BMTA given a week to propose reforms

The Transport Ministry has given the Bangkok Mass Transit Authority (BMTA) a seven-day deadline to come up with a city bus network reform plan to get the loss-ridden operator out of the red.

The acting permanent secretary for transport, Chirute Visalachitra, said the BMTA must present a clear plan as soon as possible because the Transport Ministry wants to finish reorganising the management of all 269 bus routes that serve Bangkok and its adjacent areas “within this government”.

Mr Chirute said that in its turnaround plan, the BMTA must clearly decide how many routes will it set aside for private companies to operate under concessions, and how will the proposal help the agency turn its financial situation around.

The state-run city bus operator is one of five state enterprises undergoing financial rehabilitation, along with Thai Airways International Plc, the State Railway of Thailand, TOT Plc and CAT Telecom.

The BMTA has been talking about route reforms for two years, but significant progress have yet to be made because of numerous contractual issues with the current concession holders that remain unresolved.

The Department of Land Transport (DLT) wants the agency to prioritise current concession holders, but Mr Chirute said that concessions should be granted with efficiency and profit in mind.

“It’s possible that not all operators will like the reforms because some routes may become shorter, while others will be axed altogether,” he said.

Out of the 269 routes under BMTA’s management, 24 routes will be operated by private companies that have never held concessions to run bus services before, Mr Chirute said.

In a related development, the DLT is considering increasing taxi fares to better reflect both the time and money wasted while a taxi is stuck in traffic.

Deputy department chief Kamon Buranaphong said the new suggestion will replace an earlier proposal to raise a taxi’s flagfall fee from 35 baht to 40 baht.

However, Mr Kamon did not elaborate on how the new fare will be calculated under the new proposal.

“The new suggestion will need still need to be discussed further before it can be sent to the Transport Ministry for further deliberation and approval,” he said.

Mr Kamon also said his department and Airports of Thailand (AoT) are currently considering a request from taxi drivers based at Don Mueang and Suvarnabhumi airports, who want to levy extra charges on passengers who are carrying more than two pieces of luggage.

“The drivers want passengers to pay a 10-baht fee for the third bag, and a 30-baht surcharge per bag thereafter,” he said. “In the end, though, we can’t place too much burden on arriving passengers.”