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While the Transport Ministry remains upbeat about its plan to lease 6,000 new air-conditioned buses to improve the public bus service, critics are still unconvinced it is the right solution for the debt-ridden Bangkok Mass Transit Authority (BMTA).
Both Transport Minister Santi Promphat and his deputy Songsak Thongsri have said time and again that the NGV-powered buses are the best way to improve the agency, which has not made a profit since it started operations in 1983, 25 years ago.
The ministry says it has explored all the available options to make the BMTA profitable, or at least survive without financial support from the government. The choices included new engines running on natural gas and buying new vehicles, buying an entire new fleet and leasing new buses from a private firm.
The first option would cost 115 billion baht, while buying new buses would cost 124 billion baht. The option of leasing buses would cost 111.7 billion baht, making it the best choice. The agency should have no problem financing the new investment because the bus agency can use ticket sales to pay the leasing costs, said Mr Songsak.
The BMTA now controls 108 routes and has 3,535 buses, 1,861 of them air-conditioned. The rest are run by large and small private transport firms under concessions given by the agency.
The average age of BMTA buses is 14 years, and only 87% of the fleet can now be used.
Plans to stop the BMTA losing money have been on the agenda of many governments, but the present administration of Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej seems to be taking the issue of the BMTA's losses seriously. Most of its debt is owed to PTT Plc, the power supplier for its buses.
Under the ministry-backed plan, the firm which wins the bid to supply 6,000 new buses will also be responsible for maintenance and depots. The BMTA will simply put drivers in the buses, fill up the tanks and take them on the streets.
If the first lot of new buses is leased in May next year, the ministry calculates the BMTA will make a profit in the next 10 years on condition that all present debt will be transferred to the Finance Ministry.
But the project has already been in and out of cabinet meetings for weeks amid criticism from the opposition Democrat party and also the People Power party's coalition partner, Chart Thai.
The Democrats suspected the transparency of the plan given the huge sum of money the project will cost, fearing that some of it could go into the pockets of the politicians involved in it. The Chart Thai party led by Sanan Kachornprasart, who chairs a committee to study the BMTA's restructuring plan, has urged that the plan be deferred. He called for a more detailed explanation of the proposal and even opposed the attempt to scrap all ordinary buses for fear that it would affect low-income passengers.
Under the plan, the BMTA will use the new buses to expand its services from 108 to 145 routes and link them with the existing and new rail networks to be built in the future. The BMTA will act as a feeder for the underground and elevated trains to ease traffic congestion on Bangkok streets.
But Kunchit Phiu-nual, an advisor to Trans Consult, a consultancy firm with expertise in transport, has doubts about the leasing project.
There is no urgent need for the agency to have new buses, he said, adding that the ministry should improve its existing fleet and add new ones only if necessary.
Trying to stop the BMTA losing money should not be a priority, he said, adding that bus services in many countries were also running at a loss. But bus agencies in other countries were directly or indirectly supported financially by governments to keep the buses running, according to Mr Kunchit.
The question which needed to be clearly answered by the government was how to offer better services to the passengers. With a more reliable service, people who own cars would leave their vehicles at home and use public buses, he said.
"The BMTA has to push the service to another level to make it reliable and acceptable," Mr Kunchit said.
"Imagine if people knew the bus would come on time to the bus stop near their house. That would encourage them to use public buses," he said.
The transport expert claimed that making the buses run on time was possible, even in cities plagued by traffic congestion like Bangkok. It depended on route management and also on technology to keep track of all the buses and control the fleet, as well as close coordination with traffic authorities, including police, he said.
Adding more routes would not be necessary, he said, as the main point is to better manage the existing routes and maximise the load capacity by taking into account passenger demand and convenience.
"Some routes now have only a few passengers, but others are too crowded," he said. The key to success was to make trips more convenient for passengers by having them change buses as few times as possible on the way to their destinations, he added.
One of the other problems which needed to be tackled was corruption in the agency, he said. The problems at the BMTA partly were a result of "poor financial management and corruption, which have not been resolved", he said.
The BMTA is plagued by red tape and it should be given a new direction by mainly being a regulator and keeping only some routes, he said. The rest of the routes should be given to the private sector, he added.
But Veerapong Wongwaen, the deputy leader of the BMTA Labour Union, agreed with the expansion of the routes, which should include the lines already monopolised by private buses.
That will help passengers if the private firms protest against the BMTA by temporarily stopping services, he added.
