Govt may opt for European city buses

The choice may now be European models running on abundant ethanol-based E85 fuel instead of Chinese-made models using shortage-prone natural gas for vehicles (NGV). Finance Minister Kittiratt Na-Ranong said yesterday after a meeting in Belgium with its government and businesspeople that the use of E85 (85 per cent ethanol) could help stabilise the prices of sugar cane and cassava, benefiting planters in the long run, while bus fares could be calculated into the prices of both crops.

“This can tell us the quantity of E85 required for the buses while showing the prices for the crops that planters can live with,” he said.

Kittiratt did not identify the manufacturers, but representatives from Volvo Truck, Scania Group and industrial gas manufacturer AGA met with Yingluck in Sweden, which she and her Thai delegation visited the day before.

The previous proposal from the Transport Ministry was for 3,183 commuter buses at a total project cost of about Bt13 billion. 

Thailand has an abundant supply of ethanol, which would be used for the production of E85 and other grades of ethanol-based fuel, he said.

“Sweden uses E85-fuelled buses even though the country has to rely on imports of ethanol from Brazil,” he added.

PTT chief executive officer Pailin Chuchotta-worn, one of the 30-some businessmen joining Ying-luck’s two-day tour, told reporters that PTT was ready to produce E85, if or when this decision on bus suppliers was final. 

However, he was worried about raw ethanol for E85 production possibly being used for brewing liquor because of the three or fourfold difference in taxes on them.

Transport Minister Chadchart Sittipunt said any change in engine types from NVG to E85 would require thorough study.

He said he did not know the |new specifications or Kittiratt’s statement in detail, but the NGV buses, which had been recommended by the ministry all along, were cheaper. This was important for the debt-ridden Bangkok Mass Transit Authority, which operates city buses and awards route concessions.

A BMTA source said the NGV price of Bt10.5 per litre was much lower than Bt22.98 for E85. The NGV price, even if it were raised to the highest rate under a government policy, would not even reach Bt15, less than half of diesel, which was the current standard fuel for BMTA buses. The diesel price is subsidised at Bt29.99.

The city bus proposal has run into political complications besides technical issues. It was once used during the Abhisit Vejjajiva administration to popularise the proponent – the coalition Bhum Jai Thai Party – which wanted to seek support from Bangkok residents, most of whom are traditional supporters of the Democrat Party led by Abhisit.

Through the support of a single ticket for unlimited trips in one |day, Bhum Jai Thai made this purchase even more interesting to commuters – and the subject of envy of other political parties if it went through.