Recently, the State Railway of Thailand’s board (SRT) gave the green light to a proposal for a flat 20-baht fare applicable on both the SRT’s Red Line and MRT’s Purple Line, a move in tandem with the government’s initiative to alleviate the hefty cost of living. Next week, the proposal for the 20-baht-only fare is anticipated to go before the Transport Ministry for further examination. Once the ministry approves, the idea will be brought forward to the cabinet for final proceedings.
On this matter, SRT governor Nirut Maneephan states that the Finance Ministry will conduct a review to ensure harmony with Section 27 of the monetary and fiscal discipline law. This law requires any state agency planning a project or measure that could substantially affect its revenue to delineate a spending plan, a timeline for implementation, and expected benefits of the action.
As a part of this entire procedure, Nirut mentions that several discussions need to be held with the Mass Rapid Transit Authority of Thailand (MRTA) and Krung Thai Bank to modernize the pertinent systems. However, the exact duration for this process is yet to be determined.
Nirut exudes positivity by opining that the introduction of the new fare would most likely take place within the new year, an initiative heartily supported by Transport Minister Suriya Jungrungreangkit. Quite interestingly, Mr Suriya views the 20-baht flat fare as a ‘New Year’s present’ to the Thai public that could potentially be first trialed on the Red and the Purple Lines.
While this decision seems to be a massive victory for commuters, the SRT anticipates an annual loss of about 80 million baht in revenue. Thus, the government’s involvement will be sought to reimburse this deficit. Despite this apparent loss, the governor emphasizes the long-term benefits of this step; the reduced fare would encourage more commuters to use mass transit systems, thereby potentially increasing ridership by 5-20% per annum. This move could, in turn, contribute to boosting the SRT’s overall income.
Currently, the Red Line serves about 20,000 passengers daily with two distinct sections – a 26-kilometre long route between Bang Sue and Rangsit and another 15km stretch from Bang Sue to Taling Chan. On the other hand, the Purple Line, the alternative route, runs the length between Tao Pun and Bang Yai in Nonthaburi.
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