"But the BMTA has to ask passengers first before making the decision because any change of routes will affect them," Mr Veerapong said.
advice12
Quote:
Transport says it'll solve BMTA's debt problem
AMORNRAT MAHITTHIROOK & SARITDET MARUKATAT
Santi: Best way to improve bus agency
Songsak: Ticket sales to pay lease costs
While the Transport Ministry remains upbeat about its plan to lease 6,000 new air-conditioned buses to improve the public bus service, critics are still unconvinced it is the right solution for the debt-ridden Bangkok Mass Transit Authority (BMTA).
Both Transport Minister Santi Promphat and his deputy Songsak Thongsri have said time and again that the NGV-powered buses are the best way to improve the agency, which has not made a profit since it started operations in 1983, 25 years ago.
The ministry says it has explored all the available options to make the BMTA profitable, or at least survive without financial support from the government. The choices included new engines running on natural gas and buying new vehicles, buying an entire new fleet and leasing new buses from a private firm.
The first option would cost 115 billion baht, while buying new buses would cost 124 billion baht. The option of leasing buses would cost 111.7 billion baht, making it the best choice. The agency should have no problem financing the new investment because the bus agency can use ticket sales to pay the leasing costs, said Mr Songsak.
The BMTA now controls 108 routes and has 3,535 buses, 1,861 of them air-conditioned. The rest are run by large and small private transport firms under concessions given by the agency.
The average age of BMTA buses is 14 years, and only 87% of the fleet can now be used.
Plans to stop the BMTA losing money have been on the agenda of many governments, but the present administration of Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej seems to be taking the issue of the BMTA's losses seriously. Most of its debt is owed to PTT Plc, the power supplier for its buses.
Under the ministry-backed plan, the firm which wins the bid to supply 6,000 new buses will also be responsible for maintenance and depots. The BMTA will simply put drivers in the buses, fill up the tanks and take them on the streets.
If the first lot of new buses is leased in May next year, the ministry calculates the BMTA will make a profit in the next 10 years on condition that all present debt will be transferred to the Finance Ministry.
But the project has already been in and out of cabinet meetings for weeks amid criticism from the opposition Democrat party and also the People Power party's coalition partner, Chart Thai.
The Democrats suspected the transparency of the plan given the huge sum of money the project will cost, fearing that some of it could go into the pockets of the politicians involved in it. The Chart Thai party led by Sanan Kachornprasart, who chairs a committee to study the BMTA's restructuring plan, has urged that the plan be deferred. He called for a more detailed explanation of the proposal and even opposed the attempt to scrap all ordinary buses for fear that it would affect low-income passengers.
Under the plan, the BMTA will use the new buses to expand its services from 108 to 145 routes and link them with the existing and new rail networks to be built in the future. The BMTA will act as a feeder for the underground and elevated trains to ease traffic congestion on Bangkok streets.
But Kunchit Phiu-nual, an advisor to Trans Consult, a consultancy firm with expertise in transport, has doubts about the leasing project.
There is no urgent need for the agency to have new buses, he said, adding that the ministry should improve its existing fleet and add new ones only if necessary.
Trying to stop the BMTA losing money should not be a priority, he said, adding that bus services in many countries were also running at a loss. But bus agencies in other countries were directly or indirectly supported financially by governments to keep the buses running, according to Mr Kunchit.
The question which needed to be clearly answered by the government was how to offer better services to the passengers. With a more reliable service, people who own cars would leave their vehicles at home and use public buses, he said.
"The BMTA has to push the service to another level to make it reliable and acceptable," Mr Kunchit said.
"Imagine if people knew the bus would come on time to the bus stop near their house. That would encourage them to use public buses," he said.
The transport expert claimed that making the buses run on time was possible, even in cities plagued by traffic congestion like Bangkok. It depended on route management and also on technology to keep track of all the buses and control the fleet, as well as close coordination with traffic authorities, including police, he said.
Adding more routes would not be necessary, he said, as the main point is to better manage the existing routes and maximise the load capacity by taking into account passenger demand and convenience.
"Some routes now have only a few passengers, but others are too crowded," he said. The key to success was to make trips more convenient for passengers by having them change buses as few times as possible on the way to their destinations, he added.
One of the other problems which needed to be tackled was corruption in the agency, he said. The problems at the BMTA partly were a result of "poor financial management and corruption, which have not been resolved", he said.
The BMTA is plagued by red tape and it should be given a new direction by mainly being a regulator and keeping only some routes, he said. The rest of the routes should be given to the private sector, he added.
But Veerapong Wongwaen, the deputy leader of the BMTA Labour Union, agreed with the expansion of the routes, which should include the lines already monopolised by private buses.
That will help passengers if the private firms protest against the BMTA by temporarily stopping services, he added.
"But the BMTA has to ask passengers first before making the decision because any change of routes will affect them," Mr Veerapong said.
