THURSDAY, March 28, 2024
nationthailand

Emergency dentistry for Bangkok’s ‘loose tooth’

Emergency dentistry for Bangkok’s ‘loose tooth’

Since its launch on August 6, the Purple Line commuter-train service between Bang Yai and Tao Poon stations has seen an average of just 20,000 passengers a day, far short of its target of 60,000- 70,000.

The question is, who and what should be blamed?
Most fingers are pointing at the so-called “loose tooth” – the missing link between Tao Poon Station and the MRT subway. 
Others are blaming high ticket fares for discouraging commuters.
Under the government’s guidance, the board of the Mass Rapid Transit Authority of Thailand (MRTA) on Wednesday agreed to cut the fares by almost a half, and the price to park-and-ride by the same.
The new Purple Line fares will begin at Bt14 for a one-station ride, rising by Bt1 per station up to a maximum at Bt29. The rate had been Bt14 up to a Bt42 maximum.
The new fare structure will come into effect next Thursday and operate until the “loose tooth” is fixed, which is expected by the middle of next year.
However the MRTA forecasts the fare cut will boost passenger numbers on the Purple Line by just 30 per cent – or 6,000 per day. The resulting figure will still be a long way short of the target.
Critics have said the extension of the MRT Blue Line should have been completed before the launch of the Purple Line, to ensure smooth passage into the central business district for commuters from the northern suburbs.
But work on the Blue Line extension has been dogged by delays caused by confusion among authorities over the physical route it should take. Compounding the problem is the red tape involved in the selection process for an operator and other stakeholders, with decisions being made and reviewed in a back-and-forth process between a number of official committees.
More time is taken up for the bidding process to find operators and negotiate over the operation of each Blue Line extension, meaning more delays.
Things changed, though, when the junta invoked Article 44 of the interim charter, which offers a potential quick-fix to problems regarding the missing link between the Blue Line and Purple Line, and also finding an operator for Blue Line extensions. The selection process has been altered in favour of negotiations with the current operator of the MRT Blue Line to run the line’s extensions. The negotiations, however, will be proceeded by work in committees at the junta’s order and under a strict timeframe.
If things go as planned, the missing link will be filled by the middle of next year.
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