Millions of residents and tourists rely on Greater Bangkok’s MRT underground and BTS Skytrain transportation systems despite their expensive rates because they are so convenient.
As a result, the Thai Consumers Council (TCC) thinks it’s about time the government implemented a uniform ticketing system that makes city train services accessible and reasonable.
According to TCC secretary-general Saree Aongsomwang, “a common ticketing system would help restructure fares in a more equitable manner.”
According to a poll by Bangkok Poll earlier this month, 61% of commuters want lower MRT and BTS fares, and up to 48.5% prefer a single ticketing system. When asked to list issues with the city’s train systems, 61% cited “expensive fares,” and 25.7% grumbled about needing to utilize various tickets to get about Bangkok.
The MRT connects to the BTS Skytrain and offers 12 routes throughout Bangkok and neighboring regions. However, each time they travel from one system to another, commuters must use a fresh ticket.
The number of metropolitan train routes is expected to nearly treble to 33 over the following six years. But without a standardized ticketing system, commuters will probably pay more and have to deal with the bother of purchasing multiple tickets to travel between destinations.
Travel to common ticket
In Bangkok, the concept of a centralized ticketing system has been floated multiple times during the previous 20 years. But until 2012, when the Transport Ministry finally asked the Transport and Traffic Policy and Planning Office (OTP) to research the possibilities for developing a unified system, little to no significant action was made. A system and a bill had been created by 2015.
Another research was carried out between 2015 and 2017, however this time it was for a Central Clearing House. The Common Ticketing System Bill was then examined in 2019 by a committee, which concluded that it could be made into law as a regulation by the Office of the Prime Minister. The resolution was passed by the Cabinet in 2020.
In order to get feedback on the proposed legislation, the OTP hosted forums in June. The draft’s 58 articles address a Common Ticket Policy Board, a common ticketing system’s administration, operation, prices, a Common Ticket Fund, license suspension and revocation, penalties, and transitional arrangements.
Consumer rights director Saree, however, expressed concern that this legislation is far from ideal since it neglects to handle a number of crucial difficulties, such as the requirement to cover transport networks throughout Thailand.
“If you read the details, you’ll discover that Greater Bangkok is the only reference. Additionally, it excludes buses and boats, she added.
The requirement to guarantee that people with low incomes have equal access to high-quality public transportation is also not addressed in the draft, she continued.
According to TCC, daily commute costs for individuals should not exceed 10% of the minimum daily income, which in Bangkok is currently set at 353 baht.
According to a recent survey, BTS/MRT riders spend significantly more on average, with nearly half (46.2%) of them daily spending between 51 and 100 baht. 14.2% of workers earn between 101 and 150 baht. Only 35.4% of commuters spend less than 50 baht per trip.
36.2% of the 1,200 poll participants who used MRT and Skytrain services daily and 33.8% of those who had to switch lines to reach their destination.
“The authorities should ensure that the daily commute costs no more than 50 baht a day,” Saree argued. Many other nations base their maximum fares for public transportation on their respective daily minimum wages.
Furthermore, she argued that all public transportation systems should be subject to the planned universal ticketing system. The draft bill states that several services, like the BTS Green (Sukhumvit) Line, will probably not be included because signing up for the unified ticketing system will be optional. It’s challenging
The installation of the unified ticketing system has been postponed, according to OTP director general Punya Chupanit. To investigate the project for ticket integration and make essential preparations, his office had to hire a consulting agency.
He said, “We need to prepare law, contemplate organic legislation that will come after, think about the Common Ticket Policy Board, the Common Ticket Fund, and even a clearing house.
Punya refused to provide an implementation date for a standard ticketing system.
Before being presented to the new Cabinet, he said, the relevant committee, which will be presided over by the future transport minister, must first be consulted.
“The legislation can move on to Parliament if the Cabinet grants the all-clear. However, it is impossible to determine how long Parliament will need to consider the legislation, the speaker said.
As of now, the OTP has already spoken with operators of city rail lines about the system, and the majority of them seem open to joining the unified ticketing system if it is supported by clear and useful laws.
There is work to be done.
The TCC has requested clarification of the unified ticketing system’s objectives in writing to the Land Transport Department since, according to Saree, they are absent from the draft rule.
If the OTP provides us with concise responses, she continued, “we can raise pertinent issues with all political parties and win support for what is best for the public and the nation.”
She noted that by making Thailand’s public transportation system better, more people will choose to utilize it, greatly lowering the carbon emissions produced by private vehicles.
Additionally, she added, “people’s overall quality of life would improve.”
Saree is particularly against the concept of requiring visitors to pay an entrance fee, as certain operators now do. She feels that the government ought to cover this expense, or at the very least, stop people from being charged multiple times each day simply because they need to use various systems.
Punya stated that because the universal ticketing system will affect the earnings of travel operators, the OTP will probably have to offer a subsidy of 1.3 billion to 1.5 billion baht annually in order to make this viable.
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SOURCE: http://thaipbsworld.com
