Bangkok Mass Transit Authority (BMTA) is moving forward with a plan to hire a private company to operate a 400-bus electric-vehicle fleet.
BMTA CEO Kittikan Chomdoung Charuworapolkul said as part of its rehabilitation plan, the agency would hire a private company to procure 400 electric buses, as well as drivers and fare collectors, to serve passengers at BMTA’s eight bus terminals.
According to Kittikan, the budget for the plan is allocated from the BMTA’s revenue set aside for maintenance and gasoline costs, as well as the state subsidy for public service obligations.
The BMTA CEO dismissed a claim by the BMTA’s labor union that the executive board was overspending on hiring a private company to operate the EV fleet, which cost more than 6,000 baht per bus per day. He explained that the BMTA was paying the same amount of money for its current fleet of standard red-and-beige buses.
The BMTA’s rehabilitation plan, which was recently approved by its executive board, calls for a private concessionaire to operate 400 electric buses.
An auction is scheduled for May to select the concessionaire, and the winner is required to begin procuring EV buses by October, with at least 30 percent of the fleet being procured within a year. (NNT)
 |
 |
 |
