THURSDAY, March 28, 2024
nationthailand

BMTA told to hit accelerator on Bangkok bus plan

BMTA told to hit accelerator on Bangkok bus plan

Bangkok Mass Transit Authority (BMTA) has been told to speed up its plan to add 108 bus routes in the capital for submission to the Cabinet in September.

Transport Ministry permanent secretary Chaiwat Thongkamkoon gave the order after meeting with the public bus operator on Thursday.
"I want the rehabilitation plan to be able to answer all questions when presented to the Cabinet without any need for follow-ups,” said Chaiwat, who is keen to present the plan to ministers before he retires later this year.

The BMTA must “do their homework” to resolve sensitive issues surrounding the plan, he added.

A BMTA source said the sensitive issues concerned the number of buses allocated for each of the 108 new routes planned by the Department of Land Transport.

BMTA director Surachai Iamwachirasakul said the plan also includes renting about 1,500 buses to run on about 54 routes, where the

BMTA will pay Bt34.27 per kilometre for an average 240km per vehicle per day. The private buses must be low-platform EV, NGV or energy-friendly vehicles less than two years old and equipped with e-ticketing, GPS and WiFi. The BMTA plans to rent a total of 2,511 buses to service the new routes.

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