future directions and trends of global oil prices, the information of which will be used to set appropriate bus fares in the coming months or years. The private operators of diesel-engined buses said if their diesel costs kept falling, they would be willing to cut their bus fares, claiming, however, that they have been affected by a massive flooding late last year, mainly through a concessional requirement that they pay operational fees to the state-run Bangkok Mass Transit Authority (BMTA) even though they were unable to operate their buses during the flooding crisis, calling for the BMTA to stop collecting the operating fees for three years. Meanwhile, the Ministry of Transport announced that it is considering assisting the private operators of public buses, especially through a possible reduction of or a delay, for a certain period of time, in a planned increase of the operating fees, which have caused the private operators to be heavily indebted up to 500 million baht totally so far. (TNA)