BANGKOK, 19 February 2012 – Travelers and commuters in Thailand may be able to use only one ticket to ride all public transports by 2015, as the Transport Ministry is working on the details of such a project now.
Mrs. Soythip Traisuthi, Director -General of the Office of Transport and Traffic Policy and Planning, said that the Transport Ministry is now working on the details of a loan needed for the implementation of the joint public transport ticket project.
Once all details are concluded, the Transport Ministry will pass them to the Finance Ministry to review and approve the use of the loan from the Asian Development Bank later. It is estimated that as much as US$23 million or around THB690 million will be needed for this project.
In addition, the newly-set up joint ticket management committee, chaired by the Ministry’s Acting Permanent Secretary Silpachai Jarukasemratana, is now working on a consulting company to the project, which should be concluded within 3 months and help achieve more progress in the joint public transport ticket policy.
If all goes as planned, Mrs. Soythip believes that, by 2015, travelers and commuters in Thailand will be able to buy only one ticket to conveniently ride Bangkok’s MRT and BTS trains, BRT buses, BMTA buses, the Airport Link, the State Railway of Thailand’s high-speed trains and the Department of Highways’ motorway routes as well as the Chao Phraya Express Boat service.
